The KZN course is a 2 day affair, hosted & run on the Umkomaas River, up at HellaHella. For the ECCU members, also a 2 day event, run & hosted on the Fish River, at Cradock. This course is now becoming mandatory for the likes of all marine safety service providers and of course our union & club safety officers.
Course is broken down into 4 parts, as follows:
Saturday morning, a 4hr off-river theory session going thru paddling equip, safety equip, river features, safe zones, hazards, swimming, wading, throw bags, ferry gliding, eddy hoping, get & scout principle.
Saturday afternoon, a 4hr on river practical session on 2man croc's, experiencing the above.
Saturday evening, a 1hr summary and post session follow up
Sunday morning, a 2.5hr off-river theory session going thru rescue vs recovery, options, assessed risk and principle of self, group, victim & equipment principle.
Sunday afternoon, a 3.5hr on-river practical session on 2man croc's, experiencing the above.
Sunday afternoon, a 1hr post course summary and closing session.
Can tailor make/structure a course, whereby the 2 off-river theory sessions are catered for in 1 day at a another facility, then the 2 on-river practical sessions are conducted in 1 day. This saves cost by way of no accom/catering etc.
In terms of the KZN course, accommodation & catering is supplied y the Hella Hella Adventure Centre, where all is supplied, even the presention aids, conference rooms. The on-river equip, i.e. the 2man croc's are also supplied. Cost, (a very minimal one at that) of the course covers 1 night accom, 3 meals, teas/coffee's, course material & certification and the on-river 2man croc's.
A paddler must bring own paddle, high buoyancy rated life jacket, helmet, river type shoes, paddling apparel, on-river juice/snacks, towel and a good sense of humor. I can supply equip if required. Value to the paddler going thru this course is tremendous; in short, it’s life saving....the results speak for themselves. Sections of river run include from class 2, up to class 4 rapids, river levels & section dependent. The safety first, safety always and NO compromise principle is strictly followed.
In terms of qualifications I have the following:
River guide certified in 1978, on the Zambezi, with the Rhodesian chapter of the Zambezi Rafting & Kayaking Federation. Guided for 3yrs.Have been a member of KNCU since 2000. Have been hosting the swift water courses since 2008, when I took over both the regional & national safety officer portfolio's. Have subsequently run, to date, no less than 61 courses and have been on 2 more river guide courses since. Am passionate about river safety and ensuring enjoyment during the river experience is key. I have registered an NPO, KZN Kayak & River Safety School, which will afford paddlers the opportunity to up-skill thru the kayaking (use of plastic sit-on & sit-in types) discipline. Focus is on schools, paddling clubs and commercial operators. In terms of entities that have attended the courses, they are NSRI, NAVY, METRO, ER24, Berg Protection, Sani Mountain Rescue, Coastal rescue, members from Nelson Mandela Municipal University and of course, the CSA unions, i.e. KNCU, ECCU, CDCU, GCU & WCCU
Contact: Rob Hill
CSA Safety Officer
+27 (0) 83 636 1315