Description
Can you squeeze into a K2 and run the Dusi in under 8 hours?
Even if the only water you touch is the one in your Scotch, pack your cooler bag, flippers and picnic blanket and head off to this KZN institution.
The Unlimited Dusi canoe marathon is a world-class epic kayak race between Maritzburg and Durbs attracting around 2 000 paddlers and many more supporters.
The Dusi is not for sissies and presents a tough challenge, best described by the words of founder Ian Player, brother of golfing champion Gary: ‘No man who has done the 110 gruelling miles can ever be the same again. The memory of the rapids, the steep hills and torturous paths, the aching backs and dry mouths, the burning sun and cold mist and rain, will forever remain in the mind.’
And Ian Player, did you know that steely women now take part in this epic endurance race? Laura Thompson, Robyn Kime, Abie Adie, Tory Neal and Lindsay Davis are just a few of the strong pros who paddled their way to top spots.
The challenge starts deep in the Valley of a Thousand Hills where the Umgeni meets the Umsundusi, a churning mass of whirlpools and boils. It's a great spectator event, flowing with lots of beer to nourish supporters.
On the water the atmosphere is charged with camaraderie and competitiveness between elite paddlers. Others are happy to merely survive and compete with themselves and the river. Or with snake bites – Ian Player won the first marathon in 1951 despite suffering a snake bite along the way.
Today the King of the Dusi is a coveted title, long held by the late Graeme Pope-Ellis who earned a mind boggling record of 15 wins to his name.
The Unlimited Dusi 2012
& Surrounds
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*Distances are shown as the crow flies and not necessarily the actual travelling
distance.