Graeme Anderson was nice enough to take Seth Chapelle and myself down his backyard creek run after the Fluid Team trip to the Zambezi. The run is a short fun little section of class 3/4 whitewater in a steep canyon just outside Underberg, South Africa.

The run culminates in a 24+ ft. waterfall at the take-out of the run. The drop is known as Thrombosis Falls, or Thrombi as the locals call it. The drop is not all that hard, but there are two factors to consider on this drop. First is the small but very sticky hole about 8 ft. from the lip. You can either run through the hole on river right with a direct line off the lip or you can skirt the hole on river left and drive hard right just after the hole. Either way you want to end up just river left of the shallow rock at the lip. This brings us to consideration number two, the large undercut on river left at the base of the falls that the hole feeds into. This is why the line off the lip is so crucial.

(Graeme Freewheels Thrombi)

Graeme is an amazing boater and boats this creek and waterfall on a very regular basis. He threw a really sweet freewheel off the lip in his Small Flirt. Even though he threw the bow down a moment too early and hit the lip of the falls, he was able to complete the wheel with style. At the bottom of the falls he did manage to get munched by the hole a bit, but the hole decided to spit him out in the middle of the river after awhile. Seth and I were sure that Graeme had gone into the undercut when we saw him disappear in the hole, but luckily all was good.

(Bryon Small Solo Final Proto Testing)

After Graeme's working I was determined not to do the same. I aced the line past the hole on river left and ended up right were I wanted to be off the lip. I threw a small boof stroke and managed to clear the hole. The only problem was that I landed dead flat! The Solo really boofs easily!!! My back was sore for two days after that one. Luckily the next day was a non-boating day as we all celebrated Ross O'Donoghue's birthday.

I'd like to thank Graeme and Ross, as well as their families, for their amazing hospitality. The food, experiences, good sleep, and friendly company created for an amazing trip in South Africa.

See you on the river- Bryon Dorr