The weekend of Wild foods. It has been a few weeks since I have been on anything harder than the local teaching runs so was very excited at the prospect of going on a heli trip. After a leisurely trip from Murchison to Hokitika, Jess and I caught up with a bunch of friends for a BBQ. A trip down the Kokatahi sounded like a plan.
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| Ben Jackson on one of the first stacked rapids |
Keith called Dando, he had a quiet day lined up and said the conditions were great up there. We booked him for 11am.
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| Shannon Mast loving Cover Shot |
With a big group of nine flying up, we had a solid crew on the water. From the air I could see that it was a great choice to head up the Kokatahi. The conditions were awesome and the last flood had changed a few of the rapids for the better. We were able to boat scout most of the run and kept a good pace.
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| Shan on the run out of Cover Shot |
Cover Shot was the first big rapid that had changed for the better. With a nice lead in, then straight into an awesome boof, nobody could go wrong.
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| Owen Glover |
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| Me on the vantage point for Cover Shot |
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Antoine Dupuis stomping Cover Shot
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| Keith Riley rail slide to boof |
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| Me on Cover Shot |
We heard the chopper heading back up the Valley. Barny and Jordy were flying up to the top for a quick afternoon bomb.
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| Ben Jackson nice boof, funky landing |
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| Silas Beaver styling his first Coast trip |
With Barny and Jordy catching us just after lunch, the team was now 11. A great crew to be out there with but also a bit big for safety, so we split into two more manageable groups after Carnage Gorge.
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| The Mass group walk |
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Chilling after Carnage Gorge
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Jess Matheson on Skate Ramp
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| Silas on the kicker of Skate Ramp |
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Jess running The Cave
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Another of the better changes of the trip was The Cave. We were able to paddle right through it instead of walking over the top of the huge rocks creating it.
Overall it was a very awesome day out with minimal carnage... A bit of skin lost from knuckles and that's about all. I am very eager to get back in there again soon. This run is quickly becoming one of my favourites on the Coast. A cheap flight plus a full day of boating.
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Jess: Seal Launch into slide
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| Same drop, different angle |
