This kayak day happened on Friday the 7th of June, 2024. We kayaked from Comoara Istrului on the Gogoșu Branch of the Danube past the Iron Gate II hydroelectric power plant to Calafat. The Iron Gate II (Romanian: Porțile de Fier II – Serbian: Đerdap II) dam is the last (mandatory) Dam on the Danube before the Delta. Though we intended to go camping for one night and then kayak to the Romanian city of Calafat the next day, we ended up doing the whole distance in one go. This was a whopping 74.4 kilometers. Our previous distance record wasContinue reading
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Kayak Trip Day 67: Crivina to Comoara Istrului – Iron Gate II Dam + Danube Gogoșu Branch
This kayak day happened on Wednesday the 5th of June, 2024. We kayaked from Crivina to the touristic complex of Comoara Istrului nearby the Gogoșu branch of the Danube at the Iron Gate II dam (Romanian: Porțile de Fier II – Serbian: Đerdap II). Why Bypass the Iron Gate II Locks? Short reason: I don’t think we can get lucky twice. We might have to wait hours in our kayak without shadow for a companion ship to arrive to go through the lock and descend the ~12 meters. Or we might arrive there and the lock operators aren’t fond ofContinue reading
Kayak Trip Day 65: Orșova to Drobeta-Turnu Severin – Iron Gate I Locks Unlocked!
This kayak trip happened on Monday the 27th of May, 2024. We paddled from Orșova to Drobeta-Turnu Severin on the Romanian side of the Danube in the border area shared with Serbia. We also had to pass through the Iron Gates I dam (Romanian: Porțile de Fier I – Serbian: Đerdap I). Portaging is not feasible, so we had to go through the lock with the big ships! Kayaking Through Locks: Research + Stress The Iron Gate I Hydroelectric Power Station is the 53rd obstacle on the Danube for us since 2019, but it’s the first one in 2024. SoContinue reading
Kayak Trip Day 36: Čunovo to the Danube Floodplains – Freecamping
Evens occurred on Saturday the 10th of August, 2019. We paddled our buoyant Zucchini from the Čunovo Dam to somewhere in the Danube Floodplains protected landscape area in the Slovak-Hungarian border region. We paddled 36 kilometers that day. At night, we freecamped next to the river for the first time on this trip. Leaving Čunovo for the Danube Floodplains We only stayed one night in Čunovo. For the morning, we managed to arrange breakfast at 7:30. The guy who had cheffed up dinner so enthusiastically the night before were not so fond of our early breakfast time; we had to beg forContinue reading
Kayak Trip Day 35: Bratislava to the Čunovo Dam
Events in this story happened on Friday the 9th of August, 2019. We paddled our inflatable kayak from Bratislava to the Čunovo Dam in Slovakia. That’s a distance of 17.3 kilometers. At the Čunovo Dam, there’s a water sports center for whitewater canoeing/kayaking. Little did we know that on that day, there would be a sporting event organized by the International Canoe Federation (ICF). Our Stay in Bratislava We stayed in Bratislava for one week. Bratislava was our first stop across the historic West-East division of Europe. Finally, we’re in Eastern Europe! As with Austria, this was Jonas’ first time inContinue reading