Date:    25/10/2021
River:    Avon River, Christchurch, NZ
River Conditions:   1.355 cumecs at Gloucester Street bridge. Water clear. Grade 1.
Weather Conditions:   Sunny and warm, light winds.
Number on Trip:    1 person.
Time on River:  1.5 hours.
Comments:  Labour Day was a beautiful day and a great way to round off a long weekend largely spent doing housework and gardening, was going for a paddle through the Red Zone. So while Lauri was resting from our earlier outing to look at cameras, I got changed into my paddling gear, shouldered my Blitz and heading down to the river.

The tide was out and in my usual launch spot there wasn’t a lot of water so a seal launch was out of the question. I lower my boat into the barely covered mud and clambered in. Using the pelvic thrust method, I managed to move the boat into deeper water and then it was off downstream. I chose to head down the river as I was interested to see how the progress was going on the new footbridges that were being built to replace the bridges damaged in the quakes.

At Medway Street, the previous steel bridge was left badly twisted by the force of the ground movement and provided an interesting photo opportunity before it was removed. At this site, work seemed to be proceeding with a large crane on either bank and the start of foundations going it, but is does look like it will be a bit longer before we can walk a circuit down one side of the river and back up the other.

There were a number of other paddlers on the river enjoying a warm, sunny day, paddling everything from race boats to sit on tops. There were plenty of people enjoying the Red Zone, strolling beside the river, walking their dogs (some people even had their dogs on leads) or cycling on the tracks. The green spine is such an amazing resource and hopefully its amenity values will always be preserved so everyone can enjoy them in to the future.

Further down, I spotted a shag trying to shallow a smallish eel that definitely didn’t want to get eaten. There was a lot of head waving, ducking & squirming before the eel was swallowed whole. With just the zoom on the point & shoot camera, I was really able to get close enough to do the scene justice, but it was cool to see the this natural drama. I didn’t think I see something like this again anytime soon, so it was a bit of a surprise on the way back up stream, to witness possibly the same shag downing another eel, though this time with considerably less drama, one quick head flick & down it went.

At the Gayhurst Street bridge, I decided to carry one down to Kerrs Reach, to see if the was any new developments along this stretch. Construction has started on the Dallington Landing but nothing has been done on the river bank yet and work on the footbridge at Snell Place has yet to begin. It will be good to see the quake damaged facilities being replaced over time, to allow people more easily access the river. There were a few people white baiting on the river banks down this stretch, though I’m not sure I’d be keen to eat anything that came out of the Avon, even if I did actually eat fish.

There were still quite a few rowers at Kerrs Reach, even though it was early evening, and after a brief pause, I turned around and headed back upstream. It was a bit harder paddling home with the flow against me, but the evening light reflecting on the water made the paddling more relaxing. Well aware that time was getting on and dinner wasn’t going to cook itself, I kept the pace up and although the last leg was a bit of a grind, the landing appeared. I clambered out at the landing by the Riverlution Café site and hurried home across the community garden, ignoring the two Police cars & ambulance at the end of the street (no idea what was happening). Even though I was tired & sore, it was a nice way to end the weekend, I love having this asset on our doorstep.

Date: 17/10/2021
River: Rangitata River, South Canterbury, NZ
River Conditions: 85 to 90 cumecs at Klondyke, water cold and slightly discoloured. Grade 2.
Weather Conditions: Cool, occasional rain with strong northerly winds at times.
Number on Trip: 10 (plus 3 doing the grade 4 gorge section)
Time on River: 3.25 hours
Comments: The Rangitata came up on the club trip list and is a river I quite enjoy paddling, with its’ boulder gardens and bouncy wave trains, so I was definitely keen. The weather forecast was looking ok, but with the possibility of some range around the main divide, and the flow was looking good too. I managed to rush out the door, only running a little late and managed to get to Caltex Hornby a little after 8:30am. True to Bill’s plan, we were loaded up and away before 9am, surely a record.

A brief stop in Ashburton to pick up Aiden before heading to the grade 2 put in at Klondyke. The shuttle was sorted out while we got changed, there was some discussion regarding placement of keys and I made sure the team running the shuttle knew where the get out was for the grade two section. The team doing the upper, grade 4 section were in a rush to get started and quickly raced off, which was probably the start of stuff up that was yet to come. In the past, drivers from the grade 2 accompany the paddlers running the gorge and then drive their vehicles back down to Klondyke, this didn’t get mentioned and there was no discussion on how the grade 4 paddlers would pick up their vehicle.

John Hunter turned up and we completed getting changed. It is always a little daunting, looking down from the top of the cliff at the weir, as it is always challenging to start any trip on the hardest rapid. Once lines were picked, boats were shouldered and we walked down to the put in “beach”, that seemed to be a bit smaller than it used to be, since the floods earlier in the year.

John was the first to run the weir, possible to make sure I didn’t photograph him if things went wrong. Another paddler followed him down to make sure he hadn’t come to grief, bouncing down the weir to the right of the main flow. I went next, wanting to get a few photos of people running the rapid, I rode the tongue down the main flow, possibly disappearing underwater at the bottom (possibly similar to the person pictured above) before cutting across the flow to pull into an eddy on river right.

The next couple of paddlers took the chicken route down along the right bank, but this still made for some nice photos with the weir in the background. This was followed by the braver or more experienced paddlers who went down the main tongue, disappearing briefly at the bottom before resurfacing to be cheered on by John & photographed by me. No dramas for anyone, so once everyone was down what was potentially the hardest rapid on this section, we carried on downstream.

Below the weir, is a nice boulder garden that always provides a great warm up as you try to catch eddies and surf your way through the rapid. This was fun and I got some nice surfs, though I had to make sure I didn’t keep everyone waiting.

Most of the rapids seemed a bit better than previous times, probably due to there being a reasonable amount of water in the river. Sound of the bigger grade 2 rapids were quite bouncy and presented a bit of a challenge to some of the newer paddlers, but most offered easier routes at the sides and no one had any real dramas.

There were plenty of boulder gardens and nice rapids where a surf could be had, making this a fun but not too challenging trip. Most of the group was happy to just run the rapids, but I tried to have a bit of fun on the way down.

