River Karma

Committing to run what are arguably the world’s
largest rapids is one thing. It’s quite another to
successfully navigate the bureaucratic minefield
necessary to actually make it happen – especially
in a politically broken country like the DRC. Adding
to the logistical quagmire, the Inga Rapids also
happen to be the site of a pair of highly secured
dams that provide power to government-owned
copper mines in the Katanga Providence. “To put it
into perspective, it’s like, here we are, a bunch of
kayaking yeehaws, saying, ‘Yeah, we want to go to
your only source of electricity for the country
which provides power to your only source of
natural income and we want full access,’” explains
Fisher. “’We want to live there. We want to have
a helicopter. We want to film and we want to
photograph, and we’re going to do something that
is very, very risky. And we might die, in which case
you’ll have to deal with the diplomatic fallout of
multiple countries.’”
Despite their audacious requests, the team
forged on, and by mid 2011, the pieces started falling
into place. Fisher secured an expedition sponsor
in energy drink behemoth Red Bull, and thanks to
relentless badgering from Meredith and Boston,
and countless well-placed bribes, the DRC was
warming to the Inga Project.
Although a lifelong dream for Fisher, the pressure
was getting to him. For more than five years, he’d
been on a yo-yo with the government as they
decided whether or not to cooperate. The anxiety
was crippling, having already spent tens of
thousands in sponsorship money on a project
that could easily be shut down at the whim of any
DRC official. Yet the greatest source of concern
was still the river.
For the first time in his career Fisher found
himself thinking about something other than
paddling, about someone other than himself. He
had recently asked his girlfriend to marry him and,
although Benny, Rush and Tyler are all exceptional
paddlers, they’re young and he felt an immense
responsibility for having brought them on the
mission. “It grew a life of its own and actually
started to draw me along,” says Fisher. “It got well
beyond me pushing it forward. It was towing me
along to the point that it was a train that I actually
couldn’t even stop.”
Meredith and Boston returned to Kinshasa in mid
August 2011, while Fisher gathered gear and recruited
the paddling team. By October, they obtained most
of the necessary approvals and permits, including
those from DRC secret service and immigration.
Fisher had also managed to find an experienced
Kenyan helicopter crew to join the expedition. The
window of opportunity was finally open.
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