Paddling up the Steenbras

There isn’t actually much of the Steenbras River to paddle up, even on a kayak – only about 300 metres. Rather it’s the 13 km round-trip paddle from Gordon’s Bay harbour and the usually benign, but spectacular, rivermouth entrance that is most of the fun. On this last Sunday morning, the paddle was breathtaking. Schools of harders rippled the glass, clouds of jellyfish swayed in the currents and the seals at Seal Cove were particularly laid back, unconcerned by our presence. But best of all was the presence of millions of minnows in the Steenbras, larger ones in the deeper water, clearly visible against the river’s “new” sandy bottom, and tiny ones in the shallows. I assume that this proves that healthy rivers are fecund nurseries of fish. Photos and a Google Earth track follow …

Minnows in Steenbras – can someone identify them?	Visitors from the sea
Approaching the mouth	Steenbras