First there were 20, then 15, then as day zero approached only 9 hardly souls swam down the river with me. Admittedly, the weather was not ideal, overcast, not a patch of blue in sky to cheer us on, but I think we all had a great day nevertheless.
We started our journey from Strawberry Hill, walking down a well-trodden path to the river. Without delay we enthusiastically jumped into the warmish water and swam, walked, waded and scrambled our way down the Kaaimans. The river level appeared to be higher than usual and the small rapids we encountered had a bit more force behind them, adding a little excitement to the trip. After the last long swim, we got out of the river under the N2 bridge in Wilderness. The total time to complete the swim was two hours, add half an hour for the walk down equals two and a half hours. If the weather had been kinder to us we would have been a lot more casual in our meander and stopped to smell the roses on the way.
Back to the cars and dry clothes, then Strawberry Hill to end the day with a braai shared with Bill and Di Turner. While we were having fun in the river Di and Bill took Sandy, Nicky and Sandra for a walk their Fern Trail.
The intrepid enthusiasts who shared the day with me and made it such an enjoyable one, were Greg and Janet Moore, Gillian Forbes, Alexis Aronson, Clive Louw, Stewart Stiles, Greg Devine and guest Tony Rebelo.
Cheryl Devine