The weather hinted at clearing up but never really did, so it was pretty cool on the river and we were looking forward to getting to the take out. I kept miss picking how far it was, expecting the final rapid to be just around the next corner. When we got there it seemed a bit different, the floods may have moved the channel around and the higher flow possibly washed out some of the rocks. We could see the Outdoor Pursuits Centre and the odd car, which was a good site. At the take out, the flow had eaten away at the bank causing a large tree to fall into the river. We avoid it, broke into the eddy and clambered up the bank. The vehicles didn’t seem to be there.

So we waited, and waited. It began to rain and we found shelter under one outbuilding before sheltering on the veranda of an old house. We waited some more, time passed, we waited. It was cold and raining but we were in reasonable humour and warm enough. Every time heard a vehicle on the road we got excited, only hear it disappear down the road. Eventually the grade 4 party turned up and we all headed down to meet them.

When we got down to where the vehicles were parked, we noticed some of the vehicles were missing, specifically the ones with the dry clothes. In the following discussion, it turned out the other group couldn’t find the keys to the other vehicles and so had just moved the ones they had keys for. Since all the vehicle keys had been placed on the same shock absorber and they were now no longer there, we realised that they mush have fallen out somewhere on the road between the put in and the take out, not a small area to search. An offer by the grade 4 group to take one person with them and head back to town, leaving the rest of us was not seen as a solution and so a group went back up to the put in to search, while we waited.

…and waited. Eventually it got a bit too cold sitting outside and since the door was unlocked, we went into the OPC to warm up and have a cup of tea. Fortunately some had a phone with them and they let us contact our other halves to let them know we’d be late home.

The group came back with another vehicle having found one set of keys lying on the farm track. It wasn’t the vehicle with our gear in, so we had another discussion on what to do. Heading back into town in our kayaking gear was one option and we had enough cars to do this, but with all our keys, phones & wallets locked in the stranded vehicle, it meant we wouldn’t be able to drive home from Caltex Hornby. In the end, we called the AA to see if they could get someone out on a Sunday evening to open the car, while the cars owner went back up for another look for the keys.

We spent a bit of time bouncing around on hold with the AA, they were very helpful but there wasn’t a lot that could be done, we didn’t even know what type of vehicle we were trying to get into. As the phone only just managed to hold a connection whilst outside, it was pretty cold & miserable waiting.

We were just about to seriously commit to trying to get a locksmith out from Ashburton to open the car, when Murray drove up, having managed to find the key after some very thorough searching by some very motivated people. Dry clothes were gotten into, the last boats loaded up and we were out of there. A bit tired and cold, but very glad to be dry and heading home. We arrived back at Hornby around 8pm and then on home to a not very happy Lauri.

Lessons learnt…
Like most stuff ups, this one was built on a foundation of assumptions & miscommunications then rushed, so to hopefully prevent this happening again or at least give people some tools so that can recognise the signs of a stuff up in the making and then take positive actions to prevent the stuff up from actually occurring.

• Firstly if you are not happy to do something or don’t understand the “plan”, say something at the time. If you don’t want to run a shuttle, aren’t clear about vehicles, where keys are to be left, where the take out is etc, say something so alternatives can be sorted out or details clarified. Also even if you are not involved in actually running the “plan” and can see some likely flaws, speak out too, as you may have spotted something others have missed.
• Positive communications are key, communicate the “plan” clearly and then have the participants repeat back what their role is and the expectations of them are. It is also worth checking whether they see any flaws or have any suggestions that might improve the “plan”. Make sure everyone is clear and agreed on to the “plan” before putting it into operation.
• Try to avoid rushing. Act in haste, repent at leisure is definitely a true aphorism. Taking an extra 5 minutes at the start, could save hours of wasted time later.
• Make sure that those running the shuttle know exactly where the keys are going to be left. Preferably if the vehicle owner can talk to the person who will be driving their car, show them where the keys will be left and outline any issues or possible complications (unusual park brake, reverse gear or starting requirements etc), that is less likely to cause problems. If you need to leave multiple sets of vehicle keys, you can leave them all in the central console of a designated vehicle and then leave the keys to that vehicle in a specified location.
• If you have multiple cars and not enough drivers, take the vehicles with the dry gear in first. If you don’t seem to have the keys for the dry gear vehicle, check again, try to remember what was discussed at the planning stage, look again more thoroughly or ask someone else if they know where the keys are, as all shuttle plans work on the theory that the dry gear will be at the get out when the paddlers get off the river, that is the purpose of the plan.
• If possible, always leave a vehicle at the take so you are never completely stranded if something goes wrong.
• Carry spare keys. In case the keys get lost, it helps to have a spare available in a PFD or dry bag. With some cars, you can use a standard key to unlock the doors and store the electronic key in the vehicle if you are worried about taking an electronic key on the river.
• Even if you aren’t taking your car on the trip, it is worth carrying spare car keys on your person, in case your gear gets stolen from vehicles during the river trips, as you will still need to access your vehicle back at the meeting point. Similarly it is better to just take a waterproof “kayaking” wallet with you that only contains some cash, a bank card, your drivers licence plus your house key in your dry jacket, so you don’t need to replace all your cards and locks in the event that the vehicles get broken into while you are paddling.
• Make sure you have spare warm gear with you on the river, just in case you get stuck out or the dry gear isn’t at the take out as expected.
• Charge up your phone before heading out and turn it off when you move out of cell coverage or are on the river. This will conserve the battery and means the phone is more likely to have plenty of charge if you need it later.

Date:   2/10/2021
River:    Ashley River, Canterbury, NZ
River Conditions:   13.2 cumecs at Ashley Gorge. Water discoloured and cool. Grade 2/3.
Weather Conditions:   Sunny but cool, Light NE winds..
Number on Trip:  6, with 2 doing top section only.
Time on River:  5 hours.
Comments:  With the main trip for the weekend being the Tekapo Whitewater Course, Tom was responsible for organising a smaller grade 2 local trip on Saturday. As the trip neared, an leader was required to lead the trip on the river, so after checking with Lauri, I volunteered. It has been one of the advantages of “working” from home due to COVID-19, as I’m home most of the time, I’m able to take time off at the weekend to go kayaking without feeling like I’m abandoning Lauri.

