Louise Urwin

2011 Rider of the Year Awards

2011-10-18T20:10:00.000-07:00

The International Rider of the Year Awards were announced recently with the screening of an Awards Video at Kanumesse, Europes huge paddlesports tradeshow.

I was stoked to get Runner-Up overall Female Kayaker of the Year & third best drop by a female for 2011. Congratulations to all the other athletes, photographers, and videographers, especially Marian and the other amazing Female Paddlers that were nominated. Another epic showcase of whitewater kayaking presented by Pat Camblin and 'Tribe Riders'

Thanks for the support everyone!!!
Check out the Awards Video below and for more info, visit www.rideroftheyear.org

Cumec Magazine Australasian Paddler Awards

2011-09-08T11:18:00.000-07:00

Thanks again to those who supported me this year on & off the water, it's been another epic year :

Bomb Flow TV Ep3 - California Teaser

2011-09-01T21:06:00.000-07:00

It's been a Sick Cali season, stand by to see what the Bomb Flow crew have been hitting...

Upper Cherry Creek (By Tyler Fox)

2011-08-22T12:16:00.000-07:00

This has been one of those seasons… that will be talked about for years to come, a once in 20 yr snow pack coupled with below average daily temps, combining for an epic, prolonged snow melt. It just also happened to be our (Louise Urwin and myself – Tyler Fox) first season in California. Score !

Upper Cherry was by no means our first river here in Cali, but due to a non-stop paddling schedule started off on my first day in Cali, we have had zero time for sitting at Computers. Therefore, we are starting now with one of my favorites – Upper Cherry!

It started like most of our trips, last minute. We received a worrisome call from the boys saying it was dropping out fast, contrary to our inside info that it wouldn’t be runnable for another couple days and would have a big fat week long window. However, we couldn’t take the risk and made the necessary steps to getting the mission underway. A quick overnight pack and a last minute call to Josh Neilson pulling him off the couch, and we were driving through the night towards Cherry Lake.

Camping at the trailhead we broke camp and started to set shuttle at 5:30am. The 20min shuttle lasted for an hour or more as one of our drivers got slightly separated and lost from the convoy. We finally hit the trail around 7am, with fully loaded boats on our backs and the first signs of daylight breaking the skyline. The hike is 9 miles along a beautifully maintained trail. It took our group between 5-6 hours but the view at the end of the hike is worth every drip of sweat.

The View from the end of the hike. Photo - Tyler Fox

Louise Urwin taking in the secenry, Upper Cherry put-in. Photo – Tyler fox

Right out of the gate the river starts off with an amazing long slide ending with a 15’ rooster tail boof. Pure magic, I couldn’t ask for a better start to a river.

Tyler Fox launching off the kicker. Photo – Daan Jimmink

Lu sending the bottom of Morning Slide. Photo - Daan Jimmink

From here the river goes over a couple more big drops before hitting the Moon Slides a never-ending series of super smooth low angle slides.

Lu finding an eddy amongst the mayhem. Photo – Daan Jimmink

Tyler and Shannon after roping Matt out of a nasty slot hole. Photo – Louise Urwin

We camped just above entrance gorge, with a couple other groups. The anxiety was fairly high among our camp neighbors, as it turns out the level was “High” making Cherry Bomb gorge “Full on, pushy with sticky holes”. We all fell asleep with these thoughts in our head.
After a nice sleep-in and casual breakfast we were fired up and ready to get some! We made it through entrance gorge, which had some steep, fast rapids, into the large pool above Cherry bomb. We all hopped out to have a scout, however, we were fairly committed to running it at this point. The line was clear, it just looked a bit fast and rowdy. Safety was set just below the weir and further down above the sieve pothole… there was nothing left but to commit. Get in your boat and take those final 3-4 stokes pulling your self out of the eddy and onto the slide. Exhale.

Tyler dropping into Cherry Bomb. Photo – Daan Jimmink

Flying off the Lip, view from above. Photo – Daan Jimmink

Flying off the Lip, view from below. Photo - Barny Young

Landing at the bottom of Cherry Bomb you have a split second before you need to start dealing with how you are gonna get over the weir, once past the weir you can catch an eddy on river left, fist pump – scream – fist pimp, then let your heart rate drop. From this eddy all you need to know is leftleftmiddlerightmiddleleft … you got that go! The first couple drops are fairly chill, but from there on the holes start to pack a serious punch and will throw you around if your not charging. The most hectic section is the 2nd to last drop which at these flows pushed super fast into the mandatory Left at sieve pothole the exit to cherry bomb gorge proper. I was sooooo stoked to make it through the gorge with sweet lines and no problems. I quickly scurried up the smooth granite wall to shoot from the media ledge.

Walking on the Moon. Photo Tyler Fox

Lu and crew making their way down the gorge. Photo – Tyler Fox

Boofing to freedom. Photo – Tyler Fox

Below Cherry Bomb you slide pretty much straight into the Jedi-slides, a series of beautiful teacup drops finishing in a large lake and Flintstone camp. The next couple miles are all time classic, unfortunately we had spent a bit of our day dealing with Cherry Bomb and needed to make quick progress to make the takeout by dark, so we kept the cameras in the boats.

Highlights definitely included dropping into double pothole, entrance included, going off beta from Josh. Looking back up at that staked section of whitewater truly gives meaning to PGA (Post Granite Awesome). Waterfall alley contained some serious whitewater in a committing gorge, but was highly rewarding with clean lines. Kiwi in a pocket and Dead Bear are there for the taking. After the confluence with the West Cherry, Redrock Gorge and Exit Gorge kept the cl V action coming right until the very last drop, which lands in Cherry Lake.

Such an amazing adventure!!

Keep posted for more to come.

Team Level Six Members Tyler Fox & Louise Urwin

CURRENTS TV - California

2011-08-01T11:58:00.000-07:00

Latest Episode from Currents... We've been using Goalzero equipment in California and it works great, good job guys!

