Fly Fishing the Orange River Drift Boat Experience

FOLLOW US @kalaharioutventures Our Mission As Kalahari Outventures we make it our mission to provide a complete wilderness fly fishing experience, targeting mainly Yellowfish in a section of the Orange River below the Augrabies falls. Drift Boat Experience

Drift Boat Fly Fishing Package (5days, 5nights) This exclusive Drift Boat trip covers a 40 km private stretch of the Orange River within the Kalahari Largemouth Yellowfish Conservancy where you will be professionally guided. The river passes through some of the most unspoilt landscapes in South Africa with untouched waters teaming with wild and untamed Yellowfish.

*Fly Fishing Only Overview

Season: May - October

Duration: 5 Nights, 4 Days fishing

Guests: 4 PAX

Drift: +/- 40kms

Cost : R15 495.00 pp (min 4 pax or we make up group to meet requirements) The Kalahari Outventures Drift Boat Experience is a trip for someone looking to either take a relaxed stress free float down the beautiful Orange River; or those who would consider themselves as a die hard fisherman. The drift is open to people of all ages and levels of fitness. You will be professionally guided through beautiful fly water as your guide navigates you downstream for 4 days of fishing for Largemouth and Smallmouth Yellowfish. You will predominantly fish from our specifically designed drift boats rigged with an electric motor and anchors to ensure we can get you onto the best fishing spots. Yellowfish ( Labeobarbus)

Yellowfish (scientifically known as Labeobarbus) are a mid-sized ray- finned, scaled fish that is widely distributed throughout Eastern and especially Southern Africa.

In the Orange River system the Smallmouth Yellowfish (Smallies) Yellowfish species that occur are (Labeobarbus aeneus) the Smallmouth Yellowfish and the Largemouth Yellowfish.

Other species of fish include: Orange River Mudfish, Sharp-toothed Largemouth Yellowfish (Largies) Catfish, Blue Tilapia, Southern (Labeobarbus kimberleyensis) Mouth-brooder, Carp and numerous minnow species.

ALL FISHING FOR YELLOWFISH IS STRICTLY CATCH AND RELEASE. The Fishing

Fishing Season Fly fishing for Yellowfish on the Orange River is very dynamic, there July-November are many ways to fish in many March-April/May different types of fly water. You can Conditions permitting fish for numbers by nymphing in the rapids or you could target the bigger fish by swinging streamers in the deeper pools. Each day on the water the river changes and your approach will change too. Our guides will do their best to vary the type of water you fish and make sure you will be in the right spot at the right time.

Fact File • Yellowfish have amazing eyesight • Smallmouth Yellowfish are predatory fish and will feed on baitfish and bigger swimming insects • The Sharped-toothed Catfish is the apex predator in the Orange River • Largemouth Yellowfish like to feed in low light conditions • Largemouth Yellowfish can grow up to 30lbs How it all works

Your trip is fully catered, we will provide 3 meals per day as well as sundowner snacks. The trip is designed that you can maximize your fishing time and our crew will ensure to make it as hassle free as possible. Your bags will be transported downstream on our porter boats whilst you fish downstream to the camp sites with your fishing guide. Your camp will be set up and ready by the time you arrive after a long day on the water. There is 1 fishing guide per 2 fishermen. The Drift Boats Kalahari Outventures was the first company to do professionally guided drifts of this type on the Orange River. Our guides go through training and are qualified according to APA river guide standards. Our rafts are registered with SAMSA and the company complies with The drift boats used are 5 man annual surveys and protocol. white-water rafting boats which we have customized into comfortable fishing rafts. Two fisherman are able to comfortably stand and fish from the front and the back while a guide sits in the middle controlling the drift on oars. The boats are rigged with an electric motor and battery which lasts the full drift, with this we are able to cruise the flats and maximize fishing time. In the boats we have a dry storage compartment for your extra rods, bags or loose items. A custom built cooler box acts as a seat for the person fishing off the front and keeps your drinks close at hand throughout your trip. Anchors are rigged to help the guides set you up in prime fishing spots. You will be able to fish while sitting on anchor or as you drift. Arrival Day Day 3

Meet Desert a Farmhouse at around 16h00. Check into rooms, enjoy an Another morning session can be enjoyed informal briefing. Gear up before having around the camp waters, before enjoying a dinner around the campfire in the boma delicious cooked breakfast. Spend the day under a canopy of stars. drifting down Mudfish Highway after lunch at the Hot springs. A nice long pool leads you to Beeskop camp. You can fish until Day 1 dark before returning to camp for a fines evening and mouth- watering Roast Lamb Wake up to an early breakfast before we dinner. depart on a short drive for 20 km's in our Safari vehicle. A Short cruise on the trolling motors takes you into no mans land. Spend the day drifting and exploring the river. Fish until sunset where the crew will be waiting with a blazing fire, snacks and Day 4 camp.

