Since my first trip to Uganda in 2005 i’ve been out here every Winter and Katya likewise, it really is a playboaters dream Winter playground.

Last Winter we decided to take a break from Uganda and headed for a month in Galicia/ Portugal instead.

So in the two years since we were last here a lot has changed on the river with the finishing of the Silverback dam. Undeterred however, me, Katya and Bren Orton decided to escape the cold and dryness of the UK and the harsh Siberian winter.

For myself and Katya we really just wanted to get on warm, perfect waves, relax in the tropical environment, watch the animals and nature thats so abundant here and feast on the many delicious fruits.

You can get the best banana’s, papaya, pineapples & passion fruit in the World and many other tasty fruits; some unusual like Jack fruit and others more common like watermelon, all so fresh, ripe and tasty, perfect for our diet we eat a raw diet of mostly fruits, so here it’s like a banquet for us.

The two waves we’ve spent our time on so far are Nile Special & Malalu.

Nile Special you’ve probably seen a 1000 times but at the right levels its a really sick wave you can go huge on, its not the easiest wave in the World to surf as it can be a bit violent but when it greens out you get a perfect ramp to throw whatever you’d like off of it.

When Special gets too foamy and the level starts to rise Malalu a big soft mostly green wave forms 40minutes paddle downstream. Very friendly and soft and in the evenings when it gets high and the wave gets steep and green it’s one of my favourite waves in the World.

Having spent the few weeks before I came here battling it out alongside Bren at a cold and deserted Holme Pierrepont in Nottingham it’s so sweet to be out here with Katya on the waves I really love to paddle and best of all no thermals are necessary.

Between sessions we’ve been loving life on the second island at the Hairy Lemon campsite. It’s pretty special here as we are the only ones on this bit of the island and because of that the animals shelter there and enjoy the peace.

Every day we are treated to the sight and sounds of the birds, monkeys & monitor lizards going about their daily routines. In the evenings across the little channel of river from us a rare African Finch Foot bird has been roosting! It’s a bit like being in a Wildlife documentary, I love it!

Bren, Palm’s junior star has been paddling so well out here too, he’s really getting the waves dialled in and his paddling is going pretty sick! i think he has 4 more weeks here and is pretty fired up to run some of the bigger rapids too having already been showing some of the other guys down Itanda so look out for more from him when he gets back to the UK.

Just before I came out here I drove down to Palm HQ to pick up some summer kit for the trip out here and they had a few new items to give to us to check out too;

The Paw Shoe and the Vortex Jacket

The Paw shoe is pretty much a dream for Playboaters, as lightweight and slimline as a neo sock but with a thin sole to protect your feet, we’ve been running around rough rocks everyday and squeezing into our boats and they’ve held up great to our abuse, pretty sick bit of kit for Playboaters like us.

The Vortex is a new lightweight cag that has been ideal out here to whack on over the top of my deck as it’s a bit too hot for my normal zenith shortie and I hate just paddling in a deck as too much water always gets in whatever I try (not fat enough to fill the gaps So the vortex has been an ideal lightweight solution for me and has so far kept the water out of my boat and not made me feel like i’m going to pass out in the heat every time I have a long ride.

Off to Jinja today to go get fast net and see some of our old friends at Nile River Explorers where I used to work and then paddling in paradise again tomorrow.

It’s also worth mentioning the rapids for paddlers wishing to head out here now the dam is in.

Although there is no Silverback section anymore there is a cracking section of 50? km of river full of rapids and waves still here.

With the constant high water the big rapids like Dead Dutchman, Itanda, Hypoxia and Kalagala are at perfect levels and are getting ran very regularly by those who want to push themselves in that direction and of course there are plenty of nice grade 3 and 4 rapids and smaller waves as well as holes along the Day 2 stretch of river.

Anyhow bye for now,

Pringle & Katya

One of my favourite things about being at home is finally getting to go paddling with my Dad and the Canoe Club I started out Kayaking with. Wigan Canoeing Group.

My Dad started paddling in his fifties. It was about the same time that I started paddling white water and his idea was that he’d be able to keep an eye on me…It didn’t quite work that way but ever since he and his usual paddling partner Bob have been out every weekend they can

It’s only a few days till i’m off out to Uganda to meet back up with Katya and get on some warm waves and since being at home from mid December I hadn’t managed to get out paddling with my Dad.

So today me and my Dad together with Chris, Oscar & David from the club went off to the Lake District; one of the most beautiful areas in the UK to go paddle the River Duddon & the Kent.