The greenest energy is the energy we don't use.
That is the theme behind this episode as we attempt to film, log, and edit this entire clip using only solar power. No better place to do it than sunny California. With exceptional whitewater, terrain, and weather we were able to hit the rivers and soak up the sun.
Solar gear provided by: goalzero.com
Power provided by: the sun

Currents v2_3: California from Five2Nine Productions on Vimeo.

Quebec & Le Double du Lac Saint - Jean

2011-05-25T11:01:00.000-07:00

In the aftermath of the Grand Prix, Tyler and I have met up with our buddy Simon Davidson and have been enjoying some more exploring in the Quebec Region. The high water levels this spring have really changed the areas we can kayak and this combined with a good amount of snow still around have been somewhat limiting but we've still found some good runs.

Here's a video edited by Tyler Fox of a fun event we attended, organised by Pat Levesque & Katya for the Quebec locals.

White Water Grand Prix Win!

2011-05-17T11:27:00.000-07:00

Hey Guys

I apologise for being a bit slack on the blog of late but the Grand Prix was an action packed event so facebook updates had to do.
So, we just finished up 2 weeks of epic unprecedented competitions and it feels good to be a World Champion! The White Water Grand Prix was made up of 6 events (3 Freestyle & 3 Extreme Racing) each of which was the burliest event of it's kind.

We started out with a big trick freestyle contest on the biggest wave I'd ever surfed - "Gladiator" (Ottawa River). Everyone was nervous as the dreaded 'ledge' lay just downstream waiting to swallow a victim. I dropped into the pit for the first time and got instantly owned, I came up in the middle of the river (the worst spot) and the crowd was tense as I just managed to skirt the hungry hole. I figured this was worst case scenario so off I went for some more attempts and finally managed to surf the beast, got a trick and won the first womens event.

The next day, we made like gypsys and our entire party, athletes, media crew, safety crew, groupies, et al. hit the road for the Rouge.
The second event was a big water boater cross & it was BIG! I thought it was quite a long course so decided I would pace myself on the first run and save some power for the end when we had to plough through some enormous waves. Turns out there was no need as the water was cooking and we were at the finish line before I knew it. So, the next run I went hard from the start and got a good lead and the overall win.

The third event brought us to La Tuque where we stayed in these beautiful wooden cabins. We went to scout the course which was ridiculous, the town were helping us out and closing the dam for race day so we would have a third of the water. We had to run the event super tight as we only had a small window before the lake above would become too full and the dam would spill over onto the course...
We showed up on race day and waited for the water to drop, which it did - a little bit. It sure didn't look like a third of the water and when the local paddlers/race organisers were asked if they had run it that high, guess what the answer was...No!...great! It was stout, probably the burliest course ever raced, everyone was nervous. It was pretty crazy being at the start line and watching everyones little nervous rituals as they were about to go, there were a lot a big breaths. The first 3 racers went...and swam! not a good start and not helping the nerves of everyone else...these were the best boaters in the world! I was up last and by the time it was my turn, there had been 8 swims, I just told myself to go for it and peeled out of the eddy into the current. The first drop was a double drop with two waterfalls, i boofed off the first one and wound up in a boily eddy between the two drops...great!!! It took a few tries and all my strength to get out of the eddy and straight off the next drop, one rapid in and I'm exhausted, awesome! I sucked it up and survived the rest of the run, taking a quick roll on the slide but I was so stoked to make it to the bottom unscathed and still in my boat. I came out with another win so 3 for 3 was a very good place to be half way through the comp.

Next up we drove all the way up to Dolbeau where we were hoping for the giant wave, "Black Mass" to be in. Unfortunately the water levels were a little high so we went for plan B. The locals were expecting a show so we put on a downriver freestyle on a big wave called "Hawaii" it was a really tricky wave but if you timed it just right you could get big air. There were some awesome moves, I struggled to do something awesome but came in second after Katya.

The 5th event was to be another freestyle so the search began for the best wave around. We ended up on a wave they named the "pillars wave" which was actually two waves right after each other under a rail bridge. They were big and fun! I had a bit of a shocker and only got a couple of surfs throwing a few tricks but Katya the freestyle specialist threw the biggest trick of her life and probably of the day, a mega massive air screw, so sick. So another second place for me, Katya taking the win again.

Simon paddling the bottom drop of the Bras Louis on practi

The 6th & final event was an extreme slalom on the Bras Louis in Chicoutimi. We rolled up to the take out, I'm not sure what we expected but everyones jaw dropped as they laid eyes on the final drop of the race section, a massive drop into a slide with an extra meaty hole at the bottom, and this is what we had to paddle at the end when we were exhausted. Well it was in theme, everything else had been full-on so far. I had an increasingly sore shoulder so I was on the fence a little bit about paddling the long course (as I already had enough points to win the comp overall), in the end I decided I didn't want to miss out and went to get ready. At this point I realised my footblocks were still in the hotel room so I raced back to get them (30 mins each way). After a mare trying to get into my room, getting lost on the way back and a 10 min hunt for my paddle, I missed my first run. They had decided by this time that the girls would finish the race just before the final drop so everyone would enter. I went down the course and missed a lot of gates (they were hard) as the water had risen for race day and was moving really really fast. So I was pretty disapointed with my run and decided to make up for it by firing up the bottom drop which was real fun and made me feel much better. MP took down the slalom in the end, and I came in second.

So yeah, sickest event ever!!!!!!!! Huge thanks to Pat, Julie & all the volunteers for putting it together, everyone had an amazing time, the competition has raised the bar for extreme whitewater events and I look forward to seeing all the media coverage that will be coming out and can't wait to see what is in store for next year!

Sorry, didn't have time to take photo's but check out www.whitewatergrandprix.com for pics, vids, results and more...

Wainui River - local playground

2011-02-16T11:51:00.000-08:00

It's been a sick summer for the NZ Okere Massive crew as the rains came often, the Kaimai range became the new playground just an hour from our doorstep. Runs that usually only have enough water during winter or very brief flashes in the summer were good to go many times throughout the season, the Wainui being the pick of the bunch.
Here is a quick video edited by Tyler Fox after one of our days out....

