Having lead many groups to the beautiful rivers of Turkey during the last years, I embarked for new adventures in autumn 2010. After the arrival in Trabzon, the Black Sea capital of Turkey in the far North-East, I left Anatolia by land and crossed the border to a country which is about becoming very popular with travelers very soon: Georgia

Geography & Climate

Thanks to its warm, in places even subtropical climate Georgia has been one of the most favorite holiday destination in the Soviet era. The small country is favored by so many geographical assets which are spread over thousands of kilometers in most regions of the globe. In Georgia you find extended pebble beaches with all-year-round warm (but often rainy) weather, high alpine mountain spaces with peaks up to 5200 meters in the Greater Caucasus, large wood-covered middle range elevation in the Lesser Caucasus, wide hills with the best vineyards in the whole former USSR and even desert landscapes near to the Azerbaijan border.

Culture

More than this, Georgia offers an old history with many relics from different religious and empires. In its capital Tbilisi hundreds of generations left their credentials. A city walk shows you catholic and orthodox churches, synagogues and even a  Sunni mosque. Scattered soviet bombast architecture reminds to the younger past. Some regions of the country were strongly influenced by the Ottoman Empire and are inhabited by Muslims, some parts in the south come with a high percentage of Armenians.

The rivers are just one small feature of Georgia’s beautiful nature. The potential for white water kayaking is just about to be discovered. Different climate zones and great distinctions in precipitation offer good water levels from April to November. First step to explore the rivers was a pilot trip in summer 2011.

»Verfechter go Georgia 2011«

From July 2nd to July 16th a team of the Verfechter der sportlichen Linie headed for the rivers in the Greater and Lesser Caucasus. The team reached Georgia by plane and was able to paddle the most beautiful big water rivers and creeks in Lower Svaneti, Racha, Lechkhumi, Khevsureti and Samtskhe-Javakheti. Also the crew took profit of the nearby Kackar Mountains and spent three days on Coruh and Barhal in Turkey.

Their adventures can be read here