Umgeni River – Albert Falls Dam to Wartburg road bridge

This is a popular practise section for K1-paddlers in KwaZulu-Natal.

  • Ideal for: K1
  • Grade: 1 to 2
  • Length: 16km
  • Duration: 2 to 3 hours
  • Type: Long pools, small rapids
  • Put-in: Below dam wall
  • Take-out: Wartburg road bridge
  • Dam controlled: Albert Falls Dam
  • Permits: None

Map 34

Just below the put-in is the Albert Falls weir, which can be shot on the extreme left. 4 km of class 1 rapids and a few channels follow till reaching the Greytown bridge. Below the Greytown bridge the river is even flatter for another 5km, before a section of nice class 2 rapids. The last few kilometres are flat again, called the Gum Trees flats.


This river description is taken from my book “Run the Rivers of Southern Africa”.
If you have any pictures or recent information on this section of river to share, please contact me:
blog@cellierskruger.com
I appreciate any contributions to keep this content up-to-date.