More fishing before you hit the final rapid - Day 2 we call it Graduation. Lunch along the way before we reach our take-out point late The day starts at sunrise with coffee and a afternoon where transport awaits to campfire. Enjoy a morning fishing session return you to base, a blissfully hot shower around the camp waters before returning and dinner at the Desert Farmhouse. for breakfast. Depart on a slow drift Depart early the next morning. downstream, spend the afternoon fishing down towards the famous Margate beach, your next campsite. A shower will be set *Please note that schedules and camps may vary up for anyone who may fancy a wash while as guides like to customize trips to needs and Steaks are prepared and a Catfish wants of the clients. competition gets underway to add to the evening’s fun. Tutwa Manor House

Our sister company, Tutwa Desert Lodge hosts us on the beautiful Southern Cross Private Nature Reserve. We make use of a desert farmhouse as our base camp off the river. You will have your own room with an en-suite bathroom in the house. On the evening of arrival we have a great space to relax and do the last preparations for your trip. We will prepare a traditional kalahari braai under the desert night sky as we chat about the days that lie ahead.

Amenities include WiFi, air conditioning, En-suite bathrooms, DSTV, a bar (not stocked), ice and good company. OUR RIVER CAMPS

We take pride in our eco friendly wilderness camps set up along the banks of the Orange River. We do our best to provide a comfortable fully serviced camp, set up by our trained camp crew before your arrival at camp in the evenings. We provide What we take in, we take out. all basic camping necessities such as tents, waterproof bags, ice, camp chairs, mattresses, toilets, and wash up facilities. All camps are completely packed up and moved each day, we leave nothing but ash from the fire and our footprints on the river banks.

All your gourmet meals are prepared by our professional camp cook on an open fire next to the river. More on our camps

You will be welcomed to a beautifully set up camp site with snacks on the bar table and a quick introduction to the specific camp. We set up a loo with a view and washing up facilities. You will have a single tent with a camping stretcher and mattress made up with clean sheets. Tents are usually set up without a cover to give you the experience of sleeping under the stars but still be protected from insects. A bar table with all your drinks will be set up and ice will be available. Our camp crew would have carried your bags throughout the day and left them outside your tent waiting for you. OUR Guides

Our professional fly fishing guides are there to make this the experience of a life time. They will be your hosts Our guides practice high levels of conservation ethics on the trip and guide you down Catch and release fishing only. 40kms of our pure wilderness fishery. Our guides have been trained on the section of river that they will be guiding you through; they know the water better than anyone. Your guide will ensure that you have the best possible chance of catching the fish of a lifetime.

All of our fishing guides have been trained in river safety and have first aid qualifications.

The guides on our drift boat expedition will provide personal guidance each day on the river. There will be one guide per 2 clients. OUR crew

Our crew operates like clockwork. We take pride in providing a highly experienced logistics team who have been trained by Craig Eksteen, owner of Kalahari Outventures who has been running trips down the Orange River for over 20 years. The crew work as a team to ensure your experience on and off the river is as hassle free and enjoyable as possible.

All our crew members are trained in river safety and take your safety as a top priority.

Our crew will provide a high level of service on the drift boat experience and will ensure your trip feels like a holiday. A CALEO CAPITAL ENVIROMENTAL INVESTMENT The project aims are to use responsible, sustainable, and fully guided catch and release fly fishing, in conjunction with support from local land owners, and conservation bodies to protect an uninterrupted 70km section of Orange River, with the intention to establish a truly world class blue ribbon fly fishing experience.

*Please note – The conservancy requires a R250pp conservation fee for any trip running in the Kalahari Largemouth Yellowfish Conservancy Terms & Conditions

• Bookings are secured by means of a 50% deposit and work on a first come first serve basis.