NZ River Series - Wainui River from Five2Nine Productions on Vimeo.

Whitewater Grand Prix ...bring it!

2011-01-25T23:25:00.000-08:00

Well, this confirms my plans for the start of May...Quebec it is for the Tribe Whitewater Grand Prix!
28 of the worlds best kayakers, 2 weeks, 3 extreme races, 3 big wave freestyle events, good times...
The website looks sick, check it out for all the info on events, riders, pics etc...

2010 Reflection

2010-12-30T14:33:00.000-08:00

Hey All

Well it's been perhaps my most amazing year of travels and kayaking so far...From BC Canada to New Zealand, Australia, Quebec Canada, USA and Thailand. Plenty of exploration led us far from civilisation, we discovered various 1st descents, interesting cultures and new friends along the way.
Big thanks to Bliss-stick, Hydraulics & Level six for the support this year, it's awesome having the sweetest gear out there!

Here is a quick vid to share what I've been up to...
Mega Huge thanks to Josh Neilson (Southern Underground Productions) & Tyler fox for the videography.

Thailand Wrap up...

2010-09-10T20:29:00.000-07:00

The Gang at Mae Pan - LU, Toni, Tyler, Josh (pic by Tyler)

After a sick month in Thailand, covering a lot of km's, paddling some awesome rivers and waterfalls, dealing with police, food poisoning and enjoying the culture, I've landed back in NZ....and it's cold! well by NZ standards anyway, from sweating everyday for the past 3 months to lighting the fire is a bit of a shock...just as well it should be warming up soon.

My advice for anyone looking into paddling in Thailand is either be prepared to pay a lot in park fees and be sneaky when paddling or somehow pre-arrange permission to kayak in the parks through the national park governing body or maybe find a way through tourism thailand. Not sure if this is possible, but would make life a lot easier if so. Believe me, it's pretty disappointing standing next to a nice, perfectly runnable waterfall but not being allowed to paddle it. In the bigger parks, the rangers are everywhere.

Toni charging (pic by Tyler)

Other tips:

* There are a lot of runs you can get away with paddling within a few hours if you base yourself in Chaing Mai.

* When bartering, always offer about a quarter of what they are asking and be prepared to walk away, most of the time they will call you back. Usually you can get a cheaper deal on accommodation too.

* Accommodation, we had 4 people and could usually talk the hotels into giving us a twin room and we squeezed. Sometimes they may charge you a little more for the xtra people but was the cheapest way. We paid from 300-700 baht / night.

* Food, it's sooooooo good. I recommend the green/red curries and pad thai. If you are in a little town and they don't speak english, ask for Kow Pat (Cow-pat), that's fried rice, it's safer that way. Also, chicken-on-a-stick is found roadside all over the place and is good. Look for the BBQ's that are smoking cause then you know it's just been cooked. We ate pretty well and spent around 200 baht / day for meals and snacks.

* Water, you can't drink the tap water, but buying water is cheap. We just bought big bottles and re-filled them at fill machines they have on the streets.

* Bring minimal gear!!! You don't need a paddle jacket or thermals. Wearing elbow pads was hot enough. You can get pretty much anything you need when you get to Thailand. Sweet clothing is super cheap at the markets. The less you take, the more cool stuff you can pick up at the markets.

* 7-Eleven, these stores are pretty much on every block, good if you want change, snacks, air-con or a 200 baht bottle of rum.

* Language, we didn't learn much Thai, we tried but mostly did a lot of pointing. The lonely planet phrasebook was helpful though. Ka - said by girls, Kap - said by boys. Careful to get it right guys or they'll think you're a lady boy!

Yes = Chai
No = Mai
Thank you = Korp Khun Ka/Kap
Sorry = Kor Thot
Hello = Sawadee Ka/Kap
Fried Rice = Kow Pat
Pork = Moo
Chicken = Gai
Waterfall = Nam tok
Where? = Tee Ngae
I don't understand = Mai Kao Jai

If you want more info, e-mail myself or one of the other guys.

So now, I'm looking forward to the NZ season. First up is training for the NZ rafting trials then the Arahura extreme in November and catching up on assignments....good times!!

Thailand-Part 5: Haew Suwat Stealth Mission!

2010-08-29T20:23:00.000-07:00

LU - dropping off Haew Suwat.
(Photo: Tyler Fox)

It had to happen to at least one of us, unfortunately it was me. I got food poisoning or something, so was bedridden for the next few days, Josh got a touch of it too and his shoulder was still sore after Mae Pan so we hung out in a hotel room close to the toilet while Tyler and Toni headed out east for a couple of days and then got to paddle the Mae Klaeng….jealous much!

But then... in the words of the legend Sir Edmund Hilary "We knocked the bastard off !!!"

After what felt like an eternity of not paddling, I was itching to get back in my boat. What better for it than a Heaw Suwat stealth mission!!! Heaw Suwat was the 55ftr we spotted at the start of our trip but had been completely shut down by the park police. Soooooo, we headed back to Koi Yai National Park and phase one was check the level. It was pretty much the same as before and was good to go. Phase two…now what? The park rangers were everywhere, we couldn’t really come back early or late cause there were at least three gates blocking our way over a big distance. We couldn’t get to the river upstream to paddle down to it, so we decided to be quick and just go for it stealth style. We found a secluded spot away from the falls, got changed and tied our gear on ready for a quick deploy. Unfortunately Josh was still nursing his sore shoulder so he couldn’t paddle with us so his job was getaway driver and cameraman. The plan was to jump out of the car just up from the carpark, hopefully they don’t see us, bust through the trees, run across the trail and get to the other side of the river before they could stop us. Well, this went smoothly for about 15 seconds before some young ranger guy started chasing us telling me we couldn’t swim there. Obviously I told him it was ok we weren’t planning on swimming. Luckily he was too bewildered to actually stop us and we made it to the other side. From here it was a quick scout with the rangers gathering on the other shore and then off we dropped. The waterfall was real fun, we all had sweet lines and the only hitch was that Toni broke her paddle. That, and the fact that the rangers were waiting for us. We tried to sneak back through the bush but they spotted us and took off up the road to lock the first gate on us. They told us to wait while they got the police and eventually escorted us by scooter to the Park headquarters. We had to hang out here for a while, wondering how much the fines would be, how long the cops would take to arrive, and whether we would have to hang out in jail. Thankfully none of these things happened, the park police guy in charge decided to let us go with a slap on the wrist and we headed out of the park with a sigh of relief. Maybe not-so-steath….but worth it.

