Borderlands Mahaweli River Expedition - February 2012

National Day weekend this year saw a number of firsts for us at Borderlands. Not only did we run two Mahaweli River Expeditions a day apart, it was also the first time we ran an exclusive trip in our fleet of Canadian Canoes with a crew of intrepid Quebec-ex pats. It was the first time on the expedition for our some of our crew, Sandun, Carl and Gwen who had a baptism of fire on this trip! To top it all we had our youngest ever Mahaweli Expeditioners - thank you Coco (7), David (8), Sarah (10) and Guillaume (12) - you kids were amazing!   Please read on to hear about our river adventure:

Team Canada!

Day 1: February 4th, 2012

It was an early start for the Borderlands crew. Wade's house was abuzz with last minute activity at 4:30am but most of the loading of the canoes, kayaks, raft and supplies had been finished the night before, so it was making sure no essential supplies for the 4 day trip had been overlooked. Our yellow truck and trailer was an amazing sight, fully loaded with boats, and drew a lot of attention as we made our way towards Mahiyangana, our meeting point for the start of the trip. Unfortunately there was a landslide on our usual route, which meant a fairly lengthy diversion was required which added at least 2 hours to the journey. On the plus side it meant we travelled round Victoria Reservoir, which is one of the most picturesque places in Sri Lanka, and we were all blown away by the beauty of the drive.

After a last minute stop for some essential survival goodies (chocolate and Pringles!) we met up with Luc, Sylvie and the crew, who all looked pretty done in from the arduous journey. There was time for a quick introduction by Wade, followed by an essential lunch and the last chance to use modern "facilities" for the next few days.

Our first evening's campsite proved a great spot - curious local children came calling to watch the unloading of our gear and the erecting of our camp for the night.

Curious local children 

Unloading the gear and setting up first night camp

National Day is a dry day in Sri Lanka, so the very French tastes of our guests came to the fore, and a cachet of wine appeared for the trip! A camp fire, BBQ dinner and plenty of wine got everyone settled in on the first night, and safe to say everyone slept soundly.

Day 2: February 5th, 2012 

We woke up at dawn to a muggy day, breakfast got going, plenty of fresh fruit, eggs, sausages and the villagers had kindly made us delicious coconut roti. The first challenge of the day was to pack all our gear (tents, kitchen and food barrels, clothes, water containers) in the canoes - usually we utilise one of our river raft to carry all the gear, but on this trip everything was to be carried by canoe and kayak. It's a skill Wade has honed after years of multi-day canoe trips in Canada, and by 10am we were on our way, fully loaded and ready for our adventure.

That's how to pack a canoe 

Our initial fear before heading on this trip was that the water levels in the Mahaweli would be quite low - low water means a sluggish river and a lot more paddling, sometime even dragging the boats over mid river sandbanks. These fears were unfounded: heavy rains in the mountains meant that the river was high, wide and fast flowing, which makes life much easier for the paddler.

The fist section of the river is pretty much dominated by sand mining which is a blot on the landscape of this beautiful river. It brings in much needed income to this relatively poor part of the country. A couple of hours downstream and the mining peters out, and we were left to ourselves. A tricky rapid (Grade II) comes towards the end of the first day of paddling and negotiating this in high water, and in canoes is never easy.

Carl runs the rapid 

The heavens opened in the afternoon - monsoonal rain which none of us had seen for quite some time, coming from a parched Colombo. The rain kept us cool whilst paddling, meant we had a very quick lunch and erected our tents in record time when we got to camp. this evening we found a great campsite (on the borders of Wasgamuwa National Park) which had a wide sandy beach (with evidence of very recent elephant visit!) and despite the continuing torrential rain everyone was in good spirits (hot chocolate keeping the kids warm and the wine flowing and keeping the adults warm!).

Smiling through the rains 

The great thing about these expeditions is getting everyone involved and the Canadians didn't disappoint, taking to the kitchen and producing a great dinner and an absolutely delicious dessert - caramelised bananas. Yum! Retiring to bed as the sky opened up, Carl and Sandun were on elephant watch, hoping the almost industrial sized fire crackers wouldn't be needed!

Day 3: February 6th, 2012 

Today we were received a 5:20am wake up call by Wade - as it happened it wasn't the elephants we had to worry about, rather the river, which had risen by almost 10ft in the space of a 6 hours as the rained continued to fall.  Luckily all our boats were dragged high onto shore and so all our gear was safe, but it was  a quick dismantle of the tents whilst tea and fresh coffee was brewed. it's an indication of how much you are at the mercy of nature, and how keeping a constant eye on the elements is essential on this kind of trip.

Luckily as the sun rose the clouds disappeared and we made breakfast with the welcome return of the sun! It may or may not have had something to the "Soleil" song sung by the kids, we like to think it was!

One of our youngest guests

Today we crossed into Wasgamuwa National Park - one of Sri Lanka's pristine nature reserves - with only the sound of the surrounding forests - bird and monkey calls rung out, and whilst we didn't see elephants (the river was too high and plenty of rain in the forest we imagined) we saw several large crocs  sunning themselves on shore. Today's paddle was a time for peaceful reflection and thanks to mother nature for allowing us the chance to dry out!

Taking some well deserved time out 

In distinct contrast to the previous afternoon our kitchen tarp was set up to protect us not from the rain, but from the sun which beat down hard.  Our camp site, a spot perfectly suited for the business of eating, swimming, playing and sunning ourselves (as well as drying out our tents!).

Setting up camp 

Big Sky Camping

Despite the fact that crocs had been seen a refreshing swim in the river was a must to ease the aches and pains of 2 days of hard paddling.

Was that crocodile wearing sunglasses? 

Time to cool down 

Thank you to the crew for introducing us to Five to Seven, which essentially equates to drinking wine from 5-7pm!!

5 to 7 Mahaweli Style

The day before Poya and the moon was bright in the dusk sky

Poya Full Moon

A final evening meal at camp was followed by the unmistakable loud trumpeting of an elephant, which must have come to investigate the strange smells and sounds coming from its usual watering spot. Shortly after retiring another storm erupted, pelting our campsite with rain again. No elephants visited, though there was evidence that a certain reptile may have paid a visit!

Day 4: February 7th, 2012

Just going to prove that camping can't also mean great food, we had a final breakfast of fresh spicy guacamole and toasted tortillas, Hawaiian inspired fried rice and caramelised pineapple!

How to make a Mexican Breakfast 

These kids rule! 

The final stretch of the river returns guests to an area rife with sand mining, and marks the boundary of the park. With the canoes continuing to set a fast pace, a normal 2 hour paddle was completed in 40 minutes -  most definitely the fasted time ever on our trips, and highlights how streamlined and efficient the Canadian canoe is, even when laden down with all our gear.

Our final destination was Manampitiya, just 30 minutes from Polonnaruwa, where Mahesh and Yohan were waiting to help us unload our boats and reload the trailer. By now the rain had started up again, but despite tired limbs everyone was in great spirits and some cold beers at the end of the trip meant we could raise a toast to an excellent adventure.

Note: NOT sponsored by Carlsberg!

All that remains is to say huge thanks to the Canadian crew, who were such good sports and excellent company to have along on this amazing journey. Get the diaries and photo albums out guys, for the reunion up in Kithulgala!

Interested in experiencing the Mahaweli River with Borderlands? 

E-mail Gwen at: (journeys@discoverborderlands.com) for more info!