Scientists brave SA's mightiest river to kayak from source to sea

Abstract

Aquatic ecosystems When Irrigation Department Director, Dr Alfred Dale Lewis, explored the lower reaches of the Orange River in December 1913 he walked most of the 400 km-long journey in one of the hottest years on record. Now nearly a century later, three young researchers of the University of Cape Town (UCT) have completed a similar adventure, traversing South Africa’s mightiest river in kayaks from its source in the Lesotho mountains to its mouth on the West Coast of South Africa. Lani van Vuuren caught up with them following the completion of their 2 000-km journey. While not as substantial as its cousin, the Zambezi, to the north, South Africa’s largest river has always captured the imagination of those who gazed upon it. Local Khoi named it the Gariep, meaning ‘big water’ or ‘great river’ , while the San’s name for it meant ‘Dragon River’ . It was European commander, Colonel Robert Gordon, who gave the river its ‘royal’ name, naming the river after Dutch ruler, Prince William of Orange, 300 years ago.

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