After dropping Tyler at the airport, Josh, Toni & I are at the beach! We’re on the south coast east of Bangkok on an island called Koh Chang, yesterday was snorkelling the reefs and today we rent scooters to search for waterfalls. It's been raining heaps finally so chances are the drops are runnable, however the chance of being allowed to paddle are slim...here's hoping!

Thailand-Part 4: Mae Pan...Yes Please!

2010-08-29T20:11:00.000-07:00

Mae Pan...one of the reasons we came to Thailand!
(Photo: Toni George)

After a day driving around Ob Luang we had no luck again but then it rained all night long, and we had our fingers crossed it was raining enough in the mountains for the next days mission…Mae Pan..round 2. We had already checked it out on our way to Chiang Mai but it was a bit too low so we were really hoping we would get another shot at the 50ftr. After paying another $70 entry fee, we hiked to the waterfall and uttered a sigh of relief, it was still a bit on the low side but good enough to go. We roped the boats up, hiked the trail, abseiled to the pool above, paddled over the lip and got slammed on the landing. Hardest hit I’ve taken off a drop, Josh lost his go-pro and hurt his shoulder again, but a beautiful waterfall. Following the drop was another fun steep drop/slide then a few more smaller waterfalls, heaps of fun, stoked we got to paddle it, and the park ranger was too late to stop us. He was walking down the trail as we were walking back, told him we’d been swimming cause the waterfall was too dangerous.

The day before...12hrs of driving around looking at drops that weren't good to go.
(Photo: Tyler Fox)

LU dropping into the steep slide/drop after Mae Pan.
(Photo: Toni George)

Lu, another waterfall on the lead out from Mae Pan
(Photo: Josh Neilson)

Toni George, boofing off yet another beautiful Mae Pan drop.
(Photo: Tyler Fox)

Tyler - Monkey gimme some skin...

Thai rafting...

Thailand-Part 3... A foot more water everywhere please...

2010-08-29T20:01:00.000-07:00

When the car won't make it to the put-in...plan B.
(Photo: Toni George)

Well……a week in Chiang Mai and besides the initial downpour, the prediction of thunderstorms was a major let-down. We’ve still been checking out drops and getting in a few runs in the area but more often than not, everything needs about a foot more water. It’s getting a bit frustrating, we have some sweet stuff lined up, we just need the skies to open up so we can get stuck in. We left Chiang Mai today for the Ob Luang area, we’re hoping to head back to Doi Inthanon national park soon for the Mae Pan and Mae Klang, which both need a bit more water…fingers crossed again.

Josh probing Mae Wang Falls...turns out there is a rock in the landing....just had to see for ourselves after Ben Brown broke his back here years earlier.

About a foot more water please.
(Photo: Tyler Fox)

It wasn't actually that bad, we still found some fun stuff to paddle.
(Photo: Tyler Fox)

Toni, avoids the undercut.

LU - on line down the last big one we got to paddle.
(Photo: Tyler Fox)

Josh probes the line
(Photo: Tyler Fox)

LU dropping in.
(Photo: Toni George)

Here we go again, getting kicked off the river and escorted out of the park...sigh...
(Photo: Toni George)

(Photo: Toni George)

Toni hitching shuttle.
(Photo: Josh Neilson)

Chiang Mai Temple and market.

Monks headed into the temple to pray.

Lu, Tyler and baby elephant friend.
(Photo: Toni George)

Thailand-Part 2... Here comes the rain!!!

2010-08-11T10:20:00.000-07:00

After bargaining ourselves a cheap room in a four star hotel in Saraburi, we drove the 300km to Thung Salaeng Luang National Park area, diverting to check other drops as we spotted waterfall signs. We stumbled across a real nice clean 25ftr named Si Dit.

We had to enter a patrolled park area so were really nervous about being told we couldn’t paddle again. So the stealth mission began, we hung out for a while, trying to blend in…yeah right! The plan was to quickly take the boats off and take them a bit upstream, throw our gear on and go before they could say no.

All went according to plan and we were relieved that this time they were more interested in taking photos than telling us off so we could do some laps. We figure from here on in we’re gonna get one extreme or the other, either they deny us or become the paparazzi.

The rest of the day was spent scouting more drops including Kaeng Sopha, known as the ‘Niagra Falls of Thailand’. A big triple drop, bit too gnarly to go with a ton of death lines, but a beautiful area.

A few more days scouting drops that either land on rocks or didn’t have enough water has bought us with our spirits down a bit to Chiang Mai….and the 10-day forecast is….thunderstorms, thunderstorms and more thunderstorms. Just what we need!!!! It’s pouring outside now so let the games begin…

LU - Si Dit Falls (pic by Tyler)

Josh - Si Dit Falls

Si Dit backdrop

Kaeng Sopha - the 'Niagara Falls' of Thailand, Middle drop.

Kaeng Sopha Falls - Top drop (LU & Toni), pic by Tyler

Typical food stop...sooooo good!

Thailand - Waterfall Hunting.

2010-08-04T01:51:00.000-07:00

After a couple of days in hectic Bangkok, finding a rental car, bartering with construction workers for wood to make roof racks and waiting for Josh and Tylers bags to show up, we finally got to leave the city.

First stop, Khao Yai National Park where we had seen photo’s of a handful of potential sweet waterfalls. Jackpot, our first stop was at Heaw Suwat Waterfall (‘Nam tok’ in Thai). The 50ft drop was at a decent level and there were more waterfalls that looked good to go in the photos we’d seen above those falls.

