Day three of the Berg River Canoe Marathon

At nearly 80 km, this is by far the longest day for both seconds and paddlers.  Those who have camped overnight can usually be found huddled around the remaining embers of the bonfire that was lit the previous evening. Some stand close in the hopes of drying still wet gear just before the start.

The mood is somber as the early-batch paddlers get ready to go onto the water. The rest will leave in a big batch half an hour later, the big guns line up first and the rest fill in behind. A line of cars hits the road as the seconds leave Bridgetown and head towards Moorreesburg onto the N7 and on towards the spectacular Misverstand Dam (so named due to the misunderstanding regarding Bridgetown's bridge - similar stories and can be found here).

On the slopes of the hill alongside the dam wall the seconds gather again to stand and wait in glorious sunshine, watching expectantly up river for the flash of paddles, as the crashing water rumbles over the dam wall to their left.

Excited shouts alert you to the fact that the paddlers are making their way in a V shape across the dam (not unlike migrating birds). They sprint towards the bank, where they get out and run to the other side of the wall. The top paddlers run up the hill at breathtaking speed as you try to shove a banana in their mouths without jeopardising the race - or getting trampled over. 

The slower paddlers arrive and ramble up the hill at a much more sedate pace smiling and joking as they snack and refuel.


 

The road becomes a caravan of cars winding down the road to the red metal bridge . This 110 metre (347 ft) steel girder bridge may fit the Berg River perfectly, but it was originally intended to be used in Australia. When the vessel transporting it stopped in Cape Town for repairs, a larger boat equipped with a crane on board removed the bridge from the deck so they could carry out the repairs, but had already left the harbour when they were completed and it was too much of a mission to put it back on the boat. It was left in Cape Town harbour, and later transported here. The caravan winds all the way along the wheat fields back towards Piketberg and all the way to Moravia weir. This is one of the most exciting spots to watch as the paddlers shoot under the bridge and into the fast flowing water. A past berg has seen the top two paddlers (Graeme Solomon and Jacques Theron) both capsize here, and Graeme doing a spectacular deep water vault into his boat).

  

I missed out the Sanddrif/Tuindrift viewpoints totally this year, as the road was slippery and I wanted to beat the rush to Zoutkloof so I could watch the winners coming in to the finish. It was well worth it - a spectacular sprint by Graeme and Hank saw the rest left far behind.