I did my usually rush to get out the door, making sure everyone got fed, the kitchen got tidied up & Katniss’s litterbox emptied, arriving at the Belfast Tavern carpark just before 9am. Boats were loaded up and we were away shortly after 9am, no messing about here. We drove through to the Lees Valley and got changed into our paddling gear, then waited while the shuttle was run. Took a few photos of the wire fencing hazard attached below the bridge. Definitely a real danger to anyone paddling under the bridge, so beware if you are planning to do this.

After we had a brief safety meeting, we launched into the river, with the water sparkling in the sunshine. It was nice to be back on the Ashley for the third time this season. We bounced down the first section before the Townsend River added a bit more water to the flow.

We had a bit of a play around on one of the early rapids that forms an entertaining play spot to practice your skills without too much drama.

A little further down, I looked back upstream to see a pair of kayaks that weren’t part of our group. Brian & Ross had arrived at the put in just as we were launching, though I hadn’t recognised the boats on the car roof, and they had caught up with our group not far into the trip. We paddled together for a short way before they disappeared into the distance. It was good to see both of them back on the river, as they had apparently been focusing more on sea kayaking lately.

We took our time and enjoyed the river, since we only planned run the upper section, there was no real rush. The sun was shining and it was a real pleasure to be out in nature.

The upper section is reasonably entertaining for grade 2 paddlers and offers some different challenges to the Hurunui, with some tighter, more technical rapids but nothing that should be too challenging.

Polly had inquired about the grade 2 put in on Facebook for a planned trip and so it was nice to see her rafting party paddle past, enjoying a beautiful sunny day. The upper section makes a fun outing and not too far from the city.

At some stage Jacko mentioned that Kris was keen for a first trip through the grade 3 section, so our short, relaxing paddle with getting home early sort of evaporated at this point. We carried on down the river, avoiding the various trees in the flow when the river valley widened in the kilometer above the middle bridge. At the middle bridge, Alex & Tom got out to run the shuttle, and Jacko persuaded Dave to paddle the lower section as it would be safer with 4 paddlers. We also helped out with Polly’s rafting party’s shuttle by taking their driver back up to the put in.

The remaining four paddlers carried on downstream, keeping up a good pace, as we were aware it was now after 2pm and we had a couple of hours paddle ahead. It was nice to get another run down the grade 3 section, to better get reacquainted with the rapids and try to remember what had changed.

I was feeling a bit more confidant in my paddling ability on this run, having a few kayaking trips under my belt for the season, and I made more conscious decisions picking my lines, instead of just bouncing down rapids. I’d taken the tail end Charlie position in the group, with Jacko taking the lead and providing some guidance to the others, so I watched the lines that those in front took and hung back a little in case I needed to rescue anyone, fortunately there were no dramas. As we were moving along without much playing or dawdling, there wasn’t much opportunity to take photos, though I did get the occasional one when I had the chance or saw something that looked good.

Much of the gorge was fairly similar , if not slightly easier than it used to be. I didn’t notice the few features that surprised me on the previous run, possible due to picking better lines and not just blundering into holes or over drops. The main drop is definitely less dramatic and everyone ran it without issue, though Kris tipped in the eddy below it and failed to roll as he has being pushed against the bank. He bailed, but we got him to shore, rescued his boat and he was quickly back on the water.

As we neared 3 Trick rapid, I spotted the rock fall scar, eddied out while Jacko led the other two down the right hand line (to the left of the central boulder in the picture above). I followed their initial line but cut across above the boulder and bounced down the left hand line (to the right of the central boulder). It was a bit rocky & bumpy, and at some stage I smacked my elbow on a rock somehow. I still haven’t worked out what is the best line, but hopefully we’ll get it sorted after a few more runs. I did manage to eddy out at the bottom and capture the view up the rapid, this time with a clear lens.

On down to the last grade 3 rapid, which has changed somewhat since the floods. I watched the others go down a line that ran quite close to the big rock in the middle and that looked a little exciting, so I thought I try going a little further to the river right. This was ok but there seemed to be a few rocks in the approach and it was just a little bouncy. The whole approach seems to be not quite as clean as it used to be, so may take a few more runs to relearn the rapid.

From here we bombed down the remaining grade 2 rapids, aware of the time and my fatigue levels (this definitely felt like exercise and not just the cruisy grade 2 trip I’d offered to help out with). The first section is about 11km to the middle bridge with about 12km further to the highway bridge, making it a fairly long trip. My arms were feeling quite tired when the river gauge tower appeared, marking that the end was almost in sight. We paddled past the campground, which was still closed, and took out under the bridge. I was nice to get changed into some warm, dry clothes. From here, we headed in to Oxford for a drink at a café but that was closed, so we ended up at the Black Beech Wine Bar. I appreciated the Bundaberg ginger beer after a thirsty paddle, but it still feels a little awkward & uncomfortable masking up and going out into public spaces, even though we don’t currently have COVID-19 in the South Island, I’ll definitely be glad when things get back to normal (whatever that is). After a good chat, we drove back to town and I picked up takeaways from Burger Station for dinner on the way home, feeling somewhat exhausted but pleased after a fun day on the river.

Date:   19/09/2021
River:    Ashley River, Canterbury, NZ
River Conditions:   13.8 cumecs at Ashley Gorge. Water discoloured and cool. Grade 2/3.
Weather Conditions:   Overcast, clearing in the afternoon, cool. Northerly winds.
Number on Trip:  6, with 2 doing top section only.
Time on River:  4 hours.
Comments:  This was scheduled to be a Hurunui trip, but with the Hurunui running at over 100 cumecs on Saturday a trip down the Ashley was looking more promising. By Sunday, the Hurunui had dropped to around 80 cumecs so as we stood in the Belfast carpark and debated possible options, a Hurunui trip was once more on the cards. Two paddlers we keen on the Hurunui but the rest, considering the likelihood of high NW winds and that the flow gauge was reading low, preferred the Ashley. In the end, we split up with 6 of us piling into two cars and heading off to run the Ashley form the Lees Valley.