• Cancellations made less than 180 days prior to the start of the trip, will forfeit the 50% deposit, unless dates can be resold, in which case a 10% admin fee will apply.

• All cancellations must be received in writing and is effective from the date that it is received by Kalahari

• In the event Kalahari cancels the trip the client may receive a full refund or choose to move his tour to a later available date.

• If you fail to join a tour, or join after departure, or leave before the completion of a tour no refund whatsoever will be given.

• It is highly recommended that trip cancellation Insurance is obtained with your travel Insurance Policy at the time of booking.

• INSURANCE - Comprehensive travel, medical, baggage, money and cancellation insurance are compulsory on all Kalahari Outventures tours. This is the clients’ own responsibility and should be arranged in your country of origin. We Supply: Tents, camp chairs, mattresses, cutlery and crockery, all catering, teas, coffees, snacks, ice, camp crew, Pro- Fishing Guides, First Aid Kit, Waterproof Drybags, Coolerboxes. • MEDICAL EVACUTATION it is imperative that all clients have You Bring: Sleeping bag, Pillow, headlamp, personal clothes and medications, Insect repellent, Fishing equipment, adequate travel and medical insurance that includes medical Bottled water, Softdrinks, Beers, Wine and Spirits. evacuation from point of injury. We strongly recommend you obtain Additional: Cash for items of a personal nature from the Satellite Fly Shop, Photos from Guides, Gratuities. this through Global Rescue - http://www.globalrescue.com who are Please remember to bring additional drinks for your first night at base and if you plan to stay over after the trip. There is world leaders and are strongly linked with the fishing travel industry. no Cash bar. Kalahari Outventures

Company Profile and History

Kalahari Outventures is a professional Adventure Safari company that pioneered the first true wilderness drift boat fly fishing safari in South Africa. Our aim has always been to enhance the tourism potential of the area below Augrabies Falls, create a sustainable eco-tourism project and protect the environment. In 2010 we did a joint launch with the ROAMFREE initiative and Wildfly fishing Series to launch catch and release fishing and promote River Conservation here on the lower Orange. We created a sustainable fly fishing product that opened up personalized wilderness trips on the Orange River into the Green Kalahari Desert. We partnered with Southern farms and Raap en Skraap and have successfully managed to protect the stretch of river from Schuitdrif down to Raap en Skraap. This project has been a huge success, through controlling access on Private land and monitoring the river on a weekly basis. Illegal fishing, pirate river operators and gill nets have all been stopped and this stretch of river now remains pristine and untouched. Landowners now also have the comfort of nobody accessing their farms without permission and/or control. Trips are small and exclusive, making for an intimate outdoor experience with minimal impact to the environment. We pride ourselves in creating amazing wilderness experiences in the Northern Cape. We follow the strictest of ethical practices in sustainable tourism and have recently launched the Kalahari Largemouth Yellowfish Conservancy. nO PASSPORTS NEEDED –~NO RIVER TRAFFIC –~NO CELLPHONE RECEPTION ~PURE WILDERNESS~WILD & UNTAMED Self- Paddle Experience

Self Paddle Fly Fishing Package (4days, 4nights) This exclusive Drift Boat trip covers a 40 km private stretch of the Orange River within the Kalahari Largemouth Yellowfish Conservancy. You will be hosted by a Kalahari guide as you self navigate your way through this untouched stretch of fly water. The river passes through some of the most unspoilt landscapes in South Africa that is teaming with wild and untamed Yellowfish.

*Fly Fishing Only Augrabies Full day X- stream Fly Fishing Experience

Guided Full Day Fly Fishing This trip covers some unique stretches of the Orange River. Your Fishing trip begins around Augrabies, which is the prefect base to access some of the best fishing in the area. You have the opportunity to have 1 on 1 instruction daily from our expert fishing guides. Most fishing will be done on foot.

Disclaimer - Subject to the availability of fishing guides during the fly fishing season ”A fish of a thousand casts,0a thousand stories, a thousand flies and a million dreams”

- Anonymous Guide

CALL US NOW +27 (0) 82 476 8213 P.O. Box 781, Kakamas, Northern Cape, 8870 [email protected] www.kalahari-adventures.co.za

FOLLOW US @kalaharioutventures