We unloaded our boats all excited to finally be kayaking and on a good drop at that. That was until we got told off by the park police….we tried our best yarns but they weren’t having it and we had to leave mega disappointed.

But it wasn’t over, we’d be back and while we plotted our return we checked out some of the biggest Thailand had to offer.

Like a bad horror movie, we ignored the signs across the trail that said no entry, due to presence of wild animals, and holding our tripods and umbrellas as weapons, we made our way down the trail at dusk in a deserted park , eyes peeled for tigers , elephants and snakes and found a mega huge waterfall at the top. Again we skirted round a sign written in Thai and walked through the barbed wire pillars down another trail to Heaw Narok Waterfall, a two-stage 100 to 100ftr with a transition –of death between them.

So, we had wondered why people we had seen earlier were wearing Gators and long pants while we were in boardies and Jandals, turns out it was for the leeches, when we got to the waterfall, we discovered leeches and worms had attached themselves to our feet and naturally freaked. The waterfall was beautiful but we would have to set our sights on the drop below these, hard to gauge from where we were but was getting dark so have to leave that for another day when we found a way to paddle in the park. By the time we made it back to the car, peeling leeches and worms off us, slipping in the mud, and the fear of wild animals (especially cause the scent of blood was now on us from the leeches) freaking us out, it was almost dark. No paddling today…but we might have got just as much of an adrenalin rush from the walk….here’s hoping for better luck tomorrow…stupid park rules.

Oh Boy, first waterfall ride of the trip...

Heaw Suwat Waterfall - 50ft-ish

Denied - Gutted to leave such a nice drop behind...plan B...

Well, the sign doesn't say no kayaking...

Monkey we found scratching his balls.

Hmmmm, so many rivers and valleys...where are the goods?

The sign says it all...

Heaw Narok Waterfall of death.

After a night in a sketchy guest house with plastic sheets and a complimentary condom, we left Petcha Buri optimistic that today we would have more luck.

We avoided the national park since it costs us $50/day to enter and they won’t let us kayak anyway and checked out some other drops. Luckily Thailand loves their waterfalls and they are often marked on the road map and there are heaps of signs (with pictures so we can read them). It wasn’t long before we found a stretch we could paddle. Thanthip waterfall and rapids, not huge but still fun and we were all really glad to finally get in our boats. The shores were lined with locals, swimming and we had a big crowd including some dudes in uniform. Unfortunately I found a rock in the main drop and put a dent in the front of my boat, should pop out easy but was a bit of a surprise landing, lucky it wasn’t higher. The rest of the afternoon we spent driving round looking for more drops, plenty to look at but nothing more to paddle yet. They have foreigners rates to view a lot of the drops which is about $9pp so is getting a bit frustrating but we have a lot more to look at, it’s part of exploring, we’ve just gotta find those gems.

Toni on one of the rapids above thanthip falls.

Tyler, above Thanthip falls

Josh & the crowds, Thanthip falls.

Thanthip falls with our posse...

Chatroom Interview - Adventure Kayakers.

2010-06-19T10:28:00.000-07:00

Josh & I recently did an interview with 'chatroom' about life as an "adventure kayaker" and a bit about Josh's latest movie "Realm" that has just screened on TV in NZ.

You can check it out online, follow this link (scroll down the page):

Chatroom Highlights

Teva Mountain Games 2010 - Kiwi Domination

2010-06-19T07:32:00.000-07:00

The Kiwi Contingent...

This year Vail, Colorado saw a mass influx of Kiwi's, 19 of us to be precise.

Homestake creek was overcome with Bliss-stick kayaks in the xtreme race, and the bars didn't know what hit them.

To put icing on the cake, Sam took out top spot in the mens extreme race and Nikki came third in the womens.

With a pimp mansion in the heart of Vail village for Kiwi's and friends, it was a fantastic week of racing and enjoying the festival. Unfortunately they cancelled the 8-ball race due to rising water levels, disappointing for those us wanting to make amends after the creek race but we'll just have to bring our A-game next year!

The boys, performing a Haka for Sam at extreme race prizegiving...

MENS EXTREME RACE RESULTS:

1st Sam Sutton

2nd Andrew Holcolme

3rd Tao Berman

Womens Extreme race Podium.

WOMENS EXTREME RACE RESULTS:

1st Tanya Faux

2nd Martina Wagman

3rd Nikki Kelly

Sam Sutton...winning smile for the paparazzi.

Sam Sutton...on his way to glory.

Tanya Faux tearing through the course for the win.

LU - gutted, after practice was all good, botched a couple lines in the race and it was game over for me.....bring on next year!

Tyler Fox, in the finals.

Mike Dawson, last years defending champ.

Johann Roozenburg - Finals

Honza Lasko - in his new boat design.

Jakob Numec - finals

Bradley Lauder - finals

Tino Specht - finals

Nick Troutman, sporting the Go-pro

Martina Wagman...on her way to 2nd place in the womens.

Niki Kelly - 3rd place in womens.

Leela Samuels

Homestake Creek...mankiest xtreme race course in the world...

Ryan Lucas

Josh Neilson

Tyler - it's not cool to blow your whistle at people while they're racing...

Tyler, Ryan, Lu...couldn't tell you what's going on here?

speedy Lulu

Toni George

Brenna Kelly

Tanya Faux - 2nd Place womens Freestyle

None of our crew had freestyle boats so we became a cheering squad instead for the freestyle comp.

The finals were pretty intense as the river rose and became a darker shade of brown. The hole became more of a wave and giant chunks of tree debri ripped through the hole adding an element of risk to the freestyle game as whole tree limbs and stumps flushed through.

WOMENS FREESTYLE RESULTS:

1st Emily Jackson

2nd Tanya Faux

3rd Haley Mills

MENS FREESTYLE RESULTS:

1st Dustin Urban

2nd Jason Craig

3rd Casper Kalmthout

Ruth Gordon - finals

Emily Jackson - Womens freestyle winner.