We got changed at the middle bridge and then all six of us squeezed into Hugh’s car, with all the boats & paddles strapped to the roof and drove up to the put in. It was a tight fit with four of us across the back seat, fortunately kayakers tend to be relatively slim & athletic, and are used to being crammed into tight spaces for long periods of time, so it was too bad.

We worked our way down the first stretch, warming up, and then spent a bit of time playing on the first play spot we came to.

Everyone had a bit of fun here and so I ended up with a number of photos on this rapid. Bill had his Eskimo Salto out again, resplendent with the names of the many sponsors of his film Rivering. Check out the movie if you want to remember why we paddle & maybe see some familiar faces.

Jacko demonstrated his skills and had a few good surfs, and Hugh got to try out his new packraft, which was a bit more streamlined and narrower, meaning it performed a little bit more like a kayak. It was impressive to see him carving out in to the whitewater, just shy of his 79th birthday.

We made our way down the river at a good pace, well aware that doing both sections with a total distance of almost 23km, would make for a long day if we decided to play on everything. Hugh seemed to take the bit between his teeth at times, so I had to chase him down at one stage when got a bit too far ahead of the rest of the group.

When the hills receded and the river opened up, we had to take care not to get grounded in the shallows, there were also a few trees jutting into the flow, that we had to avoid. It took us about 2 hours to reach the middle bridge and here, Hugh & Ian left us to run the shuttle, where they would leave a vehicle at the highway bridge before heading back into town. This would mean we didn’t need to do any further shuttling once we got of the river.

I was still a little nervous about doing the grade 3 section and so preceded fairly carefully, not exactly knowing what the changes I’d heard about would mean.

Most of the rapids were fairly similar and it was great to get reacquainted with them, though there were the odd surprises where drops, holes or rocks appeared unexpectedly and then there was the odd “correction” stroke (read madly slapping at the trolls to stay upright).

The boulder garden above the forever eddy was a lot of fun and I think the route I took provided a few surprises but no real dramas. There were some changes in the gorge proper and I think I picked some unexpectedly exciting lines, possibly due to being able to read the murky water and failing to spot hidden rocks. We were keeping a good pace and my hands had got quite numb due to the cold, so not so many photos were taken.

The main drop is not so pronounced, though the line, moving right to left, is very similar, sliding down the tongue was almost anticlimactic (but still a thrill). A few more rapids and then the rapid that had been making me feel a bit nervous came into view. Above 3 Trick, the rockfall scar that had caused the changes, dumping tons of rock into the rivers, was clearly visible. I watched the others run the rapid one by one, along the left hand side, while I held back to get some photos of the approach.

Once I’d documented the approach, I broke out and headed towards the rapid. I was a little surprised to see Jacko out of his boat, working his way up the back with a throw rope and I was a little worried someone had come out. Turned out they were just worried I had appeared and were coming to see where I’d got to. Jacko signaled a route down the rapid and I bounced along as best as I could understand. I tipped when I broke into the eddy at the bottom, but was able to roll up quickly so there was no drama.

I broke out and ferry glided across to the eddy at the bottom of the rapid on river right, so I could get a good view up the rapid, to see where we’d come down and what the various lines looked like. Unfortunately I had a water smear on the camera lens and no matter what I tried I couldn’t clear it, hence the blurry picture above. Since my numb fingers were almost incapable of operating the camera and the rest of the group were rapidly disappearing down the river, I put the camera away for the rest of the trip.

The approach to the next big grade 3 rapid had changed a bit, there seemed to be a few more holes to avoid around the approach and I had some bouncy excitement as I failed to avoid a few of the features. Once we were past this rapid, there are still more grade 2 rapids, but the tension is definitely off and we paddled swiftly towards the get out, both to keep up the pace and to stay warm.

Passing the flow gauge tower marked the get out was approaching. As the campground was closed, we paddled past the usual get out and hauled out our kayaks just before highway bridge and then climbed up to the road. Our vehicle was waiting and it was very nice to get into warm, dry cloths and head directly back into town. Hugh & Ian were still at the Belfast carpark when we got back, and we all headed home feeling a little sore & tired but very pleased with after a big day out on the river.

Date:   12/09/2021
River:    Ashley River, Canterbury, NZ
River Conditions:   18.9 cumecs at Ashley Gorge. Water very discoloured and cool. Grade 2.
Weather Conditions:   Sunny & warm, with brief cooler, overcast periods. Very strong NW winds.
Number on Trip:  10 doing top section, 3 doing both sections and 4 doing only the bottom section.
Time on River:  4.5 hours.
Comments:  Kerry announced on Facebook that the road in to the Lees Valley had been repaired after sections were washed out during a period of very heavy rain around the end of May. With the road reopened to the public, an Ashley Trip was once again a possibility, river levels & Covid-19 permitting. Fortunately with the river flowing at 24 cumecs & everywhere except Auckland having moved to level 2 (whitewater kayaking permitted), Keri gathered a group to go paddling on the Saturday, while I held off for the club trip on Sunday.

We received Kerry’s notes from his trip on Facebook before heading out the next day…
“Most of the rapids have changed to some degree or more, most are a lot easier now with obstacles removed or shifted making the lines more straight forward. However there are some significant changes you should probably be aware of. There’s a branch in the crux rapid entrance line so be aware when choosing your lines, this would be a hazard at lower flows. John Hunter’s most disliked rapid no longer has a tongue entry but is a river-wide ledge which you can punch river right. The main drop in the centre of the gorge no longer exists and is a nice chicane rapid. Three trick rapid (second to last hard rapid and one exiting the gorge) is bordering on GIV now. Rockfall on river right has filled in the eddie at bottom that people used to play at catching. The rapid consists of two drops into two holes, if you don’t have a bit of speed you could have a little play time with a lot of rocks. There’s a diagonal line river right to left however this may be more challenging at lower flow.”

It was nice to know there hadn’t been too many significant changes, but as this was going to be my first whitewater trip since February, I was feeling a little bit nervous when driving to The Peg for the meet up. There was quite a group assembled when I arrive, many keen for a first paddle of the season. We decided to split into multiple groups, with one running the upper, grade 2 section and one running the lower, grade 3 section, while Bill was keen to lead a group doing both sections. I decided to do the upper section with the possibility of doing the lower section if I felt up to it, however by the time I reached the put in at the Lees Valley, I’d managed to talk myself out of doing the grade 3 part.

