Kayaking: Thrilling escapade in crocodile-infested waters

Olympian Mike Dawson paddling along a river in Angola.

Bay of Plenty Olympic kayaker Mike Dawson received a bigger thrill than he would have expected during a kayaking trip to Angola.

Dawson, who does a lot of his training at Rotorua's Okere Falls, had to deal with armed police and crocodile-infested waters during a recent trip to Africa's west coast.

Less than a month after qualifying for the Rio Olympic Games in canoe slalom, Dawson, alongside American Aaron Mann, ran sections of the Cuanza (Kwanza) River. The river features crocodile-infested pools and seething 36-metre waterfalls.

Dawson said things weren't all smooth sailing and they ran into trouble on the third day of the trip. "We'd hit one section of some fairly croc-infested water so decided to portage around it but ended up stumbling into an illegal diamond mine on the edge of the river," Dawson said. "There were police guns being waved around and there were some pretty scary moments for the crew, so we decided that was probably a sign to pack up and head for the Keve River."

The Keve is the Cuanza's lesser-known sister river and also uncharted, boasting more gradient and a creeking style of paddling through remote gorges.

The pair finished the 56km section of river, with nearly a 400m gradient, over three days.

"The Keve River was super-isolated, with massive portages followed by endless sections of whitewater," Dawson said.

Political reforms have gradually opened Angola up since the end of a 27-year civil war in 2002, although safety is still precarious in the mineral-rich West African country.

Sponsored by Ortlieb, the Expedition Angola trip also involved filming, mapping and documenting the rapids and flow of the remote rivers.