Jason Craig - 2nd place Mens Freestyle

Bryan Kirk - going huge!

Dustin Urban - 1st Place mens freestyle.

Casper Van Kalmthout - 3rd place mens freestyle

Andrew Holcome - crowd pleaser.

Bryan Kirk

Jason Craig, pulls out a killer ride at the end to take 2nd place.

Springtime in Quebec...

2010-05-17T15:38:00.000-07:00

Well today is my birthday and my present was two 1st descents around Saguenay, Quebec....best b-day pressie ever!

We've started the week with a few Classics to Warm up around Chicoutimi before heading off into the wilderness to explore the upper Petit Saquenay & Riviere du Portage. Getting access to the upper Petit Saguenay turned out to be a bit of an epic as we found that the road we thought we could take to the put-in was private, all fenced off with security gate and guards floating around with guns in their cars...not an option. Plan B was also shut down, as apparently this rich-as dude owned the other road in as well. Luckily we came up with a plan C which meant backtracking towards Chicoutimi and taking a much longer road in as far as we could before the snow on the road beat us. Unfortunately all these logistics hold-ups meant we weren't going to get on the river this day, because it was a 1st descent, we wanted plenty of time since we didn't entirely know what we were in for. So, the snow finally won and we decided to hike our boats in the three km's to the lake we would start out on. On arrival however, we realised that this wasn't the lake we thought and we were going to miss a couple of km's of the river, stink but at least we found the river and we could spend the rest of the day running shuttle and chilling.

LU - Bras Valin, classic Chicoutimi run...almost got kicked out of put-in by motorbiking riding, no-english speaking Quebecers chasing us down on their 4-wheeler.... welcome to Quebec!

LU - Valin

Sooooo good to be in my boat again!!!

Josh - Valin

LU / Dave - Valin

Day 2 - Trying to get to the put-in of Riviere Haha.......NZ summer to Canadian snow = soft Kiwi...Brrrr

Time for a new plan, denied by the snow, no 1st D today - real gutted! Off to the Riviere du Moulin.

Gang paddle - Josh, Tyler, LU, Brenna, Mike, Pat, Dave, Sam, Blaker.

Put-in to Lower Moulin, drop still unrun...for now!

Easiest Quebec Portage ever! Usually you get raped by trees!

Josh- stoked to finally hit a rapid with a clean boof!

Tyler launching

Time for some Quebec delicacy...Poutine....that's Fries, Cheese curd & gravy, heart attack in a bowl but pretty tasty.

I think I can...I think I can...battling into the Petit Saguenay

The things we do to get to the river....

That's one big-ass Moose!!!

Hiking our boats to the put-in for Riviere Petit Saguenay

An afternoon to Chillax...no we didn't have delicious fish for dinner :(

Ah, so turns out we're not at the lake we thought we were...

Poser... this one's for my mum.

Dave in amoungst it - Petit Saguenay

LU - punching the hole, Petit Saguenay

After all our chill time the day before, this river only ended up taking us 3 1/2 hrs to cover around 25km. First half of the run was class 3 continuous boulder garden boogie style, so was fast moving, then got a bit steeper and highlight was a 20ft waterfall. Was pretty crazy when we hit the private area of land, within minutes a couple of guys rocked up to see what we were up to, they said we weren't supposed to be there and not to take any photo's, pretty suspect but they were nice enough and we were on our way.

Blaker - Dropping off 20ftr, Petit Saguenay

Next stop, setting shuttle for what I was really looking forward to...the Riviere du Portage. Tyler, Josh & I had scouted a huge triple drop the year before and were looking forward to checking it out with less water. The river was sick, nice tight gorge stacked with class 4-5 rapids, a couple of portages but not too bad for a Quebec mission where rivers often have a few manky drops. After the gorge section, the river opened up and got shallow and flat, we pushed pretty hard but this continued for hours with the occasional class 2/3 for a reprieve. By the time we got to the triple drop it was nearly 5pm and we had been paddling solid for the last 8hrs, we were stuffed! Unfortunately the third drop was still pretty sketchy and we really didn't have the mental or physical capacity to think about running it so it was onwards downstream. Expecting more flat water, we were pleasantly surprised to come into another gorge, we shook off the exhaustion and enjoyed the class 3/4 rapids out to the lower petit Saguenay wave trains and back to the car and a cold brew. Total shattered, we sacked up to meet up with the stakeout boys and hit chicoutimi...Hard! I partied like it was my birthday, and the next day ate Junior Chickens for breakfast and lunch....

Tyler - Leading the charge, Riviere du Portage.

Send in the probes - Brenna and Dave wait for a sign from below as Tyler & Josh check out whether we can get down the gorge.

The chicks

LU - Riviere du Portage

Big Wave Hunting - Kimberley, Australia

2010-04-25T14:15:00.000-07:00

The Gang - Timmy, Sean, Anthony, Jesse, Soph, Max, Lachie, Adriene, Tyler, LU, Ashley - Pic By Lachie Carracher

Sorry about the wait folks, it’s been a few weeks since I returned to NZ from the Kimberley Expedition in Australia and we’ve been on media standby while we sort out exclusive rights etc… to the thousands of amazing photo’s we took on the trip. This isn’t over yet but I thought I’d fill you all in and post a few D-roll snaps before I head on my next mission.

Local Kids at Barnett Station, keeping our seats warm till we flew in..

It was a long drive from one corner of oz to the other, we ended up driving over 10,000km without air con through the desert so there was a lot of sweating on each other and ice-block stops.

In Fitzroy Crossing the plan of attack was, fly to Barnet Station, start the expedition on Barnet Creek, which after a good days paddle will flow into the Han River and after 3-4 days the Han will flow into the Fitzroy where we were looking for sick waves to surf. It’s the start of February, the wettest month of monsoon season so we are expecting some big storms while we’re in there and the river which is currently lower than we were expecting should rise quite rapidly. This is to be the first peak flow descent of the Fitzroy and the first big wave exploration in Australia.

Campsite#1, Soooo good to finally be at the river.

