Kayakers return from 'once in a lifetime' expedition down the turbulent waters of the Himalayan 'Kali Sarda' River

Six intrepid Sixth Formers and three members of Hurst’s teaching staff have just returned from what one of the students called ‘once in a lifetime challenge’. In all, the party spent 7 days kayaking and rafting, 2 on the Ganga and 5 on white water stretches of the Kali, battling with large rapids and numerous hazards.

The party arrived in Delhi as half term began and, boarding a four wheel drive coach, travelled the 220 kilometres or so to an acclimatisation campsite on India’s Holy river, the Ganga (or Ganges, as it is more commonly known in Britain). There they spent three days acclimatising themselves to the heat and the altitude, checking and testing their equipment and honing their boat skills and water awareness.  Critically, the party gained additional fitness and immediate white water experience working nearby stretches of the river including two big rapids, the internationally renowned Grade 4 (very difficult) ‘The Wall’ at Byasi and the thrashing waves of the ‘Golf Course’, so called because of its many “holes” that can easily ensnare a kayak.

“After three days” said Fred Simkins, Hurst’s Head of Outdoor Education “I felt that the party had bonded extraordinarily well and gained more than enough experience of harsh river conditions to enable us to begin the expedition proper. We broke camp and travelled for two days by jeep and train (including a night train journey – an experience in itself) to the village of Pithrograth on the banks of the Kali Sarda river on which the real adventure was to begin.”

The upper reaches of the Kali are, in effect, the border between India and Nepal. It runs through a valley wilderness with virtually no access – beyond the river itself – to the outside world. The few bridges along its route are used by villagers walking long distances to gain access to the roads that will take them to distant towns.

“In all” said Fred Simkins “we travelled about 120 kilometres over the five days using support rafts and our personal kayaks”. “Two river professionals travelled with us (Stuart Woodward of Canoe Control and Vaibhav Karla, the greatly respected Indian Adventurer) so we had an experienced adult/student ratio of 1-1, vital if we encountered any major problems. There was a deal of extreme – occasionally quite hairy – white water kayaking, sometimes under conditions where the path ahead was difficult to identify from water level but every one of the Hurst students acquitted themselves with distinction. Each one learned a great deal about themselves and, as a group, they learned to face very real challenges and work as a team to achieve their goals.”

“It was an extraordinary journey” commented Hurst student James Turzynski from Hassocks “and the overall experience was just incredibly rewarding. For five days, we were totally immersed in life on the river and had no way of contacting the outside world. Each one of us faced some quite daunting situations and we were all washed out at least once, so there were some pretty big swims! We witnessed a riverside funeral, saw an extraordinary variety of wildlife from leopards and snakes to giant spiders and of course fish! We spent time in Sikh and Hindu temples, visited a local school and were able to give them paper and books that we had brought with us.  We camped out every night on the river beaches where we were visited by sacred cows and endured being pelted with all sorts of things by monkeys howling from the riverside trees. We saw the real beauty of India, marvelled at the juxtaposition of ancient and modern and became aware at first hand of some of the real poverty that can be found in every village, town and city. I have learned much from this expedition and wouldn’t have missed it for the world”.

“This trip was enormously valuable in all sorts of ways for those lucky enough (and who trained hard enough) to join the expedition” commented Hurst Headmaster, Tim Manly. “I would, however, like to point up one aspect of the journey. We have been told that this is the first time that a school party has undertaken a kayaking trip on the upper Kali Sarda. In a world that is becoming increasingly risk averse, we maintain the view that it is important to give young people the experience to understand, evaluate and manage risk. This trip is just one example – albeit a particularly exciting one – of the ways in which the school approaches this issue.”