Both are two of my favourite runs in the Lakes for the scenery on the Duddon and the Kent for a fun short blast to the take out. These were both some of my earliest white water trips so it brings back fond memories to be on them and especially nice to share that with my Dad.

Having spent my time in the UK indoor at the boatshow in a pool or at HPP on the ww course in Nottingham it was very refreshing to be out in the wilds of the Lakes again.

Every time I paddle with my dad he has improved considerably since the last time I paddled with him (quite often its been up to 6months- a year between trips together) really fun to see how his confidence and skills improve.

Anyhow here is a couple pics from the day, long may my Dad and the Canoe Clubs exploits continue! Hope to get some stuff online in Uganda but you never know how fast internet is possible their so it might be a few months till the next blog

Pringle

Wrap Up of our time putting on the Kayak Display at the 2012 London Boat Show and all that was on during the show.

Our demo was on for 15 minutes twice a day so this gave us plenty time to run around the show in-between demo’s to find all the activities you could try and cause a bit of chaos amongst the Yachting crowd It’s amazing what people will let you do when you have a Camera.

Filmed by: James Bebbington, Bren Orton & David Bain
Edit by: James Bebbington RiverZoo.com

Paddlers:- Bren Orton, David Bain, James Bebbington, Claire O’Hara, Mallory Franklin & Anton Lippek.

Kayak Show Organised by Rob Harris Commentated by Ed Smith & Christian Stevenson.

Pringle

Last summer my buddy Bren Orton had the idea to shoot a little vid on Tryweryn, This was the first session we had on the Top Hole there.

For those who don’t know Tryweryn, it’s a fun dam released river, near Bala in North Wales. I started out kayaking on this river and did my 1st flat spins and cartwheels here.

It’s often over looked for play boating but is actually an awesome little river that’s fun to run down and has some sick little waves and holes surrounded by green lush, welsh countryside.

Thanks to Bren for the sweet clip!

More from the boat show soon,

Pringle

This last week we’ve been paddling hard on flatwater….It is for good reason though We’re at the London Boatshow at the Excel Centre.

Myself, Bren Orton, Claire O’hara, Mallory Franklin, Anton Lippek, & David Bain are putting on twice daily shows of freestyle & slalom on the watersports pool commentated by Ed Smith & Christian Stevenson along with our little video clips on the big screen.

Pretty weird surrounded by all these big yachts to be in a 1m deep pool showing off freestyle!

This year we don’t get to use the ramps & cable tow set up like last year but we have been doing daily talks on whitewater, freestyle & slalom to give the visitors the opportunity to fins out more on our sport, how they can get started and where it could take them.

Here is a clip from last years show by Bren:-

With 4 days left of the show we’re putting together some video interviews & other bits to check out daily, yesterday we shot Bren’s one, hold out until the end to see the outtakes….

If you want to check out the display we’re on at 12:15 & 15:00 daily until the show finishes on Sunday 15th of Jan.

Anyway enough talking, here are some photos from around the show and a walk around Londons sights.

Pringle

P.S. Big Thank you to Rob Harris for organising the whole thing

Additional Photos by Bren Orton & Rob Harris

Already this year was the best of my life, but it got to a whole new level a few weeks ago. I finally married the girl I loved from first sight!

We decided to get married a long time ago but we had first to beat all the issues & complications of an International marriage and finally we did this, so we came to bring our families to Thailand to celebrate with us.

Our parents had never met before, so we decided to make it a week long holiday for them in a place we and they had both never been before. It had to be warm, with ocean, lots of fruits, more beautiful nature and less people. That is why we chose Phi-Phi Island in Thailand and arrived two weeks before our families to surf a bit, plan everything and find the best location for ceremony.

We decided if we make a ceremony make it our way & by our self: simple and personal. We designed rings combining our ideas with Katyas art skills, she also made dress herself. We wrote the text of the ceremony for Katya’s sister to read. Once on the island we searched all over and found the site out of our imagination rather than reality when we climbed out from the jungle that covers most of the area onto a clean beautiful beach with a coral reef just 15m out.

First though as is Russian tradition I had to do a quest to win my Bride from her family so its not too easy, I had to learn many Russian words for it! Katya’s sister Toma orchestrated the ceremony and my brother held out the rings for us, Toma’s husband took a few good pictures of us getting married, but as soon as we done we played with camera ourself.