Once in my paddling gear and on the river, it felt good to be back in my Blitz but I felt tired & unfit, the result of not having done much in the way of exercises with the lockdowns & various Covid-19 related restriction.

I’d told Bill that I didn’t plan to do the lower section and his small group disappeared into the distance fairly quickly, as the rest of us made the most of our time on the river.

The flow seemed higher than I would have expected for around 18 cumecs and the water was very discoloured, making it hard to spot rocks or judge the water depth.

It was fun to catch eddies and surf the various small waves along the way, feeling my confidence returning as I remembered that I could actually paddle and wasn’t quite as unfit as I thought I was. The main grade 2 rapid was pretty much as remembered and didn’t cause any issues. We were also pleased to note that although the river banks were scoured by the May / June flood waters to a height of several meters above the current river level, there didn’t appear to be any wood forming major impediments in any of the rapids.

We had a good bunch of people with us and it was great to see everyone trying out new things or helping out when someone’s roll didn’t quite work and they ended up swimming. There were a few times when we had to chase boats for a wee way before getting them to shore and reuniting them with their paddlers. At one stage, I recovered a drifting paddle and then set off after the boat (the kayaker having made it to the river bank). After a bit of a trial, I managed to clip the water filled boat to my towline and then struggled to get it to the bank whilst juggling the two paddles. Blair kindly lent his boat to the boatless kayaker and then swam down the river to where we were waiting, which was pretty keen since the water was very cold.

It was a amazing day to be out on the river and the Ashley graced us with plenty of beautiful scenery to enjoy and some fun whitewater to keep us entertained.

The were a few places where the river split or was a little shallow (hard to tell with the cloudy water), so you had to keep an eye out for the best routes, just in case you got beached. Some of the side channels offered additional features like the small chute pictured above with Blair.

There were also some nice play spots and it was great to see many of the paddlers giving them a go. There was always some fun to be had and we took our time getting the most out of our paddle.

Near the end of the section, the river opened up and became more braided, some of the channels got a bit shallow and you had to be one your toes to avoid getting stuck. There were a few trees in the river, so care was required to avoid the hazards they posed. Near one tree, a paddler took a swim and their paddle got stuck in the submerged branches. Blair kindly rescued the paddle after employing himself as a human torpedo, swimming out and grabbing it from the downstream side. We had to chase the boat for some distance but eventually managed to bulldozer it ashore.

Eventually the bridge appeared and it was nice to get out and into some dry clothes, as I was a bit cold & wet. The vehicles were shuttled and we drove out to the highway bridge (the campground & domain were closed to the public) to drop one of our group back at his car and were quite surprised to find Bill’s group had been waiting there for about 3 hours in their paddling gear. They had run both sections in a little over 2 hours while we had taken over 4 hours just to paddle the top section, needless to say they were glad to get changed and head home. As we were fairly late getting back to town, I ordered Hell Pizza from the Belfast carpark and arrived home just before it arrive. A great reward for a fun day out.

Date:    11/04/2021
River:    Avon River, Christchurch, NZ
River Conditions:   1.804 cumecs at Gloucester Street bridge. Water clear. Grade 1.
Weather Conditions:   Sunny and warm, NW winds.
Number on Trip:    1 person.
Time on River:  1.25 hours.
Comments:  We’d spent part of the afternoon visiting the Avebury House Vintage Market and since it was such a lovely, warm, sunny autumn day, I thought it would be nice for a paddle on the Avon. So after taking care of a few chores around home, I got changed, chucked the Blitz on my shoulder and headed down to the river. Things were still being packed up from the Christchurch Marathon, which had cut the eastern side of the city in half for much of the day. Two black swans came over and watched me intently as I secured my spray deck, only moving away when I slid off the bank and into the water. I decided to paddle upstream for a change, part of the idea being that the current would carry me home when I got tired, instead of having to “battle” against the current to get home.

The water was clear and the sun was warm, making being out on the river a real pleasure. It was nice powering along, though my arms were feeling the lack of recent exercise. The sun glinted off the water and the trees, in their autumn colours, were reflected in its’ mirrored surface. At the boat ramp near Pomeroy’s, a group in sea kayaks were getting out and I found a new Lime scooter helmet floating in the reeds a little further up. Passing the through the cemetery, I encountered a group of stand up paddle boarders on boards hired from Airborn Paddling, a company that offers a range of SUP paddling experiences around Christchurch. They seemed to be enjoying the outing and not having much difficulty keeping their balance.

Under the Barbadoes Street bridge to our old put in off Peterborough Street was as far as I could go, the fire station “rapids” block any further progress without a portage. From here I turned around and powered back downstream, appreciating the currents’ aid.

I was soon paddling under the Swanns Road bridge before floating to the recently enhanced landing near the community garden. I hauled myself out and appreciated the newly built steps up the bank. From there I strolled home with my kayak on my shoulder, ready for a shower and a rest.

Date:    14/03/2021
River:    Avon River, Christchurch, NZ
River Conditions:   1.656 cumecs at Gloucester Street bridge. Water clear. Grade 1.
Weather Conditions:   Sunny and warm, NE winds.
Number on Trip:    1 person.
Time on River:  1.5 hours.
Comments:  It had been a rough couple of weeks, with a lot going on and Lauri’s energy levels taking a massive hit after the massive peach bottling session the previous weekend. Still having completed all my household chores, laundry done, floors vacuumed, garden taken care of and Lauri resting in front of “Suits” on Netflix, the sun and outdoors beckoned. After afternoon tea was consumed, I changed into my paddling gear, shouldered my Blitz and wandered down to the river.

It was a beautiful day, the sun glinted on the water and although the wind was strongish, whipping the rivers surface into a small chop, the late afternoon was still warm and pleasant. I slid off the bank and into the river, paddling downstream, I soon felt my worries disappearing in my wake. It was a real pleasure to be on the river, doing something physical in such beautiful surroundings. I watched a Canadian canoe paddle out of view as I stopped to take a few photos, and said “Hi” to a race boater getting some training in on a sunny afternoon, before paddling on downstream.

