Have you ever paddled a flooded river? Have you ever navigated barbed-wire fences, dodged submerged trees and paddled around a farmer’s shed? Well after this weekend, competitors of the inaugural “Big Clarence” can tick all those items off their bucket list.
The Clarence River is a long, wide and rather beautiful waterway in Australia. The local indigenous name, Breimba, literally means “Big River” and it often lives up to that title — sometimes with deadly effect. The region was devastated by floods a few months ago where many people died and thousands lost their homes. This weekend’s race was supposed to pay respects to them. It wasn’t supposed to recreate similar conditions. → READ MORE