Date:    5/10/14
River:    Hurunui River, North Canterbury, NZ
River Conditions:   42 Cumecs at Mandamus. Grade 2+(3), water clear.
Weather Conditions:   Cold, strong gusty NW winds.
Number on Trip:    9 (6 doing Maori Gully) kayakers.
Time on River:  3 hours.
Comments:   The official club trip for the weekend and it was off to the Hurunui. The weather looked ok despite the promise of strong winds in the afternoon. The wind was already blowing hard and cold, straight off the snow clad mountains, when we got there. A double shuttle was required as Matt and Tori just planned to do Gully runs while the rest of us paddled down from Jollie Brook. This time we put in at the camping area, rather than at the swing bridge and thus got to run the entire Jollie Brook rapid, which was pretty bouncy with 42 cumecs. The water was icy cold and I once again appreciated my new gear and the additional polar fleece layer under my dry top.

Murray breaks out of an eddy, snowy mountains in the background

We had a strong group and spent a reasonable amount of time catching eddies and playing. On the long straight below Jollie Brook, we noticed a lone kayaker behind us and assumed it was a member from another group as all our paddlers were accounted for. So it was somewhat of a surprise to have Tori catch up with us after just a single Gully run, Matt having decided to head back to town due to the strong winds and other commitments. We carried on down to Devil’s Fang Falls, which we’d looked at on the way up. It had seemed ok, with a clear path down the right hand side and I watched the others disappear from view over the horizon line, without any apparent dramas. On my turn, I slid down the tongue, smiled for John H, who has on the bank with his camera, braced at the bottom as I crossed the positively effervescent waters around base of the drop and joined the others. Ian had tipped in the foam and hadn’t been able to roll up right and had then swum, plus others had rolled too. So much for no dramas and after a short pause we carried on to Seawards, in to a strengthening and increasingly unpleasant wind.

Tori at the Magic Roundabout

Two of the group got out at Seawards to run the shuttle and after a snack and a stretch of the legs for some, it was off into Maori Gully with a now gale force wind at our backs. There was a brief play at the Magic Roundabout, but I chose not to join the fun due to the wind, the cold and the boisterous flow, then past Simon’s hole where one of the guy who hadn’t paddled the Hurunui before, casually boofed the hole before paddling hard to escape its’ clutches. The two boulder gardens slid by, then down the Elevator and on to Cheese Grater, which at this flow was a smooth chute with several large standing waves at the end. The corner rapid was pretty big too.

Playing on the wave at the end of the Corner Rapid

A brief play at the Pop Up Spot for some and then down to the get out, with a dry head and dry feet, just the way I like it. My kayak was still nice and dry inside when Jim helped me out and even the climb up the hill didn’t seem so bad. It was nice to get in to dry clothes and out of the wind (which did provide the bonus of keeping the sand flies away). Drove back to town via a beer at Brew Moon, feeling somewhat tired after a busy weekend of paddling.

Date:    4/10/14
River:    Ashley River, Canterbury, NZ
River Conditions:   5.1 cumecs at Ashley Gorge. Water clear, swift and cold. Grade 2.
Weather Conditions:   Cool but sunny, overcast with light snow (hail) later.
Number on Trip:    7 people.
Time on River:  3.25 hours.
Comments:  Being unable to go one the club trip on Sunday and after being teased unmercifully at the WWCC drinks on Friday for paddling the Ashley at 6 cumecs last weekend, Graeme decided to go one better and do it at 5 cumecs and make the most of a sunny day. As I was up until 1am on Friday night (not at the club drinks) and I wasn’t exactly sure what the weather was going to be like, I held off fully committing until the morning, but the sky looked clear and the forecast good, so the boat went on the car and I drove off to The Peg.

There were seven of us there and so we took three cars and drove to the middle bridge to get changed. It was cold but sunny and looked like being a very nice day, even if the flow was a little on the low side. We ended up chasing another sheep down in to the Lees Valley after she refused to leave the road or let us past, we think she was racing us. Once on the river, we bounced our way down to the Townsend confluence and the played, caught eddies and generally enjoyed the river as we made our way down stream. This time I made sure I kept my nose clip on and didn’t get too cocky so there was no repeat of last weekend’s embarrassing incident. At the main boulder garden rapid, I managed to spot the wire fence tangled around the large rock about half way down on the river right, the fence trails off down stream before disappearing below the water’s surface. It didn’t cause any problems for our group but there is definitely the potential danger there, so be careful if you do this run.

