Keep Calm and Kayak On! - New Zealand Kayak Magazine

Hamilton and Huntly and on Day Five they reached Mercer. It was NewYear’s Eve 2012. As revellers danced the night away oblivious of themassive effort, the girls grabbed some brief sleep; they knew that thefollowing day, in order to beat the tide, they would have to start early.“We were exhausted and the pressure we had put ourselves underwas starting to show – I knew how close we were, we had reduced thejourney from ten to six days and we were in striking range. For the firsttime I felt we might have set the benchmark,” said Emma.At 2.30am New years Day 2013, surrounded by mist they set off,Emma’s father acting as a guide in the family boat, torches lighting theway. Emotions were high as the pair dug deep and paddled againstthe flow, passing old training grounds in Franklin; near now, near to thefinish. White caps were whipped up by the 20 knot wind as they finallysaw the sand bar that crosses the river and announces the end of thejourney. They had made such good time that they had to paddle aroundthe river mouth until the immensely-proud welcoming committee arrived.Reunited with their families, the girls collapsed onto the beach, shookhands, hugged and then nodded to one another before sprinting tothe sea.“We were shattered but we had made a pact to leap into the ocean– we knew that our mums would be incredibly proud of what we hadachieved. It was at this stage when someone shouted ‘you never knowgirls, you might have set a record…’”Words and images: Mark Bond 2013 ©12 ISSUE SIXTY Nine • Autumn 2013 www.kayaknz.co.nz