With no clear plan, I just carried on downstream, enjoying actually doing something that didn’t feel like work. As I reached the Gayhurst Street bridge, I still felt good so carried on. There were a still a few ducklings about, swans, plenty of ducks & Canada geese and the occasional pair of paradise shelducks, providing a slightly sad memory of poor, departed Greta.

On reaching Kerrs Reach, I paused briefly, taking in the view, before turning for home. Paddling upstream was a little more strenuous, with the wind and current against me, but it still felt good to be there. I was a little tired by the time I reached the take out, but still carried on up to the Swanns Road bridge and then floated back down to the get out and scrambling up the bank and walking home across the Richmond Community Garden, feeling tired but happy.

Date:   28/02/2021
River:    Hurunui River, North Canterbury, NZ
River Conditions:  18 Cumecs at Mandamus. Grade 2 – 3, water swift & clear.
Weather Conditions: Sunny & warm, with light nor-easterly winds.
Number on Trip: 7 kayakers (5 kayakers doing Maori Gully).
Time on River:  4.5 hours
Comments:  As the peaches on our tree weren’t quite as ripe as we hope, the planned weekend of bottling was canned. This meant after spending Saturday applying a second coat of paint to the front balcony and doing some miscellaneous gardening tasks, a trip down the Hurunui was on the cards for Sunday. Alice had picked up the trip when Colin H was unable to lead the trip, and 7 of us found ourselves at The Peg on Sunday morning. We took two vehicles up to the put in at Jollie Brook, stopping at Dozy Stream to inspect Devil’s Fang Falls. With the Hurunui at a low 18 cumecs, the rapid looked especially bony, the usual line down the right hand side, was a narrow channel, leading down to the fang, which was well out of the water. The hole at the start of the line looked a little dodgy, either being retentive or adding a lateral push, potentially screwing up your approach line or flipping you to run the rapid upside down. Lines feeding off the left channel, looked more promising but still pretty bony. No one was keen to test their luck or skills with fang, least they felt its’ bite.

The put in at Jollie Brook was crowded, with UCCC have their start of term / post Clubs Day paddle. I joked to a group of trampers also using the parking area that they seemed to have forgotten their kayaks. We got changed in the sunshine, and I took a few experimental photos while Alice & Jim shuttled a vehicle down to Seawards. After a brief warm up at Jollie Brook, we headed off downstream. Having put a polar fleece jacket over my two layers of polypro, I was initially pretty warm, but as the water gradually seeped in, I returned to a more comfortable temperature. The boulder garden section was fairly tame with the lack of water, but there were still some nice little holes for a playful surf, and I still enjoyed working my way backwards down the rapids, working my way from boulder to boulder, catching a surf where I could. The more experienced paddlers provided a bit of coaching to Alice & Liam, and encouraged them to try new things.

It was a beautiful day to be on the river, the water was crystal clear, the sky blue and there was little wind (something that often plagues the Hurunui). With only seven paddlers in the group, we kept up a fairly good place, John R generally taking the lead, with Sergi and myself make sure no one was left behind, whilst try play on anything that looked promising.

Sergi was trailing his new boat, an Eskimo Zwo which had recently purchased for a mere $100. The boat surfed nicely and performed whoopees well. Sergi was very keen for me to capture his skill in the camera and repeated his moves while I tried to get the “perfect” shot. I proved a little tricky as I couldn’t really see what I was doing and I kept getting an annoying water drop right in the middle of the lense that I couldn’t get rid of. Must be time to retreat the lense, so the water beads nicely and then runs off.

We had a very brief play at the Mezzanine and then cruised past the South Branch confluence and on down. The low flow made the trip pretty cruisy and it was lovely to just float along with the sun shining down, trailing my hands in the water.

As we neared Dozy Stream, thoughts turned to which line to take on Devil’s Fang Falls, which was looking particularly toothy at the low flow. Most had decided to take the left channel and either portage or drop down one the bouncy, rock strewn lines on the far left hand side. Sergi briefly toyed with the idea of running the usual line but instead chose the left channel. As the water in the left hand channel ebbed away, we worked our way to one of the drops, bouncing over the multitude of rocks, trying to pick a path through. As one of the last in the group, I was heading for the lower channel, as I thought the higher one would drop me in to a foaming mass of white water, that might have been a little exciting and may have involved some underwater time.

Seeing my proposed line, Jim signalled me “rock” and directed me towards the higher route. I hand walked my kayak back over the weed slicked rocks, towards some clear water and then worked at getting the nose of my boat pointing downstream, rather the doing the drop backwards or even worse, sideways. I lined up, pressed the go button and shot into space, dropped, landed and then slid across the foaming surface and across to the eddy, sweet as! Jim described it as that sort of Looney Tunes moment when you are briefly suspended in the air, before gravity kicks in. Apparently I partially disappeared below the foam before shooting out, without even a wobble. Everyone managed the rapid without drama, which was good.

Below Dozy Stream, the popular play spot provided plenty of fun, especially as the wave upstream from the usual one, was easily accessible and offer a very smooth ride. We all took turns at carving back & forth across the glassy surface, even the newer kayakers took the opportunity to try new things and hone their skills. It was good to see that the newer kayakers had good rolls and this gave them greater confidence to push their comfort levels.

One down to Seawards, more rapids and fun, though my recent lack of paddling & sleep had me feeling a little fatigued. At Seawards, Alice & Liam got out to shuttle the vehicles, while the rest of the group ran Maori Gully. The entrance wave train was fun and we had a bit of a play on the Magic Roundabout before carrying on.

Simon’s Hole wasn’t doing anything at this flow, with only a small amount of water flowing over the rock that forms the hole. I took this opportunity to boldly go where I’d never gone before, and paddle up to the rock, cut across and then broke out into the main current, having passed over the site of the infamous Simon’s Hole.

The boulder garden was pretty cruisy and so was the Bum Rock rapid. The Elevator was exciting but no real dramas, and then we pulled into the eddy above Cheese Grater and hauled our boats ashore. Taking throw ropes, various slings & rescue gear, we clambered over the boulders and made our way to above the churning white water of Cheese Grater.