Surfing on the Upper Ashley. Photo by Steffan

There were the odd rolls and swims, but it was great to see people trying new things, pushing their limits and challenging themselves. Prasasta wowed us all when she tipped whilst surfing a wave, then rolled up again while still surfing the wave, we all cheered as it was pretty awesome. Contrary to some opinions, there was plenty to do and only rarely did we find the bottoms of our boats touching the stony river bed and then only on the occasional gravel chute, where the river widen or was braided.

As we near the end, the sky darken and it grew noticeably colder and then began to snow. Not the light, feathery flakes but more rounded and probably closer to hail but more airy, it was quite pretty but it didn’t settle and fortunately stopped before we reached the get out. We got changed, covered up against the sand flies and the cold while the shuttle was run. Then headed back to town via a stop at Seagar’s for a coffee and a nibble. Another fun and tiring day out, time better spent on the river than in a mall.

Date:    27/09/14
River:    Ashley River, Canterbury, NZ
River Conditions:   6.2 cumecs at Ashley Gorge. Water clear, swift and cold. Grade 2.
Weather Conditions:   Cool and overcast.
Number on Trip:    3 people.
Time on River:  2.5 hours.
Comments:  With the club heading to the West Coast and a first aid course on Sunday, we needed to do something on the Saturday to get a trip in. Graeme was keen, so he, Brent and I met up at the The Peg at 8am with the basic plan to run the Hurunui from Jollie Brook down to Seaward. We’d checked out the weather forecast, which didn’t look good and also noted the sharp upward kick of the flow gauge at Mandamus, which was show 55 cumecs at midnight and rising. The upper section of the Ashley was suggested and we all agreed that this looked like a better plan for our small group, with the shorter drive meaning we would be off the river before the weather turned as well. So after getting my boat on Graeme’s car, it was off to the middle bridge, before getting changed and driving to the Lees Valley put in.

The first part was a little bumpy, but once the Townsend River joined the flow, the going got better. With the low flow, I adopted a slightly more relaxed style, removed my nose clip and loosened my technique somewhat and as a result found myself upside-down with a head full of water in a rather shallow spot, after a little casual play went awry. As I was almost touching the bottom or some rocks, I tried to lift myself up using them instead of rolling properly, when this didn’t work and I’d gotten my hands, poggees and paddle a little tangled up, I pulled my deck, stood up and towed my boat to the bank and emptied it out. Not exactly an auspicious or inspiring start to the trip.

Graeme makes a splash

Back in my boat and we were soon on our way again. There was plenty of eddies to catch, rocks to dodge and holes to play on and we all had fun. Brent tipped over briefly on one rapid and rolled up immediately, putting my earlier lame efforts to shame. There was apparently still traces of the wire fence around one of the larger, early rapids but we avoided it without any difficulty. This was a fun work out and a good low key warm up to the season. This section is definitely worth paddling at this flow, for a nice easy and fun paddle, that still offers challenges to newer paddlers, relatively close to town too.

Brent breaks out

We reached the middle bridge around lunch time and by the clouds of sandflies that descended upon us, they definitely thought that it was time for lunch and we were the main course. After a quick change, Brent and Graeme ran the shuttle while I watched the gear and fended off the marauding hoards of biting insects, before we all headed back to Christchurch just as the rain started. Thanks Graeme and Brent for a good day out.

Date:    21/9/14
River:    Hurunui River, North Canterbury, NZ
River Conditions:   65 Cumecs at Mandamus. Grade 2+(3), water clear.
Weather Conditions:   Sunny, cool with occasionally gusty winds.
Number on Trip:    8 (7 doing Maori Gully) kayakers & 5 on the raft.
Time on River:  3.5 hours.
Comments:   This was my first trip of the season and given the promise of a cold sou-westerly change on the cards, I was almost tempted not to go. But after inspecting the mountain weather forecast closely the night before and having spent an unexpectedly sunny Saturday wandering around the Botanic Gardens, I decided it would be worthwhile. The flow for the Ashley River looked a little on the low side but the Hurunui, flowing at 65 to 70 cumecs looked good. The overnight rain cleared and the day dawned cool but clear, so they was now no question as to what to do and it was off to The Peg. After a bit of discussion and sorting out of logistics, we decided to paddle from the top gorge down, but after considering the impending southerly change and the difficulty in running the shuttle, this was changed to putting in at Jollie Brook.

