Tag: aqua hike

With the PoteSport app, finish the sport on your own!

- Our partners

We are already in October, the season is over and the equipment put away until spring 2021 .. It is high time to take over the Verdon Xp blog! What are you going to do now that there is no more rafting in the Verdon? Well you will find friends to play sports without us! And how? With PoteSport app !

 

The Potesport app

How it works? Do you have to fill out a form? put an ad in the newspaper? Not at all! We are in 2021, use your smartphone! Indeed, PoteSport has developed an application to meet other athletes and share with them. Wherever you are and whatever your level, you will quickly find one or more partners to have fun in your favorite sports.

First of all, PoteSport is an application that you download for free! it helps .. Ultra simple ergonomics. Even those who do not understand it will not need a manual. On weekend vacation or even unemployed, you can meet sports partners and make new discoveries all over France.

 

Description of the Potesport app

Equipped with a chat device, the application allows you to chat live and quickly organize a next training session. Easy! It’s not over! the PoteSport application also allows geolocation. Indeed, it will be pointless to find partners at the other end of France, the application does it for you. In the notification period, PoteSport keeps you informed of everything that is happening around you at the speed of light, a plus! And then there is also a personal and discreet messaging if you have more things to say to you. PoteSport, the Swiss army knife of applications for sports lovers! And it’s freeeee!

 

In complete safety

Finally, it is important to note that all your personal data is secured and stored in France by the service provider OVH. None of this data will be used for commercial purposes and outside the PoteSport application.

On your sneakers!

 

Funny Helmets

Aqua Trekking – XXL – Verdon Gorges – 2 Days

- White Water activities

The Big Must of Verdon! Reserved for the most athletic athletes. An XXL Aqua Trekking in the Gorges du Verdon. Swim in the wildest Grand Canyon du Verdon. Over two days which will take you from the Estellier to the Col de l’Olivier. Following on from the Aquatic Day Hike. After the passage of the Imbut, you will discover the very mysterious Verdon Secret!

Detailed description of the XXL Aqua Trekking

Day 1; We meet at La Colle de l’Olivier on the S952. After trying the equipment, we take the vehicles back to the Chalet de la Maline on the dizzying Route des Crêtes from La Pallud-sur-Verdon. 1 hour walk is necessary to reach the edge of the Verdon. Once equipped at the water’s edge, there are magnificent passages, from the Pont de l’Estellier to the Imbut. Almost 4 hours spent in the water and then 1 hour 30 minutes of walking up. We take the time during the day to enjoy a meal (at the expense of each). Shipped in a waterproof container loaned by Verdon Xp.

Day 2; 1h30 walk then we go into the water at the Imbut. Then, we explore the most secret part of the Grand Canyon. No access path possible since the two cliffs fall directly into the Verdon. We end at the Col de l’Olivier.

 

Night and meal

The main idea was to bivouac in the canyon, at the edge of the water, like real adventurers. Only here, everywhere inside the PNRV, it is forbidden to bivouac in the gorges and at the edge of the lakes. It is therefore imperative to leave the canyon at the end of the first day. To return there on the morning of the second day.

3 solutions proposed for accommodation (evening meal + night + breakfast + picnic the next day) – Not included in the service, to be paid directly;
-Hotel du Grand Canyon from 165 € for 2 people
-Chalet de la Maline from € 60 per person
-The client has their own solution

Prerequisites for the XXL Aqua Trekking

Be in excellent physical shape and very comfortable in the water. Swim shorts + Light T-shirt + Mid-mountain shoes in good condition + 1 bottle of water per person + picnic of day 1.

Tariff and Reservation

For further information on the XXL Aqua Trekking course, go directly to THE Aqua Trekking PAGE on our site.

Getaway to Castellane: outdoor sports to be favored

- Various sport activities

Travel to Castellane: outdoor sports to try

Want to experience new things for the next vacation, direction Castellane. This peaceful town has the distinction of being the least populated sub-prefecture in France. It is part of the PACA or Provence-Alpes-Côte d´Azur region. It has received the label “village and city of character”. Being in the regional natural park of Verdon, Castellane invites you to participate in different activities on the Verdon. Discover in this section the outdoor sports to do absolutely on this river.

Trip to Castellane: indulge in rafting on the Verdon

Indeed, located at the northeast end of the Gorges du Verdon, Castellane is a destination to be privileged for living a new adventure. In the heart of this locality, you can do many outdoor sports on the Verdon. One of the most unmissable of them is rafting. This activity will allow you to know all the joys of white water. However, before participating in this adventure and thrill sport, a few criteria must be met. To be able to fully enjoy this hobby, you must be in good physical condition. Knowing how to swim is also imperative. This is one of the most important criteria to be met.

Also, a minimum age must be respected. Participants must be at least eight years old. Equipment allowing to raft in all serenity is also to envisage. Take with you a swimsuit as well as closed shoes like sneakers for example. As for the life jackets and helmets, they are generally provided by the agencies offering the activity. Also, don’t forget to bring a towel and bag with a change of clothes for the return.

