RIVER SAFETY & RESCUE

What skills and why?

Learn about rivers

Guide training and jobs

Youth adventures - introduction to rivers

Tugela river course 2007

Youth adventure 2008

Here's an overview

The rivers of Southern Africa are either rocky, narrow and steep, or wide open and sometimes turbulent and fast-flowing in flood times. Our rivers have never been navigable as water highways like the Mississippi or Volga:  instead they have been regarded as barriers to travel and development. But this is why they are relatively undeveloped and very suitable for wilderness river tripping today.

The only thing you must be sure of is that your skills are a match for the river that you plan to tackle. Many a tripper has come horribly short attempting something beyond their skills. Every experienced river person will tell you about serious epics out there when the skies opened, or the gorge closed in, or someone on the trip got themselves into an unwinnable situation among the rocks, trees or pourovers in some remote river valley.

THINK ABOUT IT

You can find out about my background in river safety and rescue training here, and read my book on rafting technique here. Years of "character building" epics have taught me that you can never be too cautious on rivers. Also, you have to think about what you are doing and not just act instinctively.

At the most basic level, instinct tells you to lean away from a big rolling wave or approaching rock in the river; but correct technique is to lean towards them, throwing your weight at the hazard. It may seem wise to paddle up to a tree and hang onto it when the river is high, but doing that exposes you to the most extreme danger: you or your craft can be carried into the branches, which will sink down in the water trapping you like tea-leaves in a strainer. What seems like common sense on a river is often not sense at all.

YOUR SKILLS

You'll have these experiences yourself, at some time. But don't take the chance of finding yourself without the equipment or the know-how to do the right thing. Lives will depend on how you respond in a crisis and how quick you are to go to the aid of someone in trouble. Or maybe to save yourself.   

You need several kinds of skills for safer river-running:

• Boating skills - rafting, kayaking, canoeing (even river surfboarding)

• Reading the river - seeing and interpreting its forces and hazards

• Rescue skills - dealing with swimmers, entrapments, the unforseen

• First Aid skills - treating injuries, shock and near drownings

• River camping and catering - environmental and health concerns

• Logistics - driving, mapping, detailed planning

• Leadership skills - judgement, organisational ability, team techniques

In addition, you need certain capacities and attitudes, such as presence of mind and the ability to stay calm and take the initiative. On rivers you are always confronted with the question: What if? and unless you can anticipate and act sensibly you and those you lead will be headed for accidents or worse. Care of equipment is important too. Many a trip has come unstuck because the boats, rescue gear, or vehicles have been allowed to deteriorate.

All of the skills and attitudes amount to basic river sense.

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RIVERS AND RISKS

Take a look at maps of the region. The high interior is fringed by escarpments from which rivers tumble down to the coastal plains. Major rivers rise in the mountains of Lesotho as well as the Mpumalanga and Limpopo mountains. They flow across the broad highveld and then carve gorges through the escarpment before finally emptying into the Indian or Atlantic Oceans. There's a world of excitement and exploration awaiting you out there.

Different rivers pose different problems. On the Vaal, for instance, though the rapids are never really big (except in ultra-floods when the river can behave like the Zambezi), the overhanging and fallen trees create hazardous strainers, and the ledgy rocks can be dangerous for foot entrapment. On the Orange, a combination of hot, dry weather and high volumes of water in remote gorges can ratchet up the risks of river travel. People can suffer from sunstroke or have accidents that turn into major evacuation scenarios. On the Tugela, sudden floods turn steep rapids into violent torrents with little room to move along the banks. Mountain creeks in the Drakensberg are full of underwater caves and siphons. Crocodiles and hippos inhabit many northern and eastern bushveld rivers, turning placid pools into killing zones.

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RIVER TIME & WORK

Remember, there are three kinds of river time:

• Chill-out time, the long satisfying days on the water

• Thrill time, the challenge of the river's rapids

• Critical rescue time, the moment of truth

The first two are fun, the third is deadly serious. The clients of river trips come along for chills and thrills. While you are there to ensure they have a great trip your primary responsibility is to ensure their safety. Many canoeists who have raced for fun and start guiding for weekends have a lot to learn about how to look after others on the water, and off it. A canoeing background is pretty good for guiding. So is a paddle ski or surfing background, or indeed any watersport.

If you're planning to be a river guide, get plenty of time on the river and be sure not to neglect the essential safety aspect. It's easy to relax and forget the rescue skills you once learnt, but when you need them, you need them! Attend refresher courses, make sure your first aid is up to date and really make sure you know how to apply those first aid techniques in the field!

JOB OFFERS

I often have job offers coming my way for experienced guides or those willing to work hard, work at all hours, and learn the craft on the job. Watch my riverblog for these, and get hold of me if you are in the market.

Meanwhile, training courses in river rescue and safety (including other guiding skills) are offered by the African Paddling Association, which has representatives serving the northern part of the country and the south.

I am not associated with these APA trainers and I no longer do training myself. But I am involved in workshops and in drafting unit standards for the National Qualifications Framework (NQF). This is set to be a system that river operators can offer so that those wishing to train according to the unit standards may do so and submit themselves for independent assessment. To learn more about this, go here.

Enjoy the river!

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