The Paddler ezine WW kayak collection 2013 | Page 12

ThePaddler 12

T help give a
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little of what
Borderlands had given to us we assisted with one of
their corporate programmes. We were impressed by
how smoothly the weekend ran and really enjoyed
being part of it. When the clients had left we spent a
couple of days running some sessions for the raft
guides showing them different techniques and safety
methods. One of the major things we tried to do
though was to inspire the locals to view kayaking as a
hobby, not just a job. We really want to change the
mentality of the staff to playing the river, not just
surviving the rapids.

We also managed to help Borderlands out directly.
Again the kayaking and safety sessions, but also in our
recommendations of potential alternative rafting runs,
which may be required when the Kelani River
(Borderlands current base) is dammed (building has
not started yet).

“Our mission, since we’ve chosen to accept it, is to try
and find a suitable river for Borderlands to move to.
The first few days of our expedition were spent with
Sri Lankan kayakers on rivers that had previously been
run (if rarely!). The lower Sitawaka seems to have
potential as a rafting run a step up from the current
norm.

We were then off exploring again. This time it was the
Kelengamu, which provided us with more world-class
water. With Sri Lanka providing us with 'liquid gems'
(as Wade likes to call them) time after time, an
incredible driver and so many successful days we were
starting to worry the trip was turning into a holiday.

The Kelengamu, a tributary of the Kelani, seemed
super steep on the map, but we knew the massive
Laxapana waterfall soaked up a large portion of that.
How much though, we couldn't tell. With heavy rain in
the valley, we decided to hit the gamble button.

Unfortunately the gamble did not pay off. Four hours
of walking to, through and around a river left us
exhausted and made us remember how lucky we've
been to find the amount of clean classics we had done
so far. It was like canyoning... but with awkward heavy
boats.
After putting in at the Mahoosive waterfall our
portage fest (helped by yet another mini-hydro
project) around the next 4km left us leech coated,
aching and knackered, but also feeling content that we
were satisfying our mission to explore Sri Lanka's
rivers. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.

After our interesting previous day and with limited
time left, some of us were dubious about returning to
the same unsatisfying river. But with monsoon rains
pouring all night long the majority were confident that
the river could turn a corner into another Sri Lankan
classic. And guess what... it did!

We had to work hard for this one, but an intense
four hours of continuous grade 3-4 grew and
grew with the addition of numerous pumping
tributaries, ending in clean grade 4-5 boulder
garden excitement.

And the best bit about the whole river? It
flowed straight into the tonking Upper Kelani,
then through our home run (the rafting
section) and it was just a 10-metre walk to
the cold beers in the fridge back at
Borderlands base! We didn't know it at the
time, but for this first descent, the effort was well
worth the reward!

Another weekend between exploring we returned to
base to run some kayak clinics for some of the
Borderlands staff as well as be stars
of a Sri Lankan TV
programme. It was fantastic
to leave a bit of knowledge
and passion for the sport and
also be celebrities for the day!
As Dave suggests, perhaps the
next first descents we hear
about in Sri Lanka will be by a
group of Sri Lankan boaters?
“The only real disappointment
we’ve had is that we missed
high flows in a little creek near
to the Borderlands camp.
A scouting mission showed us a
clean 30-foot park and huck
with some more slides downstream,
some nice, others a little on the dirty side!

“This super sweet little gem we’ll have to
leave for a future expedition to conquer.
Or who knows, with the coaching sessions
we’ve provided for safety kayakers at
Borderlands maybe it will be a Sri Lankan who
claims this first descent! Let’s hope!”

We continued to succeed in finding incredible
'liquid gems', many of which were first descents.
We finished the trip with a wrap up evening
organised by Wade, which included a short film
premier and little presentation from us. The idea of
this was to show various people we had met along
the way what their help allowed us to
achieve, bring together lots of locals
with an interest in the outdoors, and
have a celebratory night out!

All the work Wade and the
Borderlands team put in really
enhanced our experience and helped
us get the most out of our stay. We
were very grateful and very much
enjoyed working with the crew.