Getaway to Castellane: go for an aqua-hike on the Verdon

We don’t just raft on the Verdon. You can also practice aqua-hiking. This fun activity is a way to fully admire the beautiful landscapes of the Gorges du Verdon. It will allow anyone not afraid of white water to discover a river more horizontal than vertical. Lying on your back, lifted by a life jacket, follow the course of the water while swimming or floating. The course on the Verdon can be punctuated by several jumps which are not compulsory. To practice aqua-hiking safely, it is advisable to be accompanied by a guide. The latter will show you the way to go and show you the most remote corners of the Verdon. The guide will not fail to inform you of the fragility of the site’s environment and will ask you to respect it.

Circuit in Castellane: indulge in airboat kayaking on the Verdon

In the range of outdoor sports that can be done on the Verdon, we find the airboat kayaking. The latter is particularly recommended during a trip to Costa Rica. This activity is much more sporty than rafting. Alone or in pairs, discover the river aboard your inflatable boat. The airboat is generally operated with a double paddle. Its inflated structure and its self-draining bottom give it great stability. This will allow novices to easily cross the river. On the Verdon, you can follow different routes. Your guide will not fail to point them out to you. It should be noted that to be able to do this activity, you must absolutely know how to swim.

The Funny Helmets.

Hiking and legends; Robion Mountain

- Hiking

Hiking and legends

Robion, one of the most characteristic mountains of Verdon. It rises to 1,660 meters, 950 meters above Castellane. A characteristic massif since rafting and canoe route from Castellane and ending at Pont de Soleil. Practically goes around the mountain of Robion on the right. In other thermal baths, one could say that the mountain of Robion is located on the left bank of the course … From Castellane, behind the swimming pool, you take the small departmental road in the direction of Bourguet. You quickly come across the small yellow signs that mark the path to the summit of Robion. Allow around 4 hours to make the round trip.

In summer, it is recommended to start early to climb before the heat. From the summit a bright day, you can see the Mediterranean! Personally, I have never had this chance. It is also possible to make a loop by borrowing the ascent or the descent, the route known as “Tour de Robion”. From the village of Robion, on the route du Bourguet, you will also discover the chapel of Saint Trophime. An 18th century troglodyte chapel hanging on the mountain and dedicated to the first bishop of Arles.

Robion and the Knights Templar

Unless the legend has endured over the centuries in some secret circles. It was at the beginning of the twentieth century that the discovery of a parchment in Siberia awakened curiosity about the past “Templar” of the Verdon. Nevertheless, you can read this article on the legend of the treasure of the Knights Templar in the Verdon. The persecuted Templars carried their treasure from the east to the Verdon and hid it in the greatest secrecy. We then searched in the subfields of the castle of Valcros without success. It is also believed that the treasure can be found in an immense underground lake contained in Robion Mountain also called The Island of the Watchers.

Stop at the Moulin de Soleils Bakery on the road to Draguignan, the boss, passionate about this story is inexhaustible on the subject.

 

The Funny Helmets.

“Aqua Trekking”, “Aqua-Rando” or “Aqua Hike”?

- White Water activities

 

The three terms “aqua trekking”, “aqua hiking” and “aqua trekking” refer to the same activity. Since when and why do we practice aqua trekking? In the 90’s, the prefecture imposed that the bed of the verdon river be full up to the lake Sainte-Croix on the days of release, before the sunrise. A measure which reassured the population and especially the tourists who were not used to the functioning of the Verdon.

However, this measure had for effect to divide by two the number of days of possible releases of water since the dam of Chaudanne. Indeed, to allow the water to arrive 35 kilometers lower, it is necessary to open the dam at 10 pm the day before rather than at 9 am the same morning. Two days of releases per week, three days the years when the reserves are sufficient. It was therefore necessary to find a complementary activity in order to be able to work in the valley on a permanent basis. And this, for the duration of the tourist season. The solution was to be found in the Samson corridor, on the days when the dam remained “closed”.

Aqua Trekking half-day trip in the Samson Corridor

From the couloir, we go down the course of the Verdon for about two kilometers. Swimming, with the only buoyancy aid, the life jacket worn in rafting. We are also equipped with a helmet and a neoprene suit. This course offers one of the most beautiful sceneries of the Grand Canyon, only accessible by water. Moreover, the Belvedere of the Couloir Samson, built on the right bank in the commune of Rougon, allows a very easy access to these gorges, often more than four hundred meters deep.

One uses essentially the force of the current to progress. We also leave the water a few times to get jumps between 1 and 5 meters. To this, we must also add the access step, the return step and the few steps in the river that allow to bypass impassable obstacles. It is also up to the guide to comment on this environment. To describe its fauna, its flora and to explain the geological formation of the Canyon in its broad outlines. With the time and the frequentation of the course, the guides become defenders of the ecology, favoring a unique path that preserves the fragile zones of the river.

Aqua Trekking full day in the Samson Corridor

What a pleasure it is to do a full day of aquatic hiking! Enjoy a break in the sun to eat your picnic before going back to the adventure. Indeed, according to the needs, the Samson Corridor course can benefit from some extensions.

First of all, upstream, it is possible to get into the water shortly after the Pont de Tusset. A course generally reserved for the smallest but which will be also a very beautiful introduction to a superb day. Downstream, you can go down to the towers of Trescaïre. Be careful not to enter the rapids of the Turbine, a real inviolable sanctuary of the king Apron.

The river belongs to everyone and everyone can venture out at their own risk. However, given the many dangers of the Verdon, it is best to be accompanied by a professional guide.

The Funny Helmets.