Midway through term one of last year, I attended various pool sessions run by Alexandra Repetto and Aidan Cameron. I learnt to roll a kayak and then began to paddle at the Penrith Whitewater facility. After a few more pool sessions and trips to Penrith I felt confident enough to enter the snowy river extreme race in August. During this race I met many experienced kayakers and was repeatedly told about the New Zealand Kayak School attending would be a great way to quickly improve my kayaking skills.
I conducted some research into the school to see whether it was worth attending. I found many positive online reviews and learnt that Murchison is considered one of the best white-water kayaking areas in New Zealand.
Despite my best efforts to convince people to join me, no one was available, so I decided to book a ticket and go on my own. The course ran for four days, following which I would stay at the local campsite and try to find people willing to take me paddling.
My plane left Australia on the 12th of December and arrived in Christchurch at 11:30pm. I booked a cheap pod bed walking distance from the airport at Juicy Snooze. It had a large communal area and a fully equipped kitchen and was perfect for one night. The following morning, I caught a bus to Greymouth followed by another bus to Murchison. The bus trips totalled 8 hours. Despite the route taking a large detour the drive was very scenic. It crossed the mountains through Arthur’s Pass then travelled up the West Coast, both of which are considered some of the best drives in New Zealand.
The bus dropped me off in Murchison around 5:30pm at the opposite side of the town to the kayak school. The town was small surrounded by farmland with only a few shops and a large pub and I could already spot a large number of kayaks. It appeared that Murchison only had two kinds of people: farmers and kayakers.
The school was located on the northern edge of town, on a large plot of land next to the Buller river. It had a large boat shed, a pond with slalom gates, a guest house and a staff house. When I met staff, I found out that there was only one other person on my course, which was surprising as the school had been booked out for the weeks before and after my own course.
I got sized up for all my gear and got given a yellow Dagger RPM. RPMs or Radical Play Machines are an old design based on slalom kayaks. They are skinny, low volume boats, with a sharp tail and a displacement hull, making them very responsive and unforgiving. The kayak school uses them because any mistakes made when paddling are immediately felt by the paddler, making it easy to identify issues and improve. Although the kayaks responsiveness makes them hard to paddle, the increased responsiveness makes them very rewarding when paddled correctly.
The gest house had a fully furnished kitchen, a large lounge area and several bunk rooms. There was also a TV with a VCR and a large collection of old kayak films. The films were very entertaining despite many being black and white or jamming halfway through the film.
The following morning, we met our instructor named Jono. He was a New Zealander who had been paddling almost his whole life and worked as an instructor in New Zealand and Canada during each country’s season. We talked about our experience levels, the conditions around Murchison and the plan for the following days. Each morning we would start with a pool session at a pool in town. We would then work on some flat-water skills in the pond or on a river before going paddling on white water after lunch.
For the first pool session Jono filmed our rolls then brought out a TV from the pool shed. He then put the videos on the screen and showed us our rolls to see exactly what we were doing. Both of us were using the C to C roll and were using a lot of arm strength to get up, however this is one of the most common causes of injury for kayakers. If someone is stuck in a hole and tries to roll by too much arm strength the force of the water can shove the blade around and cause dislocations.
Rather than use the C to C roll, Jono demonstrated a new roll called the sweep roll which was designed to reduce the pressure on the paddler’s arms and shoulders and be more energy efficient. Rather than using the power face of the paddle to push off the water the sweep roll uses the edge of the paddle to slice along the surface. This allows the paddle to travel in a wide arc around your body while your hips rotate in opposite direction. It is the counter rotation of the body which allows you to roll up, much like a cat rolls around while falling through the air. When performed correctly there is minimal strain on the paddler’s arms and far less physical effort is required.
Since we already had learnt a different roll technique it was difficult to break the old habits and learn the new movements, so we spent the whole pool session working on the roll to get as many repetitions as possible. We used inflated inner tubes to learn the move without a paddle and used the TV to see our roll and better understand our mistakes. Jono was able to split the screen showing our rolls next to an almost perfect roll, clearly showing the problems with our technique.
Following a break, we hopped into the pond to practice some flat water skills. The pond was a dark green colour, full of moss and algae and we were advised not to roll over. Although then Jono assured us no one had ever gotten sick after falling into it. On the pond we practiced several strokes such as forward strokes, sweep strokes and bow draws.
We then combined these strokes with a carve turn and practised crossing an imaginary flow, aiming for one of the gates. The different strokes could be used during the turn to adjust the kayak. This is a vital skill for getting in and out of eddies on the river, and flat-water practice allows for repetitions and focus on technique.