Looking down through the green water, you could clearly see the various rocks that give the rapid its’ name. The river right line looked clean, but very shallow, the rocks in the middle of the drop broke the surface, forming a small rooster tail to the left, the left hand tongue looked clean, but with the promise of the lateral kick to the left, into the undercut bluff. We looked at the rapid for some time, with most deciding not to run it, then Tori said she saw a good line and planned to run it. While she went to get into her boat, everyone readied themselves with throw ropes etc, while I lined up the camera to video the event.

Tori got lined up to the left of the small rooster tail to the left of centre, her kayaks nose pointing slightly to the right, a few power strokes and she was over the lip. Down the green tongue and into the trough of water foaming white water, disappearing beneath the foam, her tail caught in the green, back looping her boat. She flushed down stream and rolled up right as the safety crew looked on.

Having seen the drop successfully run, Sergi decided he’d run it too and walked back to his boat. He took a similar line, putting in a good sweep stroke at the top of the drop before dropping down into the foam pile and almost disappearing completely, with only his paddle, held high above his head visible. He resurfaced and glided cleanly out of the foam. Of course since the rapid had now been run successfully twice now, John R decided he’d run it too and so he headed back to his boat. He followed the same line as the others, his tail caught slightly, his kayak pulling a tail stand as he exited the foaming trough. Jim and I looked at each other, decided we didn’t need to prove anything and walked back to carry out boats to the eddy below Cheese Grater.

The remaining rapids were relatively tame at this flow compared to Cheese Grater, so it was an opportunity to have a bit of a play around. With the corner rapid, a number of paddlers carefully dropped into the final hole for a surf because it has been quite difficult to get back on it from the eddy on river right as there are several rocks near the top of the eddy that block the exit, especially at low flows. Some surfing occurred but once the paddlers was swept downstream, getting back on was almost impossible, with only Jim managing to do it once from several attempts.

Had a brief, half-hearted play at the Pop Up Spot before carrying on to the take out. Liam & Alice were waiting at the take out, enjoying the sun. Carrying the Blitz out was a bit of a trudge and it was a relief to get up to the cars. Loaded up the boats, got changed into some dry clothes and then drove back to town. Had a brief tiki tour down the new northern corridor motorway due to some confusing signage but were soon back on track to The Peg and then home from there, feeling not just a little sore and tired.

Date: 11/11/2018
River: Waiau Uwha River, North Canterbury, New Zealand.
River Conditions:  39 cumecs at Marble Point. Water discoloured, cool & swift. Grade 2.
Weather Conditions: Overcast & rainy clearing to sunny & warm. NW winds, strong at times.
Number on Trip: 24 people.
Time on River: 4.5 Hours.
Comments: I hadn’t paddled the Waiau for quite some time, so when I spotted the trip on the CWWC trip list, I was pretty keen. The weather forecast was a bit ambiguous, but looked like it would turn out ok. I had visions of relaxing at the take out with a warm nor-wester blowing and the scent of pine trees in my nose, a happy memory from days gone by. Graeme W was running the trip and we had quite a few people at the Belfast Tavern. I loaded my boat on to Merv’s trailer, on top of his raft and a few other peoples boats, before climbing in to his Landdrover next to Max, his very friendly dog.

Plenty of interesting conversation on the drive up to Culverden, where we stopped to meet up and make sure everyone knew where we were going. I fuelled up with a steak & cheese pie from the bakery, kayakers don’t just run on muesli bars. Once we were all assemble, Graeme gave a briefing and nominated me to lead one of the groups after it turned out only 3 of us had ever paddled this section of the Waiau before. Back into the vehicles and off to the Hamner turn off, over the bridge and down to the rest area near the Hamner River confluence.

Usually we get changed in the rest area and then carry / float our boats down the Hamner River to the Waiau, since Merv had a raft, moving it would involve quite a bit of grunt. Fortunately Merv also had a Landrover Discovery and so drove down the 4 wheel drive track to the river, across a small river channel and parked on the gravel banks of the Waiau, around 3m from the water. We unloaded the boats and got changed, I took a few photos as the tourist jet boats whizzed past, while the shuttle was run. We also got to watch the sunny day change to overcast with a few drops of rain, as clouds gathered over the main divide.

Rather than wait for the shuttle drivers to returned, it was decided that my group should get underway and so I gathered 9 other paddlers to lead down the river. We had a safety briefing before hitting the river and then did a bit of a warm up while everyone got sorted out. While waiting by the bank, Max the dog (who we’d released from his lead once Merv was well on his way to the take out) jumped on my deck and sat facing me, while I scrambled for the camera to capture the moment. Sadly he leapt off before I got the camera fired up, and then ran off to make friends with some other people.

Our group had a range of experience, from a rusty grade 4 kayaker from the States to several paddlers in their first season. The paddled past the first corner bluff, which seemed quite unthreatening today, without dramas and regrouped beneath the bridge. There was quite a bit of jet boat activity on the river, which was good to see as many of New Zealand’s tourist orientated business have been hard hit by Covid-19 travel restrictions. This did mean that every time we heard or saw one, the “JET BOAT!” cry would go up and we’d all pull over to the edge of the river and brace for the surging waves of wake. The professional jet boat drivers were really good, very courteous & respectful of other river users, they kept a good eye out for us and we had no issues. Had a chat to one of the drivers, while waiting under the bridge, and let him know what to expect and how many paddlers in our group. He told us that the jet boats go down the river on the river left side and back up on river right, but generally we just went for which ever bank was closer.

The first section of the trip runs through a steep sided gorge and while there isn’t much in the way of rapids, the water tends to be quite boily, with messy eddies along the rocky walls. There were small patches of white water, where rocks broke the surface and I tried to make the most of these, cutting in behind the rocks and surfing where I could. Since these “rapids” were rather small and tight, I found my self stuck on an unseen rock on one of the early ones. The force of the water was holding my boat against the rock and I was having a hard breaking free. I was a little worried that I was going to need to tip over in order to break the hold, but managed to stay upright whilst rocking back & forth and escaping.