With the standard last minute dramas, our only key for the van snapping in half and missing our first plane, it was a bit of a rough flight from Fitzroy crossing but we finally landed in Barnett Station. We were picked up by a local, thrown on the back of a Ute and dropped at the river bank….perfect! Finally!!!! We were at the river! Not only that, we were at a primo swimming hole where Jesse caught the first fish of the trip and we could chill for the night before our first side mission the next day.

Day 1, LU - The Gruelling Hike to the waterfall!

Day 1 - As much as we wanted to get going downstream, we had been told of a sweet waterfall further upstream and we couldn’t resist checking it out. Only a few Km’s was the good word so we began the upstream paddle, eddy-hopping between trees, hiking, and dragging boats in the brutal heat and after a gruelling 5hrs! found the waterfall. Pretty cool drop, about 50ft in total, 20ft sloper and 30ft vertical. Although a bit on the low side so the sloper was pretty mank. With all of us completely exhausted from the walk in and beating sun, we pulled the pin and paddled back to camp through a few cool G3-4 rapids, dreaming about how good the dry mouldy wraps and cheese were going to be when we got back. We stopped for just long enough to make our dreams come true before the whole team took downstream a couple of km’s before dark….we were off.

After 5hrs of sweating and walking, we made it to the Waterfall at Mannon Gorg

It didn’t take me long to become the first casualty on our first night on the river. Took a small chunk of my thumb nail off whittling a wooden spoon with a big ass knife, nothing a bit of superglue couldn’t fix but that stuff stings bad…

Limbo, river style, dealing with tree choked sections...

Yeah, this raft was a bit higher than the previous, not so successful.

Thousands of bats...gross! Their poop is really acidic so this also meant we couldn't drink the water when they were around.

Day 2 - A good days paddling brought us to the Han where we spotted our first Goanna and baby Croc at the confluence. The Barnett had been quite full of trees, which is a lot of work guiding the rafts through, whereas the Han opened out a bit and was more of a Canyon. Was nice to hit some rapids nice G2-3 stuff so all manageable in loaded rafts. We found a nice clean 13ft river wide waterfall so decided to set up camp that I called the mansion. It had it all, four different levels of flat rock, a clear creek running through for drinking and a cliff to jump off for a dip, and of course the waterfall. We ran some laps before dinner, unfortunately I hurt myself again, landing hard on my edge and hurt my back, geez what state am I gonna be in after a month?...Had a bit of rain in the night, a third of our shelter turned into a puddle so was a cosy wet sleep.

LU, The Upper Han, woo-hoo no trees and best of all...RAPIDS!

LU, Waterfall at camp, Han creek.

Spot the shelter...the Mansion campsite, beautiful!

Day 3 - Turns out the Han was full of goods. Solid G4 steep rapids, we were moving pretty slowly as we had to scout and although we ran most of the rapids with the rafts, we had to unload them for a couple of the drops, this soon zaps your energy in the incredible heat which was above 40 degrees C. every day. The highlight of this day (and in hindsight probably the best drop of the whole trip) was a 20ft super clean river-wide waterfall. We did a few laps, before the sketchiest moment of the trip, Lachie tried to throw a freewheel but was too far centre and got trashed real hard, he disappeared for a while before the yard sale of gear slowly appeared, including him. A bit scary but he was fine. I was worried about my back which was pretty sore but didn’t want to miss out on the fun and was all good.

One of many production lines, loading up rafts...just another daily chore.

Raft the impossible, it was too hot and difficult to carry rafts so we just ran everything.

LU - More goods on the Han, we actually weren't expecting this part of the trip so have so many sweet rapids.

LU, landing off 18ftr

The river soon became braided and full of trees so we had to concentrate on getting the rafts through, with the kayakers leading the way and probing the different channels. We soon got our first decent rain storm, it was pretty amazing making our way through corridors of trees in the downpour with the thunder & lightening. The storm passed over and darkness wasn’t far away, it was tough to spot a campsite in the swampy landscape but we found a flat clay spot to stay, problem was, Tyler had taken a different channel when probing and was no-where to be seen. I took off downstream to find him but after paddling for a while, I hadn’t come to the confluence and couldn’t find him. Since darkness was setting in, I went back for supplies and reinforcements and Sean and I headed off downstream again. With a lot of Marco-polo style yelling, we eventually found Tyler who had decided he was there for the night. We stashed our boats and made it back to camp just in time for dinner, learning a good lesson about staying together, especially in the maze of trees. Huge day and the Strive Lentil Dahl was amazing

Another morning in paradise, except for the potential hazard of the clay rain ditch

Another highlight for me, the aboriginal artwork was pretty spectacular!

Day 5 – A bit further downstream the trees disappeared and the river opened up to a gorge again with plenty of G3-4 rapids. We didn’t have to portage rafts or gear so was a bit more of a cruisier day. I spotted my first big croc, just saw it’s head which was massive before it disappeared. We stopped and hung out at a beautiful waterfall on the side of the river, caught & ate some fish, and enjoyed the fresh drinking water as opposed to the dirty brown river water we usually drank. I hadn’t hurt myself for a couple of days so an ear infection came on, stink. Further downstream we hit trees again and experienced another storm while setting up camp. Seems like evening storms are the norm. We had been hoping for some big full on rapids in Moll Gorge today but looks like the rapids we did today were it L The hardest days are about to begin…1-2 days battle through approx 50km of pandanus and hardwood trees…

Another Catch for Jesse...lunch :)

Day 6 – Well the good news was that there wasn’t too much pandanus, unfortunately there was plenty of hardwood, paperbark and eucalyptus to battle through. Highlight of my day was when Timmy was unsnagging the raft and freaked when he felt something brush past his leg…hmmm. The GPS reported that we made it 25km so hopefully only one more day of trees as everyone is exhausted, although the word is that it could be 2hrs or 2 more days. We set up camp in a clay rain ditch and although there was thunder and lightening all night long, we were lucky it didn’t rain.

Another day in the trees...

5am daily starts, waiting for the coffee to brew.