Looking upstream towards the mountains

We drove up to the Hurunui, did some shuttling for a group that just planned to run the gully and then drove up to Jollie Brook with one of their group, so he could drive our vehicle back to the Seawards takeout. On arrival at Jollie Brook, we found everyone else had parked by the swing bridge, instead of at the camping area further up, meaning that we’d miss out on the Jollie Brook rapid. Some of the group walked upstream and ran the whole rapid, but I wasn’t feeling up to lugging my boat around and so just did a bit of a warm up below the swing bridge. Not having done any serious paddling for a while left me feeling pretty tired and weak after just a little playing, but it was nice to note that my new spray deck and dry jacket seemed to be doing their job and I didn’t have that cold dribble of water down my back. Eventually the rest of the group made it down from the top of the rapid, Ian got his raft inflated and we were underway. The sun was out and after the warm up, I was feeling pretty hot inside my new jacket and not cold and wet like usual, despite the snow on the surrounding hills.

Matt surfing in a hole

At 65 cumecs, the current was pretty swift and the rapids and wave trains were a lot bouncier, its was really good to be back out on the river. The river was much as I remembered it, with the only major change of note is that the old “Eddy of Doom” is now completely blocked off by a rocky, gravel bar and the river bypasses the bluff completely. As we had a strong group so there where no dramas, even though I was still had the “early season” lack of confidence and was feeling pretty nervous about Devil’s Fang Falls. We hadn’t stopped to check it out on the way up and I wasn’t really sure what it looked like at this flow.

As I was tail end Charlie, I watched the others go over on by one. Matt was first and took an unusual left-hand line and I watched his small play boat perform an unintentional tail stand before disappearing from sight. The rest of the group, mostly in creek boats, disappeared over the horizon line on the more common right-hand line and didn’t seem to have any problems. Finally it was my turn, I drifted down the rapid, checking ahead, skirted the holes at the top of the rapid and then down a clear tongue. None of the usually features were visible, the fang buried under foaming white water. It was messy at the bottom and when I hit the aerated mass, a wave hit me from the left and I was over, a quick failed roll in the boiling water to grab a breath and then a second successful one to paddle out and down the out to the eddy at the bottom. There are few things as confidence building as knowing you can successfully roll when you need to. Now I felt much better about running Maori Gully.

Nicole runs a rapid

Two of our group got out a Seawards and we gained an extra paddler at the magic roundabout. I was playing it safe and generally bombing the rapids, avoiding the other paddlers where possible. I had another successful roll near the bottom of bum rock rapid, when something caught me off balance. The escalator was pretty tame at this flow, mainly washed out but cheese grater was pretty messy. Recently people have been having some exciting experiences on it, as it has been kicking strongly to the left where there is a hazardous under cut. This time I took the chute on the right-hand, paddled hard and punched through the wave at the end, beyond the boiling water tried to spin my kayak while I tried to stay on line and up right. It must have worked and I paddled into the eddy.

Bill surfs one of the big waves above the corner rapid

The river wide waves above the corner rapid were big but presented no dramas and several kayakers stopped to have a bit of a play, while I took a few photos. We also stopped for a play at the pop up spot, which was in fine form, easily flipping even the larger creek boats. Then down to the take out and up the steep track to the top. As I clambered out of my boat, it was nice to note that the inside of my kayak was still dry and I had stayed warm throughout the entire trip, despite the occasional roll, thanks to my new gear. I felt exhausted and my boat seemed to now weigh a ton, but I staggered onwards and upwards until I made it to the car park where our vehicle and dry clothing awaited. We got changed and the shuttle got run and then it was off to Brew Moon for a beverage and a bite to eat before heading back to town.

Date:    21/06/14
River:    Ashley River, Canterbury, NZ
River Conditions:   14 cumecs at Ashley Gorge. Water clear, swift and cold. Grade 3.
Weather Conditions:   Sunny & warm with strong NW winds.
Number on Trip:    9 people.
Time on River:  3.5 hours.
Comments:  Matt organised a mid-winter trip down the Ashley River to celebrate the Winter Solstice and I was just coming to the end of a course of antibiotics to treat a chest infection that still hadn’t completely cleared up, I was in two minds as to whether to go or not. With the flow being a cruisy 14 cumecs and the temperature predicted to reach 17 degrees (pretty good for mid-winter in Canterbury), I decided I’d kick myself if I didn’t go. As the water would still be cold even if the air temperature was warmish, I packed by wet suit & a few extra warm layers (but forgot to bring my towel).

The 10am meeting time was also a welcome relief, meaning that the sun was well up and the temperature was reasonably pleasant. After short wait for John to arrive from his mid-winter swim at Sumner (something he didn’t repeat on the river), we were off. We met up with Ross at the Domain, got changed and drove up to the put in at the middle bridge. We were all dressed warmly, even Murray had a dry suit on and once we were on the water it almost seemed too warm, though once out of the sun and a bit wet, I certainly appreciated the extra layers.