After a break for lunch we got ready to go paddle the Buller river. We put in at a gentle section so we could practice our carving turns again. Using these we could move across to a different Eddie with minimal effort. This is known as an S turn and is used all the time to get across a section of white water.
The Buller River was much wider and bigger than any river I had paddled before and had very large eddy lines. An eddy line is the confused piece of water between the main flow and an eddy and is full of boils and unpredictable water movement. At first, I struggled to cross the eddy lines and was constantly spinning around and flipping. I would struggle with this for the rest of the trip, however after some practice I was successful most of the time.
Proceeding down the river we practised our rolls and s-turns at every opportunity with Jono occasionally getting out of his kayak to film us. About halfway down the river I accidentally dropped my edge and flipped, having my only swim of the trip.
When someone rolls, they usually roll upstream as the current flips their boat, however I rolled down stream. This stopped my boat from completely rolling over and I was unable to roll up in this position. This effect is known as buoyancy hang up and happens because the combined effect of your lifejacket and the current stop you from flipping over completely. Jono described it as “when your lifejacket tries to kill you”. Having never experienced this I did not know what to do and swam, when I should have set up on the opposite side of my kayak. This would have shifted my weight and allowed the kayak to completely flip up side down.
That evening when I was sitting in the guest house several people walked in who were taking a swift water rescue course starting the next day. A number of them looked extremely familiar and we all did several double takes before we realised we had met at the Snowy Extreme Race earlier that year. They were just starting a month-long kayaking holiday and were planning to do some Heli kayaking as well.
That night we all went to the pub for dinner. I was using a travel card and up to this point I was able to pay for everything with tap and go, however the pub didn’t have that feature. At this point I realised that I had written down the wrong pin number for the card and couldn’t pay. Feeling fairly stupid, I had to ask someone else to pay for me, promising to make a bank transfer
The following morning, we worked some more on our rolls in the pool and learnt some hand roll techniques. The hand roll was different to the roll I had previously learnt as you did not come up leaning all the way back. This made the rolls more difficult but once you rolled up you were in a much more controlled position.
After the pool session we headed to the Mangles Buller confluence were the school had set up some slalom gates on some slow-moving water. Here we could practice our s-turns with a small current to help us. It was quite fun and forced us to think about our positioning and angle to pass through the correct gate across the river. We spent almost 2 hours playing on the slalom course, moving the gates around to make it more difficult. This session really helped me get used to the sharp edges on the RPM and I would started to really enjoy the boat.
We returned to the school for lunch before heading out to paddle the upper Matakitaki River. This was a long grade 2+ section with some of the longest pieces of continuous white water I have seen. I believe Jono mentioned that there was a 150m section on the river. The river was very cold as it was fed from mountain snow melt, but the water was electric blue and the river went through some very beautiful canyons surrounded by beech trees. On this river we worked on our s-turns in some faster water, trying to use the river features to our advantage, such as surfing waves across or catching mid-stream eddies. I also tried to learn how to stern squirt, a freestyle trick where the stern of the kayak is forced under water using the current, lifting the kayak up vertically.
On day three of the course we headed to the pool again to practice our rolls. By now our rolls were getting very clean and we started to learn other rolls such as back deck rolls and were getting better at our hand rolls. Jono attached ropes to our kayaks so the kayak could be pulled along to simulate white water. When we rolled while getting pulled along, we had to focus on our edge control to stop the water catching the edge and rolling us back over. By the end of the session I was rolling well when pulled by the rope but had only had one successful back deck roll.
Following an hour break we headed off to the slalom course on the Mangles again and practised some more manoeuvres. After a short time practising some s-turns Jono began to teach us basic slalom moves. He described slalom paddling as the ability to break standard paddling rules to get to a desired place faster.
When approaching a gate in the eddy most paddlers would use a carving turn as it allows you to drive deep into the eddy and there is little risk of flipping, however it is a very wide turn. In slalom, paddlers can choose to keep their boat flat or drop their upstream edge for a much sharper turn, however these turns sacrifice momentum and are harder to pull off without flipping. These moves taught us a lot about how a kayak can be used and was great practice for choosing a line.
During lunch a heavy rain began which would last for the rest of my trip and would bring the rivers up dramatically. It had already rained every day of my trip however the rain had been relatively light and did not have a dramatic effect on the river levels. Getting back into wet paddling gear in the rain was not very appealing put we got changed and headed over to the Buller River again.
