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| updated 2000-08-10 | comments? | ©1996-2000 Wm James |

South Africa, July 2000 (under development)
Canoeing the South Nahanni
Baffin Island mountaineering - N/A
Cruising the Great Lakes and St Lawrence - N/A
Sailing the Western Islands of Scotland -N/A
Hiking the Bruce Trail Ontario
Drakensberg Mountains, South Africa
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Canoeing the South Nahanni River, NWT.

Still being written. I am building these pages in response to requests for info., starting with the preliminaries.

Ever thought about a canoe trip down the South Nahanni? It could be the experience of a lifetime. In 1992, my wife (Lyn), son (Rob) and I drove from Guelph to the Liard River in my 15-year old car, flew with all our stuff to the Rabbit Kettle Lake in a chartered a light plane, and paddled our double raft 400 km back to our base on the Liard. We saw masses of water (it flooded), rock and wild life. The whole trip (Guelph-Guelph) took about three weeks. Of course it took a little planning first.

First reading list
Our actual costs in 1992
Some pictures - incomplete
More detailed info - n/a yet

It's difficult to believe how romantic the area is. Visit all your local libraries, borrow and read all their books on the Nahanni, and view all their films and videos on the topic. We were surprised at how much information is available, at least in Guelph. We also collected the following small number of books from various sources, often used-book stores; I recommend that you read them again thoroughly during the 5-day 5000 km drive to Fort Liard:

1. Dangerous River, by R. M. Patterson. - about 200 p 8vo, absolutely the classic.
1989. ISBN 0-7737-2308-0. Pub by William Sloane Assocs. Newer editions are available.

2. Nahanni, by Dick Turner.
- about 120 p. 8vo book. Must read.
1975. ISBN 0-919654-46-0 and 0-88839-028-9. Pub by Hancock House, Surrey, BC.

3. Canoeing Wild Rivers, by Cliff Jacobson. - cheap and useful.
1989. ISBN 0-934802-52-1. Pub by ICS Books, Merrillville IN.

4. The Nahanni Portfolio by Pat and Rosemarie Keogh
- 177 p. glossy coffee table book, very motivational.
1st Ed 1988. ISBN 0-7737-2167-3. Pub by Stoddart/Nahanni. Don Mills Ontario.

5. Wings of the North, by Dick Turner.
-300 pp. 8vo. more history.
1976, many reprintings. ISBN 0-919654-61-4 and 0-88839-060-2. Pub by Hancock House, Surrey, BC.

6. Bear Attacks, by Stephen Herrero.
300 p. 8VO - very worrying book.
1985. ISBN 0-941130-87-8 and 0-941130-82-7. Pub by Lyons and Burford, NY.NY.

Of course many of our costs were hidden (our diesel car didn't last too long after this trip, we already owned one inflatable raft, and lots of camping and canoeing gear). These sums were carefully made by Lyn, and are in 1992 Canadian dollars, for three adults. Remember also that we drove virtually non-stop, and usually camped in the wilderness.

1. Light plane charter. - $1100.
2. 2nd inflatable raft. - $1100.
3. Diesel and oil for car - $615.
4. Groceries and all cash transactions - $558.
5. Mountain Equipment Co-op (clothing, includes some food) - $500. Est.
6. Camping and canoeing equipment additional purchases - $457.
7. Car repairs en route - $359.
8. Restaurants en route - $181.
9. Books purchased - $100. Est.
10. Souveniers purchased - $78.
11. Photographic film and processing - $76.
12. Camp sites en route - $37.
TOTAL - $5200 + wear and tear + emergencies say $3800 = allow $9000.

I have not had time to describe these - later.

1. First day just below Rabbit Kettle Lake, before the rain,
2. Paddling easily slow river, day2 before the rain,
3. It rained very heavily all day and night causing the river to rise about 18 ft in places,
4. Stopped raining soon after we camped above Virginia Falls,
5. We portaged everything in 5 man-trips to the foot of Virginia Falls,
6. Typical lunch stop before the big rain,
7. First camp below Falls - drying out at about midnight,
8. About day 6 getting used to paddling,
9. Short climb to the top of the cliffs at the narrows.,

   more to come