Stewart defeats one of country’s toughest rivers

Ekurhuleni Kayak Club (EKC) star Michael Stewart marched on to complete the gruelling Trac Lowveld Crocodile River Race, which was recently held in Mpumalanga.

Stewart crossed the finishing line in an impressive time of 2:28:00 minutes to lead the EKC charge.

In addition, the EKC was also represented by the pair of Leon Maritz and Pieter Engelbrecht who both completed the race in 3:46:00 and 2:47:00, respectively.

The Trac Lowveld Crocodile River Race is annually hosted by canoeists based in Mpumalanga.

It’s a 33km stretch of river with winding corners, strewn with rocks, weirs and islands surrounded by the majestic beauty of mountain ranges.
Many paddlers have walked out through the bush with broken kayaks or lost their vessels to the river.

Canoeists can sometimes expect hippos migrating through the river, widely known as one of the toughest and best rivers for kayaking.

The race began from below the Kwena Dam and finished just below Old Joe’s Kaia guest house with a 33 cumec water release from the Inkomati Usuthu catchment management which resulted in very fast paddling with very quick, sharp turns required.

The race accommodates K1 kayaks (singles) as the river flows fast and narrow – and getting a K2 (double) around the bends of scattered rocks is technically very challenging.

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