Dinner of tropical fruits and seafood on a beach was accompanied by Mother Nature celebration – we were given a huge storm and unusually high tide, which in Russian superstition especially good signs of wealth and fertility. This week with families brought everyone closer together and Rita (Katya’s niece) even cried when we had to leave. Families went home, but we didn’t!

We flew to Bali to explore new country and do some more surfing. Bali turned our to be one of the most beautiful and most welcoming place we ever been to. Paradise like landscapes, world class surf all over the place, big variety of tastiest fruits, rich ancient culture, magnificent birds and wild life, community with a high level of awareness and peaceful atmosphere make us seriously consider Bali as future home.

Pringle & Katya

Russian families who live in the cities have Dacha’s (summer houses) away from the City. Most of this houses I’ve seen are built by their owners hands and they grow most of their own food there too. Visiting Katya’s families Dacha has been the highlight of my trip so far.

Katya’s Dad showed me around his family Dacha, the community surrounding it, and the river that runs next to it. You can see straight away how much time and effort has gone into what he has built with his own hands. He is proud of what he’s created & has a very strong connection with the land. Here away from the City you can really feel the freshness of the air.

Each Dacha has a building for living, Banya (Russian sauna) and a garden for growing all types of Vegetables, Berries & Fruit. What is so amazing to me is that every Dacha is a reflection on the owners soul, personality and skill! They are all built by themselves and are all unique and different. Coming from the UK where the planning laws restrict and kill this creativity its so interesting for me to see how its encouraged and flourishes here.

In the evening we went for a Banya, which is a Russian Sauna. It’s a way to wash but also its very good for relaxation & health. Its heated up using a wood burning stove.

When you go inside you throw water that has been heated with mint leaves, birch & pine tree branches on the hot stones. The smell is delicious.

You go in, sit there until you feel too hot then go throw some cold water on yourself or go to the River to cool off. You go back inside, someone takes a bundle of birch branches from a bucket of hot water and hits you with them all over your body. It feels so refreshing and relaxing and leaves you energised afterwards. Russians say that this process with the Birch branches heals your body and spirit.

I broke my Raw foodism for one evening to try some of the Mushrooms that Katya’s mum Olga had picked earlier in the year. For Dinner we also ate 2 kinds of salad, artichoke roots & leafs all picked in the Garden that day. Coming from the Uk where now we don’t really grow much for ourselves it’s very refreshing for me to see how much food they can get from the Dacha in a short Siberian summer.

Even now as winters coming and most stuff is already picked, eaten, dried or pickled their was still many cabbages left to be picked. So much so that they filled the whole back of Katya’s dad’s Landcruiser (big 4×4) and even left some bags behind.

Anyway, my Russian experience continues,

till next time,

Pringle

Pringle

So finally I have made it to Russia! I’m currently in Novosibirsk, the capital of Siberia, where Katya is from. My journey here took me to Riga in Latvia & to St Petersburg before I made it to Siberia.

Pringles in Russia

In St Petersburg Katya’s sister Toma and husband Andrey showed me around the City on a boat tour, is quite unusual as the rivers channels go in and around most of the Old City so on the tour you actually get quite close to a lot of the main buildings and monuments.

St Petersburg Boat Tour

View from the top of Isaakievskiy Cathedral

My favourite of the places I saw was the Isaakievskiy Cathedral. It was built 3 times on the same location in different forms. The front pillars have marks on them from a World War 2 bomb and goes to show a little of how much the city suffered during World War 2. The building has many fine sculptures and paintings on the walls & ceiling that have incredible detail & colour. The mosaic paintings alone took 65 years to be created by a team of top artists. The structures inside were also created using state of the art technologies. I don’t think you get this kind of dedication to details & elaborateness in the modern World.

In Novosibirsk I got to meet Katya’s whole family together for the first time and felt so easy to meet and get along with. Their relationship is much closer than British families I would say, actually I would say this about all relationships I have seen here even between friends the bonds seem much closer. Russians are very willing to help and do what they can for each other and even people they’ve just met.

Me with Katya’s Mum, Dad & Bothers Family

Katya has also shown me around the city centre, where she went to school, her old homes, the Zoo… is nice to have an idea now of where she grew up.

I really like the variety of fruits the shops sell here, we are quite close to Asia so you get some very good fruit and dried fruit, many varieties and in all sorts of odd shapes and sizes not like in the UK supermarkets.

One surprise for me is that now I’ve been here for about a week I can guess quite often what conversations are about and am recognising more and more words. Although pronouncing what I hear is still a big challenge for me

Click to view slideshow.

До следующей встречи из России,

Pringle