Whitewater Aptitude is an idea in development to highlight Gavin Hart's skills, adventures and accomplishments with an insight into the thoughts and feeling he has throughout his journeys. As well as this blog please visit his Photography Portfolio Website showcasing his best photography. For shorter more regular updates on Whitewater Aptitude adventures Like it on Facebook or Follow on Twitter. Get in contact via email using gavin@whitewateraptitude.co.uk
To summarise this was by far the strangest "Paddling trip" I have been
on because after a week of being there collectively we didn't want to go
paddling. The waterfalls pictured are created by a rock shelf in the Mekong River. The waterfalls are tough to get to and from and the very few rapids there are are no longer then 50m. Get beta info. To enjoy this place fully you have to be a stout master with
big balls. Venture there towards the beginning of December smash out the whitewater in two weeks max.
When the work dried up in Nepal I went and spent my last week in Barabhese next to the Bhoti Koshi River. The week gave my paddling partners Jack C and George Y the time to infect my mind with the idea that changing my flights and going boating with them in Laos would be a great way to skip the UK winter.
Cambodian
I was convinced and made the journey with them to South East Asia. After over 24hours of travel,(taxi, flight, taxi, train, x2 trucks, tuc tuc and bus), we arrived at the port of Nakasong where we were greeted by ferry boat drivers demanding three times the set price for a lift to the Island of Don Det, our proposed base. The price was so steep due to the dimming light. Frustrated at having already had to pay double price for all other modes of transport we stuffed all our kit in our boats and got on the water not knowing where we were going, not knowing where the whitewater was and not being able to see a whole lot. It was very gripping.
A week later I'm swimming and clinging onto the side of a very green and slippery cliff trying not to get sucked back into the falls I had just fluffed at the same time I'm trying to get the attention of Jack and George before they paddle off further down river.
With my waterfall confidence blown I then hated the area because the place is a waterfall nirvana.
Mr. Clean
Due to there mostly being waterfalls, which were well at the top of my comfort zone to begin with, I was unable to get my psych back and I spent the rest of my time beasting the flat water, portaging drops and running around on the rocks snapping the shots of George. I'm not going to type any further on this trip as I wish to forget about it and use what is left of the UK wetness to get my whitewater groove back. If you have questions get in contact.
On February the 9th I went under the laser and had corrective surgery to my eyes. The operation was a complete success and I now have better then 20/20 vision which is going to be super great for paddling and exploring. No more flaf and worry over losing contacts and the high risk of infection.
Unknown paddler - Kimmeridge Bay
Since having the operation I have been unable to paddle which has been super frustrating. This has given me plenty of time to doddle and surf the net leading to the creation of the River God above. Inspired by the statues seen in temples and shrines I visited in Japan. I created the image using Photoshop and a drawing tablet.
The past weekend I snapped a few shots of some of the waves at Kbay and thankfully today I was given the all clear and am allowed to get back on the water myself. I'll most likely be looking at getting out on the waves of the south coast and if my days off of permit i'll be zooming over to North Devon or possibly even Scotland in early April.
First of all I quickly put together a post together that has been posted on RohanTime.com This is Rohan's social page for customers, events and news. I have worked for Rohan for the past 8 months and has helped me to continue to live in the Lake District and now move onto my next adventure...
JAPAN, so if blog posts totally drop off over the next six months its because I am working hard as a trainee Raft Guide for a company called Hokkaido Outdoor Adventure. Wish me luck.
The last month seems to have sped no doubt this was because off of the boating the team has been doing. To start off the North West saw a superb amount of swell come its way so we had a few sessions at Northshore and St.Bees. mostly were very windy but good waves to be had especially by Mike who was on his new long board which due to its size had no trouble catching any wave he wanted as if he had an engine.
Photo of Alex by Bob, Trib into the Rawthey.
Next the rain came and saw us going a spate run of the Lune where actually most of the rapids were washed out however this lead to the formation of some pretty sweet wave chains and huge areas of boil which is always entertaining. On this day we also did for the first time as a team the middle section of the Rawthey. Now this run was pretty poor in our opinion. It needs a ton more water then guidebook suggests as it was very scrappy in places even though we were paddling it at a "high" level. Look out for a river wide tree that must be portaged about an hour into the river.
Bob running End of the World Rapid, Scottish Leven.
This poor experience was soon forgot about though as we nipped upto Glencoe for the 10th, 11th, 12th to see what Scotland had to offer. This was the first time for me paddling in Scotland and I can easily say it was some of the most challenging, scary, exciting, technical boating I have ever done. We had a great crew of people, Pete, George, Bob, Fiona, James, Sam and myself all were able to push ourselves on the rivers and we all saw our own bit of carnage. Luckily everyone came off easy and managed to only aquire a few solid bumps and bruises which we are all grateful for.
In the super stout SUNNY three days we got on the Orchy, Etive, Alt A'Chaorainn and Scottish Leven all of which I hope to repeat in the future. Anyone that is looking to get up paddling in Scotland I highly recommend getting in touch with a local boating crew as it saves on having to inspect every run and allows you to crack on at a good pace allowing for more rivers!!
I recently entered one of my favourite photos into the Stephen Forster Photo Challenge. My photo was posted on Bomb Flow Magazine's website which I'm quite pleased about with it being one of the leading media drivers on the white water kayaking scene at the moment.
Had a bit of luck with some more photos in a competition this week. My photos were selected to be shown in the Rheged Centre along with other photos from students studying on either the Adventure and Media or Wildlife and Media courses across all years. Students were allowed to enter one photo into each of the three categories which were available. I entered three photos and had all three selected to be shown, must be doing something right.
I'm now back from France and it seems very cold in the UK. Back to University soon where the adventures and challenges will be starting again. Here is a photo of Ben Mahe I edited when I was out in France but couldn't upload. I'll be uploading to Youtube a very short video of a snapshot of my job out in France soon.
