Rivers of Love, Life & Something Else... 3...

...perfectly centred in the middle of the river.

By now, almost visibly shaking, I made a hasty exit of my Swallow and breathed a huge sigh of relief as my feet touched solid ground. The adrenaline was still pumping and I surely needed a moment or three, to recover.

And that, my friends, was the real beginning of my kayaking career.

Neil and Richard and Corran Bruce, Graeme and Jane all delighted in the retelling of their own experiences with paddling this awesome river.

"Oh, I meant to tell you all," says Graeme with patience, "That if or when ou find yourself stuckin a hole, it is perfectly reasonable to pop your own splashdeck and let your boat fill a bit with water and thereby cause your boat to be heavier and therefore free itself from the grip of the foam pile."

"Mmm nice one, thanks Graeme," muttered Philippa, from somewhere under her soggy hair.

That moment, which seemed to last half a lifetime, in Happy Hundting Grounds on the Tugela River, was the moment I became hooked on paddling and Heaven became truly manifest here on Earth.

How can one not get hooked on Heaven? Surely it is a Divine Conspiracy?

Rivers of Love, Life & Something Else... 2...

... at a suitable put-in point, an hour or so ealier.

Of course, I hadn't yet learned the art of Eskimo rolling, the most profficient method of self-rescue, and the butterflies in my stomach were fluttering around nervously at the mere mention of the up-coming "Happy Hunting Grounds".

"You guys should be able to figure out your lines with no problem at all", said Graeme, nonchalantly and so I floated along, bobbing on the bouncy, brown current, staying in the main flow of what is intrinsically, a large, fairly fast-flowing river. The middle section of the Tugela is a one day paddle, known more affectionaately as "The Red Ravine".

I had undoubtedly read about and heard horror stories of people being sucked under by 'Four Man Hole' in the Tugela Gorge section and I was ever so grateful I, as the relative beginner I was, was not expected yet to kayak this fearsome section of river and having to deal also witht the likes of 'Horrible Horace'.

Images of drowning, being pinned, sucked under and totally trashed about flew in and out of my mind.

Corran paddled ahead, so did Neil and then Richard and Bruce. I reasoned that if no-one wa making too much fuss about Happy Hunting Grounds then, in fact, it should e easy enough. Well, from where I was sitting you couln't really even see much of a rapid, so I paddled gently forward, eye darting about, feeling not sure, but ok.

Within seconds, it seemed, I was in the middle of the rapid, muddy brown water was everywhere and I found myself up against a huge foam pile, my kayak had been whipped unceremoniously sideways and before I knew what was happening, I was side-surfing in what felt like a gigantic hole.

I was stuck. I was bobbing around like a cork stuck in a flooding gutter and by some incredible miracle, I was still upright and breathing air. All I could see coming down on my left side, was the full force of the Tugela River. On my right and under my paddle, was a mass of turbulance, more brown, foamy water, coming towards me also, and there I was, stuck in the middle. I couldn't see the light of day, let along Graeme, who, I was convinced, with his tremendous experience, would be able to rescue me from this treacherous situation.

I thought about things for a while, the adrenaline coursing through my body. I was unable to think clearly, but was totally dumbfounded by the situation I found myself in. I thought I may be stuck there side=surfing for an eternity or at least until the river ran dry. What was I going to do, how was I going to get out and when were "they" going to turn the water off?

It felt like forever, but possibly 45 second or so later, my neoprene spreydeck got popped by the continuous punding of the hole's wave on my cockpit. My boat began to fill with water and as unceremoniously as I had gone in, the Hole in Happy Hunting Grounds released its grip on me and I paddled through the remaining part of the rapid and wobbling, in my water-filed craft, made my way to the side of the river. if it hadn't been for the water and my helmet, the sweat on my brow would surely have been visible!

"Well done, Philippa, that was brilliant" says Graeme, grinning slyly from ear to ear and obviously delighted that one of his students had "fallen into" his trap. He didn't think I would see the hole, it being so perfectly centred in the river.

Rivers of Love, Life & Something Else...