Further down the gorge, I was sitting on a messy eddy line when the call of “Jetboat!” went up and as a result I spent a little too long on a turbulent boil and tipped. A couple of tired roll attempts had me pulling the deck and self rescuing. Not a great look for an experienced group leader, so I emptied the boat out with a sheepish grin as a jetboat full of tourists shot past. I like to think I was just showing the newer paddlers that it is OK to take the occasional swim. A few of the beginners followed my lead, as the boils, bluffs & eddy lines tripped them up too.

After we left the gorge, the river flows across a gravel bed with riffle style rapids. I watched for landmarks and tried to remember features to watch for. Some familiar curves appeared as we approached one of the bigger rapids, which featured a popular play wave. I briefed the newer paddlers on what to expect and led the way, only to find the river had changed significantly and the rapid had been somewhat diminished by the passage of time and the movement of gravel. Still fun, but no play spot anymore.

The further on we went, the better the weather got, the skies cleared and the sun came out. We passed the winery and joked about stopping there for lunch, with Graeme picking up the tab. There were more comments about how far was it to our lunch stop, but eventually the distinctive rocks that mark Marble Point rolled into view. Graeme’s group was just behind us when we pulled into our lunch time picnic spot and we all had lunch together as various jetboats whizzed by or preformed 360’s to thrill the punters.

I was impressed by the variety and complexity of the lunches people unpacked, as I munched on my beef jerky with a muesli bar for dessert.

The rapid below Marble Point was probably one of the better ones of day, nice & bouncy with a bit of a play wave. Didn’t get much of a chance to surf, before following the rest of the group downstream.

We had a fairly diverse group of river craft, including a SUP and Merv’s raft. It has been quite nice that the club has embraced this diversity and is much more welcoming now. We’ve even changed the club’s name from the somewhat dated, and not technically correct, White Water Canoe Club (since we mostly paddle kayaks, not canoes) to the more inclusive Canterbury White Water Club. It is good to celebrate and embrace diversity.

It was good when the skies cleared, the sun came out and the day got warmer. Paddling is always better when the sun is shining.

Since it is often difficult to fit a set of split paddles into the back of many of the smaller boats, some people carry hand paddles. These require a little more practice to use competently, so it was impressive to see them being used well. This set got shared around to give a those who were interested in trying them out, a go.

We carried on down until we neared Sharks Tooth, I briefed everyone in our group and then led the way down the rapid, pulling into the first eddy to take photos or rescue people as required. As a lot of the water bypasses this rapid now, it isn’t quite as exciting as it used to be, but still fun.

I was going to have a bit of a play, but a swimmer put pay to that and a game of boat chase ensued. We got the paddler back in their boat and I paddled upstream to get a photo of the Tooth.

From here, the rapids get fairly mild, with some flat sections between them. I briefed people on the importance of getting out before the bridge and its’ associated irrigation intake. As we neared the bridge, I began to worry that I couldn’t see any of our vehicles, and hoped that I hadn’t missed any info about alternative get outs. We pulled over before the bridge and I led the group up the track to road, where fortunately our vehicles waited. As a group, we teamed up to get Merv’s raft up to the road and on to his trailer. Getting changed in the warm Canterbury afternoon with the scent of pine needles in the air, was a great way to end an enjoyable paddle. Feeling tired, we drove back to the city and then straight home.

Date:   10/01/2021
River:    Hurunui River, North Canterbury, NZ
River Conditions:  27 Cumecs at Mandamus. Grade 2 – 3, water swift & clear.
Weather Conditions: Overcast with sunny spells, westerly winds, strong at times.
Number on Trip:  18 kayakers, 2 packrafts (10 kayakers doing Maori Gully).
Time on River:  4 hours
Comments:  My first trip of the new year was scheduled to be a run down the Hurunui. The weather looked promising and the flow was around 30 cumecs, making for a pleasant, cruisy trip. There was a light drizzle as I loaded the boat on roof rack, but this looked to clear and by the time I reached Belfast, early for once, it was looking to be a nice day. I hitched a ride with Sally, another geologist working for Tonkin & Taylor, and two pack rafters, for the trip up to the put in.

We got changed at Seawards, looking at the ground I noticed a couple of shell casings. I picked them up and they appeared to be 9mm blanks, which was quite interesting as most firearms chambered for 9mm are either pistols or a few, now prohibited, semi-automatic rifles, though they may have been from a specifically blank firing pistol rather than a pistol firing blanks.

We left a vehicle at Seawards and drove up to Jollie Brook, which was busy with paddlers sorting out their gear. We divided up into three groups and hit the water.

I ended up in the first group, which had a number of newer paddlers and we made our way down the boulder gardens, catching eddies and surfing on the small waves. Having a number of newer paddlers, there was less playing so we moved pretty quickly, so less opportunities for taking photos.

Had a brief play around at the Mezzanine before a “lunch” stop at the confluence with the South Branch before carrying on downstream.

Brief discussions above Devil’s Fang Falls, with some of the group deciding to avoid it by portaging down the left hand side. The rest of us ran it down the usual far right channel without any drama, and another paddler dropped down staircase on the left channel as well.

There was a little bit of play in the foam and I took the opportunity to get some “water” themed photos for this years’ Water New Zealand photo competition. I didn’t win last year, but did manage to get a photo of the Hope River on the cover of their bi-monthly journal.

Played around at the wave below the Dozy Stream put in, which is always popular, before carrying on down to Seawards.

A bit over half the group chose to run Maori Gully, a bounce down the wave train, a quick play on the Magic Roundabout, avoid Simons Hole, down the boulder garden, past Bum Rock, no dramas on the Elevator and a little air and a lot of water on Cheese Grater (though no ones cheese got grated).

A visiting American paddler took an interesting line on the Corner Rapid and dropped into one of the holes, causing a little surprise but no real hassle.

We had a bit of a play one the wave at the bottom of the rapid and I got some nice photos, including experimenting with taking photos underwater.

A brief go on the Pop Up Spot, though I didn’t feel like tipping over, so I kept it pretty tame. On to the take out and the trudge up the hill to the vehicles. We stopped off at the Brew Moon in Amberley for an after paddle drink, before heading back to town.