Cyclones and flooded rivers...

We are feeling the wrath of cyclone Ivan. Three days of nonstop rain, probably about 15 inches in total, have brought virtually every river in the country to flood stage. No one in the group has ever seen such an intense amount of precipitation in one swoop. So we made the best of the situation and explored a flooded river about 4 hrs south of the capital.

We paddled a 35k section of the Mania River, one of Mada's largest, and found mostly flat water with the exception of 4 HUGE rapids. The river was far beyond bankfull with maybe 40 thousand cfs. It was the most flooded river anyone in the group had ever paddled. All along the section curious locals ran down in the rain to try and meet us. They were absolutley amazed when they saw us run some of the big rapids. We are looking forward to doing an overnighter on the lower section once it stops raining (hopefully it does!).

Read more about Cyclone Ivan here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7251505.stm

Stay tuned as photos are coming soon!

Mada photo, week 1

This is a quick gathering of photos from our first week in Madagascar, this place has been amazing blowing us all away and absolutely incredible destination for any expedition kayaker looking to push the limits.

tyler on the put in falls to Mazy

Tyler on the second Lily falls, Tyler was the third one to give the falls a go, only a minute before most of the group along with a gathering of locals watched as Rush and Ian flez off the monst two tiered 75 foot falls.

Ian in the rapids between the two Lily falls, an awso,e section of great class 5 reminding us greatly of the NF of the Payette back home.

Lane hanging on the bridge at the take out to the Mazy, we were pretty psyched on the ability to takeout with road access

Lane Jacobs on round two of the Chutes du Lily, fired up for revenge, we were all able to run this drop atleast once and some even went back for a second round. very cool to see the drop with higher flow.

Pat Camblin on Chutes du Lily

Tyler Bradt giving an alternative line on the lower lily, infront of 150 locals.

Tyler on the Mazy 30 footer

Ian on the lower falls of the Mazy.

The group has been amazingly psyched with the quality of falls and slides we have seen. only having been in the country for a week now we have already found 4 amazing sections of river and 4 large waterfalls along with kilometers of great rapids and slides. We have now moved south in search of more drops and very appealing drainages, that will keep us busy for the next bit, of which a few include some nights out in the bush.

Madagascar: an undiscovered whitewater gem

The Revolutions crew has begun to explore a whitewater destination which rivals paddling meccas such as California and Norway.

Kicking off our one month paddling trip here was a 20k section on the Lily river. It included a beautiful 50footer, tons of NF Payette style rapids, and topping it off was a massive 2 tiered 80footer which a few of the boyzs fired up. Only photos can describe this drop.

Next was the Mazy river. Flowing through a tight basalt gorge, fresh springs, and even a mini geyser made this an incredible stretch of whitwater. It included slides, a 50 footer and a 30 footer in its depths.

Mada is an amazing destination with culture, flora and fauna, and a feel unlike any other place in the world. The crew is super fired up after only 5 days, completing 3 sections of river all being first descents. The best is yet to come...

Internet is extremley slow so photos will come soon. For other photos check www.triberiders.ca

Stay tuned.