I read of the different names for Heaven: Olympus; Valhalla; Asgard; Elysian Fields; Elysium; Happy Hunting Grounds; Earthly Paradise; Eden or Garden of Eden; garden of the Hesperides; Islands of the Blest; and in fantasy, Isle of Avalon.

According to Webster's Dictionary, Heaven is the abode of the Deity, and of the blessed dead. A place of supreme happiness.

So it is with thanks to Rosemary Altea, Grey Eagle and their book, "Proud Spirit", that I begin my journey with you at a particular place called Happy Hunting Grounds.

"Ok, you chaps go on ahead" and with a smile on his face Graeme pointed in the diection of Happy Hunting Grounds.

The water of the Tugela River in Kwa Zulu Natal was a muddy orange-brown and not ideal for quenching one's thirst.

My blue Swallow was starting to feel a little more comfortable and apart from wobbling over a couple of eddy fences, I had manages to remain upright in my kayak since putting on the river at a suitable put-in point.

After Reiki II with Rita Baptista

"Don't piss on me you fucking bastard,"she screamed mentally when the rain suddently seemed to purposefully be blown directly on top of her head as she was sitting on the step outside the kitchen back door next to the dog bowls under the awning avoiding the rain. Simultaneously she was giving the impression that it was a dual purpose curse she felt she could get away with on the grounds that it was directed towards both her Allan in Heaven and The Almighty. Neither of them were really there with her and she felt so alone, there was noone else to talk to.

Feeling a little guilty now, she crept back inside 'Bonnybrae' to see if her sister and her sister's boyfriend may be feeling a little more sociable. A quick peek into the lounge area found them canoodling on the floor, obviously thoroughly enjoying each others' company and not the least bit interested in entertaining or interacting with her in any way. She thought to herself that this seemed pretty mean as it was, after all, the first time she had met her sister's new boyfriend. He had a good first name, Bruce, so she reckoned it couldn't all be bad.

Feeling ignored and rather lost, she pottered around the house, content to find her own way. Then she found the telephone. She picked it up hoping to find someone on the other side to talk to. She thought, here I am, the lines of commuication to God are wide open, surely there is someone out there who wants to ask some questions? She put the phone back into its cradle and stared at it for ages, yet still it didn't ring. In her state of mind she had no idea who she could or should phone, but the need to talk was overwhelming.

Having only a few hours before finished the last day of the Reiki II course in Plumstead, Rita became the obvious choice to call. Surprisingly, Rita was at the other end of the telephone although Philippa did not get the reaction she felt one could expect upon hearing such awesome news about open lines of communication with God. Time seemed to waver in thin air until Deborah wandered in and found her huddled over the telephone with no-one on the other end of the line.

Real communication between the sisters had ceased to exist and taking her upstairs to a double-bedded bedroom was all Deborah could do to sort out her sister who was in the way of her passion-filled evening. On the way Philippa found a music cd entitled 'River Dance' which sent a bolt of 'aah, yes this is it' feeling through her and she immediately asked if she could borrow the compact disc, thinking that because it is 'n the family' it must surely be no problem.

"No, I dont think so, but you can ask Bruce" was the reply from Deborah who later confirmed that that was indeed the case. She felt devastated that they didn't realise the importance of the River connection and how she obviously needed to uplift herself with what could only possibly be music or songs that were divinely inspired and meant for her in that moment.

With the wind taken out of her sails, she allowed her sister to direct her into the upstairs bedroom which to her, seemed to be cold and unloved. The lack of comforting and nurturing was reflected in the starkly decorated bedroom with the wooden two-door cupboard.

Confusion, sadness and the feelings of abandonment ran through her mind and body and she reluctantly accepted her fate and climbed onto the bed and under the bedding they had provided.

Darkness and shadows abounded. The overwhelming presence of a giant penis, like a shadow, cast its darkness diagonally accross the full height of the double cupboard. She could not make sense of this dark, shadowy energy, other than to acklnowledge it's awfully powerful presence. She felt afraid with her lack of understanding, but simply wondered to herself what it was all about and slowly but surely seemed to drift off into a rather unconscious state of sleep.