What we're taking with us

The Malachite will be our home on the water for the duration of The Long Descent.

It wasn't designed specifically for this expedition, but in many ways it is exactly the kind of journey it was designed for: covering distance efficiently while carrying enough gear for extended trips, without giving up the manoeuvrability needed when the river becomes more technical.

For this journey, that balance matters. The Orange changes enormously between source and sea. We'll encounter long stretches of flat water, shallow rocky sections, rapids, dams, heavily loaded boats and thousands of kilometres of everyday wear.

There is also a more personal reason for choosing it. I designed the Malachite, and Lekker Kayaks is providing the boats for the expedition. Taking them all the way down the Orange will be a considerably longer and harder real-world test than anything we've put them through before.

The Vango will be our everyday paddle and the one we'll use for most of the journey. For the more technical sections and bigger rapids, we'll switch to the Kadoma, which is better suited to that kind of paddling.

Carrying two different paddles also solves another important expedition problem. Whichever one isn't being used becomes the spare. Over thousands of kilometres, where a damaged or lost paddle could leave us with a serious problem, having a backup isn't really optional.

Both paddles were designed and developed by me, and The Long Descent will put them through months of continuous use in an enormous range of conditions.