C-Forum

Anyone ever done any boating down there

Ask Gwyn from Shaggy Designs, as I understand it he's down there pretty much annually.

Or NZMatt, who is from New Zealand.

I'm recalling at least two other folks on this board that are down there now… Pea Pod being one of them perhaps? Hopefully they'll chime in:)

I spent a couple of weeks there maybe 6 years ago. We spent one week just sight-seeing, then a week paddling on the west coast of the south island, mostly with helicopter access. Water was medium high for most of the trip from combination of rain and snowmelt, and levels were very difficult to predict until landing at the put-in, and totally committed at that point. But the rivers turned out to be spectacular. Most of the river views would alternate between wide open mountain vistas and vertical walled micro gorges, and sometimes you'd find yourself scouting on top of giant jade boulders with crystal clear water all around. I don't recall all the rivers that we paddled but the styx, whitcomb, arahura, and kokatahi were in there, and just missed out on the hokitika and perth due to running out of time. The kokatahi ranks as one of my top 5 favorite places to have visited on the planet. The west coast is one of the best places to paddle on earth but it cost a lot to get there from the states and then to fly in. Once on the river, you are in remote jungle with maybe one trail somewhere near the river as an exit option, and maybe not even that. the micro gorges are completely committing and scary but usually very short. the views from the helicopter are almost worthless in terms of scouting and water level prediction. Bring your a-game if you go. There are many other places to paddle in NZ it seems, but I am not familiar with them other than what's described online and in the guidebooks. jay

I'm from Australia, just across the ditch (the Tasman Sea).

I haven't paddled in NZ but I've been there with geology/geomorphology in mind. It's gotta be a top place to paddle for those with strong paddling skills and strong wilderness bush skills. As far as I can tell, there are very few open boaters in NZ. Plenty of kayakers though.

Sorry about that Pea Pod! I know how New Zealander's feel about being thought of as Australian… I'm sure it goes the other way 'round too!

No offense taken. It's hard to know where various digital personalities are from. Judging by your accent, Sir Adam, you're from Canada, right?

Hi,
I am in NZ at the moment. All is good over here, and the boating here is not just the higher grades.

Today I boated our usual G3 section on the Mohaka, about 20km starting at G2 and building up to some pleasant G3. There is a 2-3 day G2 section up in the headwaters, and a G4 daytrip further down.

There are plenty more world-class moderate rivers (Motu, Clarence, Waiau, Ngaruroro, etc) over here. Sometimes access is by helicopter only, but not always.

The hard stuff is also awesome, and very committing.

No-one paddles anything other than G1-2 in open boats over here. There are 3 or 4 of us C1 paddlers scattered about the country.

Gwyn wrote:Hi,
.... There are 3 or 4 of us C1 paddlers scattered about the country.

Hi Gwyn,

I looked for open boats on the NZ Canoe Slalom facebook page, but had no luck making contact with any. I'm glad to know there are a few deckless singlebladers there. Do you have an FB page or forum?

Hi Peapod,

I don't paddle open canoe in NZ, strictly decked boats for me. I have never seen anyone in an open canoe here - ever! I know they exist though; mostly as rentals for the Whanganui river journey (3 days of G1).

Like I said, there are a few of us that paddle decked C1, which is much more appropriate to the conditions here. I am usually the only C1 paddler that the kayakers here have ever seen, but they seem pretty accepting of it.

Most of the occasional moderate water paddlers over here are either kayaking or in rafts. Rafts provide a great way to take buddies along and carry out venison!

My mistake. I inserted an O in front of your C1 and got a bit excited! Singleblading, be it C or OC, is always something to admire.