FINDING EL DORADO Exploring the Ivindo River

Once Adrian Mattern heard about the Ivindo River, it haunted his dreams. A river many kilometers wide, with a maze-like series of channels and yet-to-be-run rapids nestled in a nearly impenetrable equatorial rainforest known as Africa’s Last Living Eden. Though others had been before, this trip was a roll of the dice, a gamble to see if there was still gold to be had in Gabon.

Adrian Mattern

Climbing up the slick rock, I could just see the bottom of a big slide, which, somehow, looked good to go. But the river kept getting steeper. I looked back at the boys, who shared the same question: Would this rapid continue to be runnable? Almost unbelievably, it was. And, just one channel to the left, surrounded by Gabon’s vibrant jungle, was one of the best, most unique rapids I had ever seen. JACKPOT! I exhaled in relief. This is why I had come to the Ivindo. I first heard about the Ivindo River in Gabon when Olaf Obsommer told me the story of their first exploratory trip back in 2007. He recounted tales of huge rapids,hidden away in countless channels flowing through the deep lush jungle, where access was…

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Kayak Session (Digital) - 1 Issue, Summer 2024

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