Riverman
Accommodation Services in Parys

We run 1-4 day trips on the Vaal River, Tugela and Doring, Orange, and organise river expeditions on request. The Riverman – South Africa’s longest established whitewater rafting and kayaking operator, since 1982.

The pioneers of river rafting in South Africa remain the leading operators. Long before RIVERMAN was established as a touring operation, exploration was going on in remote areas where few had ever paddled. Our speciality was always whitewater and we have never used open Indian-style canoes. Until that time nobody had thought rivers could be rafted by tour groups: it seemed that flows were too unreliable, channels were too rocky, and nobody would want to try it anyway. I’ve been running rivers for years and have collected plenty of information about the many great routes, from easy wilderness waterways to wild, wild rapids in truly remote areas. A couple of decades ago, in remote corners of southern Africa, gaunt and ragged river-runners were seen to be experimenting with the concept of river touring by kayak and raft. We developed rafts and other equipment for waterproofing and river camping. At the start, people didn’t think you could paddle South African rivers for fun: the sport of canoeing was only for hardened Duzi competitors whose goal was to cram as much suffering into one day as they could. Rafting, kayaking and canoeing for fun became possible when we identified a number of great scenic trails on our rivers. Just take a look at the photo galleries and you’ll agree. Since the RIVERMEN, the industry has grown to cater for tens of thousands of thrill seekers and nature lovers every year. My girlfriend, then wife, Karen, also contributed imagination and wisdom to the Rivermen, and is a pretty good paddler too. Sons Brinyth and Emlyn both stuck with on the river in their formative years and have never quite recovered. Apart from these family heroes, there were canoeists like Deryck Armour, Wayne Nicol and Brian O’Regan, and a motley collection of wilderness guides, farmers, motor macs, soldiers of fortune and bywoners (hangers-on) who made it all happen. The river routes we pioneered then are incredibly popular today. I’ve kept abreast of developments, continuing to run trips myself and working with other trip leaders and operators when appropriate. A whole local industry of boat-building and accessories such as wetbags, lifejackets and helmets, has come into being. As a result of what we learnt about equipment and techniques, I’ve written two books on rafting technique and the world’s rivers. Both are available through Amazon.com and both have been translated into other languages including Czech, German and French. This area has been central to South African history and the crater blast was what buried and preserved the gold on which the country’s mineral wealth is built. Sooner or later we’ll land on Europa or Callisto, moons of Jupiter which are thought to have water under their icy surfaces. Across our front lawn is the picturesque and exciting Vaal. And every day finds us paddling the river, hiking or mountain biking. My first love remains adventure and the outdoors, and I’ll be happy to introduce you to all the things we love to do out there on the winding water highway.