For those of you heading out to Morocco later in the season, your river crew have just arrived in Marrakech to what we hear are sunny temperatures and plenty of snow in the mountains. Steve Hammond, has been to the river and says there are excellent levels, so get ready for some fun in the sun. Many of our guests have enjoyed tracking the crew on their trip to Morocco and you can still follow the progress of the trips on the river. The crew had plenty of adventures on the way to Morocco, including picking up some charity hitchhikers from Kings Medical College in London who were trying to get as far away from London as possible in 36 hours. They were collected near Dover in the UK and 36 hours later were dropped in Malaga Airport to get home! They could not believe their luck! Through Spain the crew experienced driving snow, so the welcome warmth of Morocco was pretty well received. Hope you can join them for a trip later on in the season, either rafting or kayaking, which runs through until June.
13 “Wet Dreams” For 2013
Like many of us, we all make resolutions at New Year to “do something new” or try something different this year. With January almost gone, how is your adventure planning going for 2013? We hope that this list of the world’s greatest river based adventures will stir you into action. 1: The Big One – The Mighty Zambezi: Simply the most fun, big water river trip in the world. The season to run the multi-day section of the Zambezi is from late July until November. The Zambezi, has the best and warmest whitewater on the planet. Trips range from 4-7 days and start under the magnificent Victoria Falls and conclude with a flight over them by helicopter before you are dropped at your hotel. Add a multitude of activities from luxury safari to relaxing in the Devils Pool. Stunning beaches to camp on, great weather… 2: The Classic – The Grand Canyon: It IS the most famous river trip in the world. And with good reason. Our rafts allow us access to this stunning place, where time feels like it stands still and you float beneath the canyon walls, with it’s shadows and “moods”. A trip down the Colorado River … Continue reading
Zambezi season 2011 off to a great start!
Despite the Nyami Nyami giving us a little too much water for the beginning of the season, our first few trips have been fantastic! Having to get on at number 10 rather than number 1 didn’t stop Barbara and her family having loads of fun on our first Zambezi Blast trip to celebrate her 70th Birthday, under the watchful eye of Tembo they breezed all the way down to Moemba, no swims, loads of laughs, big smiles all round! We’ve sent three guides down to Zambia for the season his year, Steve from the UK, who’s fresh from our seasons in Morocco and Turkey, Andy from the US who you might have seen out in Morocco with us before, and was out on the Zambezi last year, and Anika, also from the US, proudly representing for the ladies and ripping it up in her kayak as well as in the rafts, they’re a great team and we’re really excited that they’ll be looking after you guys on each of our trips this season. Anika and Andy flew into town to guide our first seven day trip of the season, and were joined on the first few days by a fun … Continue reading
The Ultimate Expedition in Morocco
We have recently returned from Morocco with the Ripon Explorer Scouts on what can only be described as a truly inspiring expedition. This team of 15 and 16 year olds along with their scout leader and mentor Phil, had been fundraising for more than 2 years to take part in this expedition. With super market bag packing, letters to prominent businesses and people in the community and Céilidh for donations, they reached their target and left for Morocco in late March 2010 for their two week expedition. Phase one of the trip was an 8 day trans atlas crossing hiking from the Dades valley to the river put in point, La Cathedrale. The kids did the long 6-8 hour days, camping in remote Berber Villages along the way. Looking tired, but relieved they had made it, we met them by the side of the river to take part in the river portion of their trip. The river was relatively high, however Phil and the scouts, had spent a great deal of time on their paddling to get it up to scratch to paddle the Grade 3 Ahansel River. The Ahansel River is a gorgeous paddle through the heart of the … Continue reading
Rafting In Morocco – Who Can Do It?
