Hey! I only have a little experience with kayaking. I'm gonna take a year off and travel with my kayak, but I don't know where to go. I'm working as a raft guide on the second season and I'm looking for a place with commercial rafting as well. I have been thinking about Chile or Uganda, but when you're a 19 year-old girl on you own, these places might not be the best to visit...? So guys, if you have any tips about where to go, where not to go or other things that are important, let me know! It would also be cool to come in contact with you if you are thinking about to do the same. I'm gonna leave Norway in November 2007.

Maybe head down this way to New Zealand, not sure of the quideing seen but the rivers are awesome and the season is the opposite to the Northern Hemisphere

Heya!
Envy you a bit, taking of to guide and kayak... happy days
KayakSA pretty much covered it for Uganda, not much to add, exept for:
www.raftafrica.com, [mail address protected from spambots with javascript]
www.kayakthenile.com
There are couple of other companies there you might try to get hold of.
Ask if you need, I'll look up the details or contacts.
Beautifull place. If you are sensible - safe. Exelent water.
Have fun where ever you end up going!

D

It's a little late to be applying over here, but I would recommend the USA in general for a single 19 year old traveling alone. Wife has younger sisters and I think they would agree.

Rivers I'd recommend applying for work at are Chattooga, Ocoee, Nantahalla, Gaulley, Salmon, and Colorado. Doubtfull you'd get hired with only two years experience on the Salmon or Colorado, but how clients in rafts might respond to your personality goes a long ways and how you mix with other guides can make a difference. Definate bias FOR girls with slight language accents here in US. If it gives you an edge, it's no worse than using what ever other assets you were blessed with like intelligence. Women raft guides are usually in demand as raft companies tend to hire 50/50 if they have the qualified applicants, although they aren't cut much if any slack, and particularly by the other women guides. If you've guided for two years, you probably already knew that. Commercial raft seasons on Chattooga are mostly March through November with the fully staffed hiring May through September-October. Three companies licensed by the US Forestry Service there - Southeastern Expeditions, Nantahalla Outdoor Center, and Wildwater LTD. Gaulley is mostly a fall release river as it is a Corps of Engineers dammed ( think I spelled that right, although I used to use an \"N\") impoundment of Summerville lake, and they draw it down in the fall for \"flood control\". Bunch of companies that run there. Ocoee has a large number of raft companies and it tends to be more of a zoo and much less scenic and more amusement park quality. Too crowded for my tastes, but a fair place to play if you don't mind getting run over on a regular basis. Personally liked quality of life near the Chattooga enough to move there after college to work as engineer to be near it. Stayed there for 15 + years until plant shut down and we moved for other engineering and chemistry jobs. Feel free to ask me more questions about the area if it interests you. Mountains of North Carolina and northern Georgia are very pretty and just always felt like home to me.

Was Chattooga guide for 14 years full time and as weekend warrior after graduation from college and some 2000+ trips. I've been out of the raft guide loop mostly now for 20 years other than reunions and annual pigroasts, but raft guides in the US still don't make much money. It's better than it was in the 70's and 80's, but not by much. It's still a job for those who want to be paid to paddle, and for an excuse to be near the rivers of their choice, and the lifestyle. Have to say, years spent on the Chattoga and Gaulley were among my happiest. Proposed to my wife who was also a Chattooga guide, at the put-in to the Gaulley, and we took our delayed honeymoon kayaking down the Chattooga. Still married 27 years later come August. Live on lake now in NW Arkansas and paddle 120+ days per year 5 miles or more. Did 10 last night.

If you are ever out this way, come meet our 19 year old son and go kayaking with him or my wife and myself.

Eric Esche



East coast US has a nice variety of streams, creeks, and rivers to develop your kayaking skills on your days off. I personally thought that the Chattooga did more to hone my skills than any except Gaulley, and I never got to play there enough

the US and the Ottawa are good. ottawa is a bit cold in the winter/spring though....
Zambezi and Nile are excellent!!!!!!! But risky (e.g. malaria, violence, etc.)

Hi, africa is fine. especially Uganda. warm weather all year round, water volume is not a problem and the nile waves are super fun, local people is very friendly and it is pretty cheap to survive. kayakthenile is a cool company to organise your stuff.

South Africa is good for paddling if we have a good rain season which usually starts in September(paddling season starts). if there's no water(unlikely) there is the ocean with super surf. September - April is usually warm (20 - 30 C)Regarding safety it is risky if you're 19 year old female travelling alone and not knowing your way around. if you hook up with someone who know the system you'll be fine. I have loads of peacecor friends from all over the world working in south africa and they all find south africa to be a cool country. Zambezi is not that far from SA as well. there is a company called white water training which currently seek a guide/instructor. it is situated in parys(small safe town adjacent to Vaal river,100km from Johannesburg). they also run trips to different rivers all over south africa with competent/experienced paddlers, so it would be a great way to run different rivers and see the country. try the website www.whitewatertraining.co.za. the paddling community in SA is very small and it would be easy for you to meet allot of paddlers. Everybody in South Africa speaks english so thats not a problem at all

shout if you need any info/help
if you decide on africa, be ready for a massive culture shock

hi nini
i v been to uganda this winter and my experiences to share are: poeple are friendly in general, but you r sure very exposed as a soloing white girl...
working in uganda as a raft guide might not be as easy cause it seems as if there r enough guides around all the time. u also might ask yourself what to do on the nile with your paddling skills...most of the channels gonna be ways to hard for you to do. and getting smashed and injured on the nile is SURE not a thing i would head for!
the benefits of uganda are of course its beautiful and exotic nature, waaaaarm water and there r always paddlers around who might take you to the river.
if you decide to go to uganda...congrates, its very special, BUT: improve your paddling skills as far as possible while you are in norway this summer!!!!!!!!!!!!
been a skilled paddler just makes things much easier there. be aware that the relevant section of the white nile is only about 50km long and you r gonna be quite cut back in your freedom to run them if you r not an experienced paddler.
the white nile from my perspective is a freestyle paradies for skilled freestylers who wanna push themselves and get better at a time of the season when water normally is used as snow around here. also: inform yourself about the various deseases there.
if you wanna see pics our uganda-trip this christmas mail to: [mail address protected from spambots with javascript]