The flow was pretty low, meaning there were plenty of rocks to dodge but there wasn’t much push so there were some nice opportunities for playing. As I wasn’t feeling 100%, I tended to take fairly easy lines and didn’t spend much time catching eddies on the way down the rapids. Our Chilean visitor, the only one in our group who hadn’t paddled the river before, tended to spend most of his time at the front, bombing the rapids and often disappearing into the distances, until it was explained that this probably wasn’t a good practice.

No real dramas, Colin took a swim (possibly after getting stuck on a rock, not really sure, but it was in an odd place) and while he self rescued, we spent a bit of time chasing it down the gorge proper, trying to push it into an eddy. Ross also to a brief swim after tipping in an eddy and his roll not quite working, but was soon back in his boat. I had a brief bit of excitement on the last major rapid, coming down the left channel, I ended up running over a series of shallow rocks and finished with an unplanned tail stand before completing the rapid. John noted the moved, decided to avoid that line and then apparently repeated my actions due to the current doing unexpected things to him.

After the main drops the paddle out was a little harder than usual, with the low flow making for some fairly flat sections and the effects of the chest infection reducing my overall energy levels (not to mention my lack of recent paddling leading to some sore muscles). Still there were still some nice little rapids, wave trains and even the odd surf spot to make it all worth while. Still I has quite glad when the get out came into view.

The scenery was really great with the rock, cliffs and bush cover hills and with the warm weather and sunshine, being there was a real pleasure. It is something really specially to be in these beautiful places, enjoying the river & what nature has to offer with a nice bunch of people. These are the kind of days that make you glad to be alive.

After the shuttle was run, we headed to Cafe 51 in Oxford for a well earned cup of coffee & a muffin before driving back to town as darkness fell early. Home with fish & chips by six o’ clock, feeling tired & sore but glad to have spent an excellent day on the river.

Date:    21/04/14
River:    Ashley River, Canterbury, NZ
River Conditions:   27 cumecs at Ashley Gorge, possibly incorrect, estimated at 38 cumecs, water discoloured, swift and cool. Grade 2/3.
Weather Conditions:   Sunny & warm at first with a cold, south-easterly change in the afternoon.
Number on Trip:    10 in total, 4 kayakers, 2 catarafts & 1 paddle raft with 4 people.
Time on River:  3.5 hours.
Comments:  Having had a series of almost two weeks of rainy days since arriving back from sunny Queensland, being trapped inside was getting a little tiring, so it was nice when the sun finally came out. Heavy rain on Friday had pushed the Ashley up to almost 500 cumecs and paddling that was not for the faint hearted. Fortunately by Monday the flow had dropped and the sunny weather seemed to be holding and I was able to tag along with Hugh’s “Rubber” trip, a mainly rafting focused trip.

Instead of meeting at the Belfast Tavern as usual, we planned to meet at the picnic area at the Ashley Gorge Domain. It was a very pleasant day for a drive in the country, with the sun shining down and some good tunes on the stereo. Hugh was there preparing his rafts when I arrived, so I got changed while waiting for the others to arrive. Hugh and Doug had their one person catarafts and Ian had a more standard style raft with 3 paddlers. Bruce, Tania, Mark and myself had our kayaks and since they were already inflated, we didn’t take long to get them sorted out. After some discussion, it was decide to paddle the whole gorge from the Lees Valley with Mark possibly getting out at the middle bridge. We ran the shuttle, leaving Mark’s car at the bridge and after some heavy haulage of rafts through the gorse & broom, we were on the river and away.

The first half of the trip was pretty cruisy, paddling the fast flowing current with the sun sparkling on the water. Apparently Bruce tipped on one of the early rapids and got a little knocked about by the rocks in the shallow flow before being able to roll upright, some how I missed this. I didn’t play much, being happy to bounce down the wave trains and quite aware as how long the trip would be and not wishing to tire myself out too early. The scenery was beautiful and there were numerous waterfalls along the sides of the river, a result of all the recent rain.

