River Karma

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“We thought he was underwater all this time, but he was actually behind the waterfall,” says Brown. “He managed to get out of his boat, find an air pocket and wedge his fingers in a crack in the rock.” Somehow Venable managed to grab hold of Brown’s rope. The footage shows him hauling himself hand over hand up the rope, out of the mist, through the waterfall and clambering to safety over the rocks. “I’ve got goose bumps watching it again,” says Brown. 11
WATER WILL RISE RAPIDLY. KEEP OUT OF RIVERBED. NO SWIMMING. NO FISHING. The second “sketchy incident” happened on the Kokatahi <strong>River</strong> where another local guide, Jordy Searle, almost drowned when his boat got wedged under a rock and he got sucked into a sieve (where the water disappears beneath a rock). “It was gnarly,” says Brown. “We didn’t think we’d see Jordy again. Bits of his kayaking equipment started to flush out from under the rock.” “In my 16 years of kayaking it was the scariest thing I’ve ever seen,” says Sturges. “It makes you question if it’s really worth it. How many more drops, how many more rivers, how many more crazy rapids can you run before you lose a friend?” “You know the consequences,” says Ortiz, “and sometimes I think to myself, ‘Why am I not at home watching TV? Why do I keep putting myself in these situations?’ But then you do it and you come out of it. You have to go through these negative things to get the positive.” Over breakfast the next day the decision is made to run the “sick waterfall” again. I follow the RV for a few kilometers out of National Park, the gateway to the Tongariro Crossing. I’m confused as we pull off the main road beside a farmer’s paddock. There’s no sign of a river, never mind a waterfall. Just a couple of hundred meters across the field however is a row of trees. Behind the trees is a steep cliff, a spectacular gorge and a perfect 15m waterfall. “To find a waterfall like this in New Zealand is very rare,” says Brown, particularly one that’s so easy to paddle and easy to access. At least it was easy to get to; it was hard to get out. We had to bush crash up this steep slope carrying our kayaks, but I guess it’s the fee you pay for paddling a waterfall like that.” Not for the first time on the trip Sturges is amazed at the lack of regulations and restrictions on New Zealand rivers. “In California it’s a felony to kayak some rivers,” he says. “If you get caught you’re in trouble and there are a lot of park rangers around. Kiwis are about as relaxed as you can get.” The point is illustrated that afternoon at Tawhai Falls, a well-known tourist spot. The team set up a DIY camera shuttle using two lengths of parachute cord stretched between two trees. It’s hard yakka. It takes four hours to capture what will probably be a few seconds of footage in the Flow Hunters documentary. But at least as they film run after run over the picturesque falls there’s no park ranger around to ask them what they’re doing. Nobody shouts stop. The next stop is Taupo and the Aratiatia Rapids. The plan is to spend the last few days of the trip running one of the toughest and most unique stretches of whitewater in the country. Water is released through the dam at the top of the rapids three to four times a day. The release is controlled by Mighty <strong>River</strong> Power, the company that runs the hydro-electricity power station on the river. Signs advise tourists: WATER WILL RISE RAPIDLY. KEEP OUT OF RIVERBED. NO SWIMMING. NO FISHING. What’s the power company’s attitude to kayakers? “It’s pretty chilled,” says Brown. “It doesn’t see a lot of descents anymore.” Soon after the kayakers run the first release at 10am, the first of four planned for the day, the gates to the power station open and a man in a suit approaches. “What’s happening,” says the power station employee who doesn’t introduce himself. “Not much,” replies Brown. “Just enjoying the sun.” “With kayaks?” “We just had a paddle.” “You guys aren’t going to jump off the bridge?” “In kayaks?” “We’ve seen it done before.” 12
Page 1: The Dutch girl INTERVIEW who had to
Page 4 and 5: Rush Sturges 48 MISSION THE AVON DE
Page 6 and 7: Robert Tighe photos provided by Red
Page 8 and 9: RIVER KARMA MAGAZINE REPORTS FROM T
Page 10 and 11: “New Zealand as a kayaking locati
Page 14 and 15: I’ve got goose bumps watching it
Page 16 and 17: ZOOM IN 16
Page 18 and 19: 18
Page 20 and 21: Hundreds of friends and family memb
Page 22 and 23: y Whitney Lonsdale Over the past se
Page 24 and 25: i did have an incledible year last
Page 26 and 27: Do you find anything different in p
Page 28 and 29: Which women paddlers out there are
Page 30 and 31: EXPLORE THE GRAND INGA PROJECT by M
Page 32 and 33: 32 Paddling as hard as he could, St
Page 34 and 35: 34
Page 36 and 37: 36
Page 38 and 39: 38
Page 40 and 41: 40 The few well-appointed embassies
Page 42 and 43: 42 With the thwack-thwack of helico
Page 44 and 45: 44 Paddling out into the river’s
Page 46 and 47: The crew, (left to right) Ben Marr,
Page 48 and 49: They say, that in everyones life th
Page 50 and 51: 50 Using the right craft and becomi
Page 52 and 53: Avon Descent Flat Water Skills and
Page 54 and 55: A New Era in Swiftwater Rescue Trai
Page 56 and 57: This whitewater course doesn’t ju
Page 58 and 59: 58

River Karma

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