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Where it's at
Hell Bourg, in the Cirque de Salazie, Réunion,
is like a chunk of France that has been dug out and shoved
over to an island in the middle of the Indian Ocean. There
are outdoor cafés serving croissant coffee, a Kreol
baker selling jambón baguettes, signs in French, French
tourists and everywhere people speak French, and play dominoes
with a 'je ne sais quoi'. No wonder, because it's the only
island that voted to stay part of the French Commonwealth.
Don't let the exterior of sophistication deceive you: this
is a pick-up point to go canyoning in Trou Blanc for
some serious rappelling down its tumbling waterfalls.
What is canyoning?
Canyoning is an extreme adventure sport not yet ten years
old, although its roots are in caving which was pioneered
by a scientific explorer called Eduard Alfred Martell back
in 1889. It's based on rappelling steep and narrow canyons
that have been carved out by rivers and flash floods.
Canyoning in Trou Blanc - trekker's tips
The greatest thrill, however, is riding the waterfalls out
on your back. There are sixty waterfalls in Réunion
alone, but Trou Blanc is the easiest one for a novice canyoneer.
Canyoneers will need to wear waterproof backpacks, a crash
helmet, a neoprene diving suit, and climbing belt. You begin
by hiking along a spectacular mountain path, past country
people tending their vegetable and sugar cane patches. You
then wade through the water of the waterfall where your outfitter
will arrange a series of hanging ropes along the canyon wall
on an overhanging rock. The river lies some three yards below
and it's extremely steep, with a very sheer drop which is
obscured by the bending canyon walls of the route.
Now you begin 'a cascade of initiation': hook yourself onto
the rappel and scramble across the ropes by inserting clamp
grips into hook knots that have been hammered into the canyon
walls until you reach the edge of the cascade. To ride the
first drop on a descending rope, place your hands across your
shoulders, elbows tucked in, and you must lie on your back.
Then you receive your 'baptism', plummeting around twenty
feet into the base pool below. After some warm ups, the pièce
de resistance of Trou Blanc is a fifty foot descent down a
narrow-walled precipitous waterfall. The experience is exhilarating,
unpredictable, extremely dangerous - and freezing! |
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