Day 7 – It was pretty disheartening when we had paddled 4 ½ hrs, stopped for lunch and checked the GPS that said we still had 25km to go…We paddled for 8 ½ hours solid, the landscape started to open up a bit so it was decided that we had about 6km to the confluence of the Fitzroy. This gave us a second wind so we paddled for another hour but had to set up camp again before dark. There are a few ear infections going around and everyone is pretty exhausted and looking forward to staying in one spot for a few days, hopefully with a sweet wave....no rain today..

Where are we? how far to the next gorge? where will the waves be? when will the trees end? an exciting part of new expeditions....maps, love em!

Day 8 – Hooray, the trees are nearly over, I woke up with heaps more energy, I think I’d finally recovered from the hike to the waterfall on the first day and had a good sleep. Spirits were up a bit all round knowing we would get to Sir John Gorge today where we would stay in one spot for a bit with NO TREES! We were looking for a confluence where the little Fitzroy River met the Han and that is where the mighty Fitzroy begins. Adriene & I took off downstream to film/photo the team hitting the confluence but instead came to the first rapid of Sir John Gorge…hmmm, the Little Fitzroy was so “little” that we had missed the confluence. The Fitzroy is looking a bit on the low side so here’s hoping we get some solid rain for the big waves we are looking for.

Confluence? We unexpectantly hit the first rapid of Sir John Gorge which meant we were on the Fitzroy river.

After a couple of rapids we spotted what is known as the ‘Barramundi pole’ this is the point where the barramundi stop coming upstream and a sign that we are definitely in the gorge, should be good fishing from here. We took a break and wandered around the cliffs looking for rock art and doing some fishing, not too successful but may have had something to do with the big croc swimming around in the pool below. We carried on downstream through G2-3 rapids, keeping an eye out for spots where big waves might form when the river goes up. About a km downstream we decided to set up camp where we had a couple of good potential wave spots up and down stream, we wouldn’t stay here long though since it’s too hot baking on the rocks, very little shade. My ear infection and back were feeling better today so my super glued thumb started to hurt, kept me awake some of the night, a bit worried it might be getting infected….and so we wait for the rain…

The Barramundi Pole, confirmation that we were in St John Gorge and that hopefully the Barra will start to bite.

Day 9 – Another Blazing hot day, the river had dropped so a few of us went for a hike upstream back above the barra pole to find some billabongs. It was an exhausting walk in the heat but was nice to escape into the shade and pools. We floated back down the river to camp all huddled in a group for croc protection, although I couldn’t quite bring myself to float down the rapid we saw the croc in the day before. I was awake most of the night, my thumb is swollen and I can’t believe how painful a thumb can be.

Home, about a third of the way down the gorge, we set up camp and waited for the rain to come...and waited...and waited.

Day 10 – After a horrible sleep that even Valium & Voltaren didn’t help, I started taking antibiotics for the infection, which was becoming more swollen and sore as the day wore on. We all packed up camp and headed downstream in search of a shadier camp site. We were about a ¼ of the way down the gorge so didn’t want to go too far in case the good waves formed upstream. Boz and I took off downstream and found a pretty mint flat ledge, nice and high up with a stream nearby, sandy beach and a pet crocodile in the pool below, home for the next week.

Home, about a third of the way down the gorge, we set up camp and waited for the rain to come...and waited...and waited.

Day 11 – A miserable day for me, I was in a lot of pain from the pressure in my thumb, pretty much just hid out in the shade with Adrienne who has a nasty rash. Getting stuck into painkillers…wishing antibiotics would take effect. Some of the guys went wave hunting downstream, found a small wave but not very retentive, the consensus is that we need a lot more water. The good news was that after the river dropping a few feet over the last few days, finally it rained! We were all so stoked running around in it like a pack of crazies, it didn’t last too long but hopefully enough to bring the river up a bit.

Our pet croc...

Day 12 – Another painful night for me, even the Valium wasn’t knocking me out. The river came up a little from the rain but still nowhere near enough. I hid out again in my misery until I absolutely couldn’t take it anymore and Adriene volunteered to poke a hot needle through my nail to relieve the pressure. I squirmed like a baby, but it was instant relief as tonnes of stinky pus and blood rushed out, hurt like crazy as she squeezed out more gunk but afterwards was considerably less painful than before (thanks A), gonna lose the nail for sure.

Our little oasis, thank god!!! I may have died from the heat if it wasn't for this stream!!

Day 13 – It’s pretty spectacular from our ledge at night, every night it looks like rain, we get a wicked thunder and lightening show from some direction, while above are the stars in a clear sky. Even if the rain doesn’t make it to us, we like to think that it’s pouring into the catchment somewhere upstream. This night we got rain though, our shelter even survived the winds. In the morning the river was up just over where it was when we arrived and our little stream nearby had turned into a beautiful swimming hole and waterfall, the perfect daytime refuge. All we need now is maybe another 10 ft…sigh…we’re definitely getting worried about whether we’ll get the water we want before we leave, wet month…yeah right…still time though, we have another 4-5 days waiting in this spot before we have to carry on downstream.

Above the waterfall, the perfect clear pool.

More Aboriginal rock art...looks like a diver or something???

Day 14 – Another typical day at base camp, wake up to flies all over us at sunrise after a night of sweating, then turn into a bag liner mummy till you can’t take the heat any longer. Migrate up to the ledge with thermarest and proceed to lie up there and get destroyed by flies while some are on fire lighting, tea, coffee and breakfast. Drink coffee and wake up, eat oats while complaining and joking about it, laughing at Timmys face while he chokes them down. Sweat some more. Do an activity, play cards, read, check out paintings, fish, make lunch, sweat a lot more. If staying at camp, shade pretty much disappears around 12pm so the avo is usually a trip to the waterfall/swim hole till around 4:45pm when shade comes back. Have dinner while getting dive bombed by beetles, lie on ledge and sweat, go to bed and sweat…dream about it raining.

Camp...note the pully system up to the ledge, we had it all tricked out thanks to Timmy.

The trap, