The Paddler ezine WW kayak collection 2013 | Page 8

ThePaddler 8
With clothes and us starting to smell, it was
much appreciated to come back to the chilled
haven of Kitugala, home! We recuperated,
replenished, and organised our plans for the next
few days. This time we headed north of Kitugala
with one of Borderlands raft guides and a
developing kayaker. After an interesting night
sleeping in a tent shaped puddle we found the
Goorook Oya, a world-class river of Grade IV-V
rapids, which turned out to be a first descent.

Dave throwing (accidental) shapes at the start of
what turned out to be an epic day on the river. Clean
lines down world class rapids were interspersed with
lots of portages...we only just made it out before
dusk set!

Dave describes

the build up to
the Goorook Oya, “We left our base at
Borderlands ready for our next exploration after
going to the Perihara ‘Festival of Lights’. This
takes place in Kandy, where a huge procession of
musicians, dancers, fire spinners and of course,
85 elephants in fairy lights! The major reason for
the festival is to parade Buddha’s tooth. It is said
that this tooth was pulled out and made Buddha
cry, so signifies the start of the monsoon season
in the north of the country.

“The suggestion of more rain is just what we
needed to top up the rivers in Sri Lanka, so we
were in high spirits. Unfortunately, after scouting
a few dry riverbeds, we were beginning to worry
that Buddha wasn’t crying hard enough. This all
changed the evening after we scouted the
Goorook Oya River. It looked good to go from
the road and as we camped near the put in, the
dark clouds gathered. It was only then that we
realised the tent we’d borrowed from
Borderlands was one that was marked for repair.
Error!
“We emerged in the morning soaked to the skin,
but buzzing with anticipation. We weren’t
disappointed! Boofs, flares, grinds and cheers
made this a birthday for Tom to remember and a
river not to be missed if you ever find yourself in
Sri Lanka.

“T
more special b

“Despite the long bush whack

Thil

getting on just below the impressiv