Since our return to Luanda I have been going through all the video footage from our trip and thought everyone might appreciate some screen captures showing what we got up to (and what will be in the documentary). I have tried to keep things in roughly chronological order. Sorry about the image quality! In total […]
Author: kayakthekwanza
We successfully finished…now what?
At around 1:30pm on Wednesday 6 July, Alfy and I arrived at the Kwanza Lodge, which sits on the mouth of the River Kwanza. This marked the end of our 1,100km journey, and a great conclusion to a very stressful week! I will do a full writeup of the issues we had with the Angolan […]
KAYAK THE KWANZA EXPEDITION’S FUTURE UNCERTAIN
After the team’s arrest at Capanda Dam and subsequent transport to Malanje things went from bad to worse. Having had all of their equipment and clothing confiscated, bar what they were wearing at the time, negotiations with local authorities broke down resulting in them being escorted under armed guard back to Angola’s capital, Luanda. At […]
KAYAK THE KWANZA TEAM ARRESTED AT CAPANDA DAM
After a difficult 40 km paddle with no water flow to help them, Oscar and Alfy settled down for the evening at their camp in a fishing village next to Capanda Dam with some local fish for dinner. Suddenly, at 12.30 a.m. they were woken abruptly with AK47 assault rifles shoved into their tent before […]
DISASTER HITS RECORD BREAKING ATTEMPT TO KAYAK ANGOLA’S KWANZA RIVER
Oscar Scafidi and Alfy Weston’s attempt to kayak 1,100 km from source to mouth of the Kwanza river in Angola has hit a snag as their 1960s German-made Klepper Kayak struck a dam in rapids near Kuito Bridge and sunk. After being stranded on an island in the river for several hours local fisherman came […]
Back in Luanda after two years!
I touched down in Luanda on the evening of Tuesday 31 May 2016. This is my first time back in Angola since I left Luanda International School in July 2014. The first thing that struck me was how visible the impact of the current financial crisis is. My flight was with Brussels Airlines, and was […]
Progress report -12 days to go!
Our plan was to start the expedition on 1 June 2016, but it seems more likely we’ll now be flying down to Huambo and then starting from the source on Monday 6 June 2016. I’ve just re-read my post from two and a half months ago, and thought now was time for an update on […]
What to take in your Expedition Medical Kit
What should you take with you when heading out into the middle of the African bush? Below is a full breakdown of our medical supplies. We will be out in the bush and on the Kwanza River for at least a month, making the main risks (in no particular order): heatstroke, water & mosquito-bourne disease, […]
New training video!
Knocked this together over the weekend to show how our kayak training is going. Film buffs please note the Team America / South Park inspired soundtrack.
My visit to an Angolan minefield
A few years ago, while writing the second edition of the Bradt Travel Guide to Angola, I was able to visit a minefield in Cuando Cubango Province. This minefield was around Cuito Cuanavale town, which is still being cleared by The HALO Trust. Cuito Cuanavale is a small settlement in the south-east of Angola, but […]