By the time we reached the Middle Bridge, the sky was dark and grey and the temperature had dropped significantly and I was quite cold and wet. Mark got out here and the rest of us continued down the gorge. Tania had a swim on one of the early corners and after she was rescued, Hugh parked his cataraft in a small eddy on the far side of the river. While Bruce was helping Tania back into her boat, Hugh decide to exit his eddy and move further down the river. Unfortunately he didn’t quite make it and next thing I knew, the raft got pushed against a bluff below the eddy, then flipped on it’s side before overturning and dumping Hugh in the water. I alerted the others and attempted to push (without much success) the large raft into an eddy with my little kayak while the others got Hugh to shore. Captain Fox and his crew were soon on the scene and managed to shunt the raft to the side while Doug ferried Hugh across on his cataraft.

We were soon back underway, but at the next major rapid Tania took another swim and as she was getting a bit cold (the water was freezing, especially if you spend a little bit too much time in Queensland, like me) decided to join Ian’s crew while Hugh transported her kayak on the back of his cataraft.

Once in the gorge proper, the rapids came thick and fast but no real dramas. The main drop was not so much a drop at this flow, leading to some speculation as to the accuracy of the flow gauge and we all shot down the chute without a problem.

After the last major rapid, I felt a bit more confidant to have a bit more of a play and really enjoy some the big wave trains and remaining rapids. Did manage to tip over whilst floating backwards down a relatively flat section, trying to get a photo of the group. Fortunately I had the camera secured to my buoyancy aid or it wouldn’t matter how waterproof or shock proof it was, if it was at the bottom of the river. I think I proved Ian’s crew with a bit of a laugh, but didn’t get the photo I wanted. The sky was very dark and rain was threatening as we reached the take out and I was pretty cold by this stage. It was good to get out of my wet gear (my “dry” jacket now keeps me anything but dry) and into some warm clothes and once I was packed up I said goodbye and headed straight home while the others completed the shuttle and Tania cycled home from the Domain.

Date:    22/3/14
River:    Hurunui River, North Canterbury, NZ
River Conditions:   15.25 Cumecs at Mandamus. Grade 2+(3), water clear.
Weather Conditions:   Sunny, warm with occasional NE winds.
Number on Trip:    8 (5 doing Maori Gully).
Time on River:  4 hours.
Comments:   Having hardly paddled at all this year due to various other commitments and having not paddled the Hurunui River since February last year, it was great when Graeme organised a trip to take advantage of the fine weather (last weekend saw the tail of Cyclone Lusi bringing rain and high winds to Canterbury but not the expected flooding).

After meeting up at the Belfast Tavern, we were soon on our way up to the Jollie Brook put in. Fog shrouded the land from Weka Pass but cleared as we headed down towards the river. We paused to check out Devil’s Fang Falls, which at 15 cumecs was looking particularly bony. After removing a stick from near the bottom, Matt & I decided running it would be OK but everyone else thought the best route probably involved the road.

At the put in above the Jollie Brook rapid, we got changed and then waited while the shuttle was run. When the vehicle got back, Graeme noticed a hissing sound from one of the rear tyres as the air rapidly leaked out through a large hole with a chunk of rock stuck in it. The team soon gathered round and got the flat tyre swapped out and then it was in to our boats and away, while a group of rafters pumped up their rafts and ran through their pre-trip briefing.

The rafters past us at one of the early rapids as we stopped for a play and we followed them down the river towards the Dozy Stream put in. Most of the group got out on the river right above Devil’s Fang Falls, while the rafters portaged their rafts down the left hand bank. I carried on down, feeling a little apprehensive, and Matt eddied out at the top of the rapid. I wove my way through the holes above the main drop. On the water, the line looked pretty narrow with a number of folds and cross currents, however I was committed and down the chute I went. Things went a little pear shaped near the bottom and I ended up tipping and loosing a little skin on my hands as my paddle grazed along the “fang”. I rolled up promptly in the froth at bottom, eddied out and waved back to Matt. Matt came down without any dramas and we had a bit of a play while the others made their way down to the put in and the rafters relaunched their rafts.

After a short break and a bite to eat, we carried on down to Seawards without any dramas. The river had changed a bit over the last year and the entrance to what had in the past been the “Eddy of Doom”, was closed off and the river bypasses the previously fearsome bluff.

At Seawards, our group decreased in number and the second leg of the shuttle was run while the five remaining paddlers carried on through Maori Gully. With a low flow Maori Gully was pretty cruisy and we caught up with another group of paddlers that had just spent the day doing gully runs. Cheese grater was also particularly bony, with a number of visible rocks in the drop, the current also kicks left towards an undercut and so we ran it on the right, facing right. Tried out the pop up spot without much luck in the low flow and finally arrived at the take out absolutely exhausted. Got out, staggered up the hill and managed to be the last one out of their wet gear and into dry clothes. Then straight back to town and home, where I’m still feeling pretty sore several days later.