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.