REMOTE RICHTERSVELD DRIFT ON THE ORANGE RIVER

THE MOST UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE ON THE LOWER ORANGE RIVER 

The Orange River is South Africa’s longest river, with its source in the Highlands of Lesotho, it flows 2340km West. Eventually its Swan Song is the last section before the Atlantic where it flows through the utterly breath taking Richtersveld National Park.

WHERE WE GO

We have been flyfishing the Orange River for yellowfish for many years from its confluence with the Vaal River at Douglas, progressively moving further and further downstream. We’ve chosen our piece of water, deep in the Richtersveld desert. Based in Namibia, our drift falls in the Aussenkehr Nature Reserve which borders the Ai Ais-Richtersveld Transfrontier Park. The entire area falling under the Richtersveld World Heritage Site. This ancient, harsh, yet breathtaking landscape is softened only by the life-giving Orange River snaking through the valley.

CAMPING AND LOGISTICS

We have partnered exclusively with SA’s longest standing paddling company, Felix Unite. As a result, the standard of campsites, comfort and catering is unsurpassed with a team of staff and guides on river always exceeding the number of guests.

An experienced flyfishing guide will row two anglers in our custom designed inflatable rafts daily. At the same time a logistics team heads downstream with all provisions and non-fishing related gear to set up camp. Having run operations in far flung parts of the world, being remote is not an excuse for average lunches or warm beer! Furthermore, we have large spacious two-man tents, hot showers, and a resupply halfway through the drift replenishing cold beers, fresh food, and ice. Our commitment is to the highest standards and the most comfortable experience possible, allowing you to experience this wilderness in the safest and most enjoyable way possible.

THE FISHING 

With three professional guides we carefully plan each day, ensuring each boat fishes designated water covering anything from boulder gardens to rapids, allowing anglers to fish untouched water. Our guides have vast experience in the guiding industry being able to adapt and help anglers of all deemed skill levels.

The fishery and the techniques used daily is incredibly dynamic as anglers will fish from anchored and moving drift boats, wade rapids, and swing flies from the bank and the boat. Every day, regardless of fishing technique, will present the opportunity to target Smallmouth and Largemouth Yellowfish. Indigenous to South Africa, both species fight hard, but the pursuit is very different. Largemouth Yellowfish are a fish of a thousand casts, never guaranteed, but one of the most rewarding freshwater species you could target. The Smallmouth Yellowfish is far more common and eager to take a fly. Targeted traditionally with nymphing and euro nymphing techniques, we also fish both streamer and crab patterns to bigger specimens. With such a variety of effective techniques, the Smallmouth is a great fish to target as your first fish on fly. For the more familiar Yellowfish angler, what makes the this fishery unique is how frequently you can catch smallies on Alphlexo crabs and baitfish patterns, with takes explosive and aggressive.

The river caters towards a variety of fly-fishing techniques therefore lending itself well to seasoned anglers looking to tick off a bucket list species, or to beginners and families who seek the unforgettable experience of the Richtersveld.

PROTECTING THE YELLOWS

We are excited to announce that we have teamed up with 'The University of Mpumalanga' and 'Rivers of Life' to start a tagging program on both the Largemouth Yellowfish and the Smallmouth Yellowfish on the Lower reaches of the Orange River.

This is a first of it's kind and no research has been done on this section of the Orange River. We hope that the information gained from our studies will better our knowledge and understanding of the species to help protect them for future generations. Have a look at our short video in our blog below.