This time we went much further upstream to paddle three sections of the river in one go. When we pulled up to the put in we realised that the bank had eroded away due to the high flows, and instead of a path down to the river there was a small cliff. This forced us to drive further upstream to a different put in.
We were on the Buller for about three hours, and due to the high levels, there was very little flat water. About an hour down the river we came across a perfect rapid to practice on. It had a large eddy on either side, with three waves making three almost perfect V shapes in the middle of the river. We spent a while practising our S turns and ferries, catching the wave out into the middle and the pealing into the eddy. I was also able to practice some more stern squirts and I managed to consistently get my boat vertical before flipping upside down. After several rolls and frustration Jono Laughed at me and told me learning to stern squirt was the best way to practice your roll because you were constantly upside down.
That night was the last night at the school and they had a barbeque for us. The instructors would cook the meat and together with the Swiftwater rescue course, we would have to bring salad and dessert. They cooked venison for us which was a bit of a novelty for me, but they seem to farm deer everywhere in New Zealand.
On the last day of the course we used the ropes again and Mick, the school’s owner, came and filmed us getting pulled by the rope. By now my roll was getting very good and I very rarely didn’t roll on my first attempt. My hand rolls however were severely lacking, despite many attempts and lots of energetic splashing.
Overnight rainfall had substantially brought up the rivers and the Buller was in flood. The high levels had also brought up the Mangles which is generally too low to paddle, so we set out to paddle it following the pool session. Driving up we got a look at the Buller and it was very easy to see the rise in level. One eddy we had used the other day had disappeared under the river and a large hole in the river had grown to a very scary size.
Putting in at the Blacks Mangles confluence we began paddling towards the Buller. The river started out as a class 2 moving into a class 3 with a bit of 3+ near the end. The Mangles was my favourite river of the whole trip, with a number of fun rapids and features spread throughout the river. In the first section there were some strong eddies which were perfect for practising stern squirts. It was on one of these that I finally began to complete them, without having to roll.
Halfway down the river there was a very fun wave train which we surfed for a while, and Jono tried to show me some simple tricks. I was able to carve a little on the wave but if I tried anything else, I would roll over or fall off the back of the wave. Jono then showed me some more technical tricks such as flat spins and disasters, but I was not even close to getting them.
My two favourite parts of the river were right at the end with a large play wave, followed by a long section of rapids with a number of small eddies very close together. The wave was bigger than any I had been on before and very challenging. I would often get out without warning and would have to roll very fast if I wanted a chance at getting back into the eddy. Ferry gliding across the wave was also fun as the kayak would pick up a lot of speed going across.
The following long rapid could be paddled straight down easily, however when you attempted to link all the eddies up with s-turns it became rather technical and very fun. You would carve into an eddy and head right back into the flow, already lining up for the following eddy.
We paddled the Mangles twice that day before I had to leave and head over to the campground where I would try to find someone to take me paddling for the next few days. When I arrived at the camp ground it had begun to rain again and I wasn’t too excited to set up my tent, but the camp’s manager told me there was an old band stand which I could set up in to stay out of the rain. The stand was right next to the river and was very close to a camp kitchen and covered deck looking on to the water. Apparently, the kitchen used to be a coffee shop and the deck had a few couches and nice tables looking out on to the river.
Once I had set up and eaten dinner, I started to look for paddlers. Walking around the campground I approached people who had boats and asked them if they were willing to take me. I received a polite no from people who were apparently leaving tomorrow. Despite this I finally met two people who said they would take me along.
The following morning, I met up with the pair and we drove up to meet some of their friends. It turned out that they were paddling with six other people which was cool as everyone was pushing everyone else to try new things and paddle harder.
That day we paddled three laps of the Mangles before calling it quits. I got much better at my stern squirts and almost completed a flat spin on a small wave.
The following day was my last day of paddling and we paddled one lap of the Mangles followed by a lap of the upper Matakitaki River. That night everyone got together on the deck by the camp kitchen and talked and played cards for a while. I was talking with one of the people I met and learnt that he was from Romania and was working at the local pub. He had come to New Zealand not even knowing about kayaking before he decided to learn and stay for the whole season. He had bought himself a kayak and slept on a hay bail behind the pub for free.
On my last day in Murchison I did not paddle as I had to make sure my gear was dry to get through Australian customs. It was extremely boring.
I caught a bus back to Christchurch on the following day, spending one more night at Juicy Snooze before flying home. When I arrived at home and tried to download the footage from my GoPro I found that my SD card had been corrupted and I had lost everything on it. After doing some reading, I found that SD cards can corrupt when they get to old and it is best to replace them every 3 years. I think mine was almost 5 years old.