Our team is now well and truly in the midst of our Morocco rafting season. But who rafts in Morocco and what different trips are on offer there? When many people picture Morocco, they think Sahara Desert and lets face it, the rafting wont be very good there! However Morocco is home to the Atlas Mountains and the wonderful rivers that feed from it. The best time to go to Morocco is in fact now in the spring when the run off is at it’s best, however rafting and kayaking can be done until late May when the Ahansel River gets too low to run. The Ahansel River is a perfect Grade 3 river, suitable for both first timers, families wanting to go rafting and seasoned rafters just wanting to go and explore a river off the beaten track. The river trips in Morocco are all of different lengths. Go for a “quick fix” and stay in our Berber Camps for just £210 for 3 days including a stop at Cascade D’Ouzoud, or take your time to raft the entire river from Cathedral to the lake on our Hidden Morocco trip. Water By Nature also offers kayaking trips for Grade … Continue reading
3600 Miles to the Coruh
Most people will do some sort of road trip in their lifetime. Some will do a road trip across their province or state and the lucky ones might drive across an entire country. If you work for Water By Nature, however, road trip takes on a whole new meaning. We don’t just traverse states and provinces and countries but entire continents. The latest WBN adventure was a road trip of epic proportions, a drive from Africa to Asia across the European land mass. Water By Nature runs a rafting and kayaking season in Morocco. It also operates a rafting season in eastern Turkey on a river called the Coruh. The seasons are back to back and the same equipment and guides are usually used for both seasons. Now, in order to get gear and people from Morocco to Turkey we drive our van and trailer across Europe. The exact route varies from year to year depending on whose driving and the intentional or unintentional detours those drivers take. But, in general, the drive starts in Morocco and crosses the Straits of Gibraltar into Spain. From Spain the crew drives along the Mediterranean coast across France and Italy to the Adriatic … Continue reading
Moroccan Madness
If you believe in karma you sometimes wonder what some creatures did in a previous life to deserve their present state. Questions like this riddle the brain when you travel in Morocco. For example, what creature deserved to be reincarnated as the Moroccan donkey that suddenly collapsed dead in front of my van under a load of two tonnes of cement causing a horrific traffic jam in Marrakech. An even more severe example are those who revisit this earth as Berber women, the hardest working souls in Northern Africa, whose husbands lounge in the tea and coffee shops sipping strong brews and generally do nothing. Yet another example of severe karmic debt repaid in Morocco are those Water By Nature guides who experienced the most difficult rafting and kayaking season to date. Morocco is a beautiful country with a rich culture, varied geography, and interesting people. It is a land that is not quite Africa and not quite Europe. Some say its Islamic roots classify it with the Middle East but even still its geographical displacement keeps it separated from this region as well. As a result, this No Man’s Land of a country is a unique destination. In addition … Continue reading
River Kayaking in New Zealand
Leaving the snow on the ground in Leeds Andy and Gill arrived in Christchurch to find a beautiful and sunny 27 degree day to start their 14 day kayaking trip in New Zealand. Being greeted by JJ and Isaac we loaded boats and headed for hills in search of water. We arrived at the Hurunui and set up camp next to the crystal clear water in time to watch the sun dropping behind the hills and have a few of NZ’s famous beers and wine with a chicken curry before retiring for the night to the sound of the river. We woke in the morning with NZ’s weather living up to it’s unruly name greeting us with some fresh wind and rain threatening just to make the poms feel at home and it was time for our first paddle. The Hurunui, Maori gully section is a fun class 3 gorge with some great warm up rapids plenty of eddies to catch, waves to surf, with a couple of bigger rapids to keep you honest with high gorge walls above you. It is amazing to think the Maori used this gorge as a route to carry their green stone from coast … Continue reading
Kayaking In Morocco?
Its about this time of the year that UK and European paddlers get itchy feet and want to jet off somewhere a little warmer for some fun in the sun. Fed from the Atlas mountains, the clear waters of the Ahansel River in Morocco provide the perfect escape! The perfect time to visit this exotic destination is March and April when the snow melts and feeds into the rivers. The trip is around 100 kilometres in length and makes for a comfortable 4 days paddling in the heart of Berber country. Drag your eyes from the river and you will be streated to stunning gorges and Kasbahs dotted across the hilltops. This year has seen record rainfall (and snow) so we can expect a long and water filled season. Your journey starts and finishes in the amazing city of Marrakech. This ancient town filled with history and fascinating culture is a feast for the senses. From the moment you arrive in the main square in the Medina (old town) you will be treated to sights, smells and sounds unique to Marrakech. Snake charmers, jugglers and story tellers entertain onlookers in the Djeema El Fna, alongside the many food stalls selling … Continue reading
