The river flows southeastwards towards the Indian Ocean, which it enters through a navigable estuary at Umkomaas (eMkhomazi), about 50 km southwest of Durban.

[7] The scaly yellowfish (Labeobarbus natalensis) is a fish found in the uMkhomazi River System as well as in the Umgeni, Umzimkulu, Tukhela and the Umfolozi.

It is a common endemic species in KwaZulu-Natal Province and it lives in different habitats between the Drakensberg foothills and the coastal lowlands.

Famed as the roughest water race to be paddled in sprint boats which make negotiating the category 1 - 4 rapids tricky, it also had the longest daily sections when the distance was 130 km over two days.

The race is held in a remote and rugged valley which makes access difficult and walking out a challenge if one should break a boat irreparably.

Charles Mason was instrumental in that undertaking, succeeding in the scouting of the river and the access roads and in persuading the powers-that-be to sanction the new race on the South African canoeing calendar.

Staying overnight in a temporary camp in the remote valley was a compulsory part of the race for many years but in latter years this has changed with the overnight stop now being easily accessible at the Hella Hella bridge (now the start of the second day in a reverse-order format since 2009 which has greatly simplified the challenging logistics of the race and hopefully ensured its survival).