ThePaddlerUK 80
The river was a bit too high
to scramble down
the rocks so Beth and I discussed our plan of attack. The best option
appeared to be to paddle off the slide.
We lowered Beth’s boat down first, but managed to
lower it into a siphon that none of us had noticed and
get it stuck. Really really stuck. Two hours of failed
rescue attempts later and we managed to scramble
through a bat cave, through the jungle and on the top
of the giant boulder before hauling the boat upwards
to freedom. Such a relief! After throwing the rest of
the boats down, a bit more cave scrambling and a
slightly sketchy ferryglide above an undercut, we were
all sorted and ready to finish the river.
Jungle bashing
We also had a bit of an epic on the Lariang. On the first
day we reached a big rapid, which we were not all
confident at attempting and so, keen to stick together,
we looked at portage options. Having being told that
“everything is easily portageable”, it turns out this is not
necessarily true in higher water. After an hour’s worth
of jungle bashing we emerged the other side,
exhausted. I have previously been advised to always
sleep on a portage, the reason for which became
evident when two boats ended up floating off down
the river. Beth and I jumped in and chased down
probably the biggest rapid I have ever run blind.The
rescue was not without difficulty, with Beth sacrificing
her paddles to jump to the side with one boat and me
getting a vine wrapped around my paddles and BA on
the opposite side of the river with the other boat.
We ended up in the less than ideal situation of being
in two groups, separated by jungle-covered cliff with
about an hour of daylight left. Beth and I gathered up
some overnight things and set off upstream.
Unfortunately it got too dark and too steep for us to
carry on so we spent the night on a cliff attempting to
sleep whilst worried about how the others were
getting on and about the potential creepy crawlies in
the jungle with us (especially after seeing a giant
centipede!). We set off again as soon as it was light
and thankfully, after a bit more jungle bashing, we were
all reunited, feeling pretty broken (the others had
experienced an equally nervous night, attempting to
sleep three in a hammock in wet gear).
Generous hospitality
Despite these problems we all had a fantastic trip and
there were many highlights of our trip in addition to
the kayaking. The people in Sulawesi were incredibly
generous and made us feel so welcome. Whilst on the
Massupu, we were invited into the home of a lovely
Indonesian man who spoke no English. He let us cook
on his stove and sleep under mosquito nets on his
floor. He even wanted to share his food with us –
such generous hospitality from someone who has so
little (although, despite living in a shack in the jungle,
he did have a TV!).
We ended up in the less than ideal situat
separated by jungle
Massupu Indonesian
Man's house Susan Doyle