West Coast, NZ: The Wangapeka

Think lush, green temperate rainforest. Add recent rain, a hungry-for-paddling team and (finally) some free time... And you have a deal. In March, amongst our busy stretch of teaching kayaking, we managed to escape to the Westport. In all honesty, there are possibly better places to escape, but on the back of some rain and rumours of some pretty fun paddling, we headed over for the day.

Picking up Mr, Matty Coles - our Westport tour guide, and in between driving shifts - we planned our day. A Wangapeka in the morning, a Ngakawau in the afternoon, then back to Murchison that evening.  Too easy! 

The Wangapeka came to easy fruition. It is a short journey north of Westport, and then a short walk (30 minutes or so) along an old mining trail to the put-in. The Wangapeka is a bit of a local staple, keeping people honest and inspired between dry spells. The river needs rain. It's a sweet Class III-IV trip, runnable at a range of water levels and tucked into classic West Coast bush. There were five of us: Matt, Rata, Soph, Daan and myself.

All Photos//Daan Jimmink.

 The walk-in follows an old mining trail.

 At some point during the walk-in, the trail changes sides of the river!

 Everyone needs a local. Enter Matt Coles. We miss you!

 Girls on the mission... Soph and myself.

 Classic West Coast rain-run colours.

 Soph steezin' it up.

Colesy on a hot date with his Nomad.  

Rata... What is that?

The Wanagapeka was a good little mission... Happy days! Jess.

Two Days on the Upper Whitcombe, New Zealand

This year has been a very busy one for all of us at the New Zealand Kayak School. Lots of cool people and awesome courses - river rescue, playboating, advanced groups, intermediate groups and beginner groups. Because of the busy months, we did not have much time to get our much needed fix for adventure. So the first chance we got, we headed down to the Best Coast (West Coast of the South Island, New Zealand) for the two-day trip on the Upper Whitcombe. 

We had a great team with Ben White, Jess Matheson, Phil Palzer, Rata Lovell-Smith, Soph Steezy Mulder and myself. 

We called up Danny Reedy (the helicopter pilot) for a price and to see if he was available for the morning. Everything pieced together nicely. 

Recent floods have left their marks on the Whitcombe, changing some rapids a little bit and changing other dramatically. Most of the changes were for the better, which is always a good thing. The rapids keep coming on day one, and don't stop until just before Prices Hut. 

Unloading at the put-in.
Photo//Jess Matheson

Rata probing the centre line.
Photo//Daan Jimmink

Phil finding out what the Whitcombe is all about.
Photo//Daan Jimmink

Rata on her first Boof To Swim.
Photo//Daan Jimmink

A full-on seven hours of kayaking got us to the hut. This is where the rest of the hard work started! As we flew into the Upper Whitcombe, we got the pilot to drop off our food and over night gear at the hut. The bags weighed a lot more than they should have because of all of the awesome food, wine, bacon, eggs, milk, snacks and treats. Everyone suffered from multiple food comas trying to eat as much of the food as possible. 

Rata serving up breakfast in the morning.
Photo//Daan Jimmink

Just before the food comas set in.
Photo//Daan Jimmink

Day two has more fantastic kayaking, and also contains my favourite section of the run - Prices Gorge. Lots of very clean rapids that just keep coming at you and only one short portage. At the bottom of Prices Gorge you still have the regular Whitcombe day trip to paddle, which is where we got into a great rhythm as everyone in our team had been down this section a number of times. 

Phil skirting (what used to be) the Toilet Bowl.
Photo//Daan Jimmink

Ben about to enter the light.
Photo//Daan Jimmink

Jess, waiting for her crucial stroke.
Photo//Daan Jimmink

Soph, loving her nomad.
Photo//Daan Jimmink

Rata, just before her triple fist pump.
Photo//Daan Jimmink

Me on the on of the big ones on the second day. 

Photo//Jess Matheson

13 hours of kayaking and four rapids that weren't run by our team. A great couple of days. Can't wait to get on more of the two-day heli trips on the coast. 

Till next time... Daan.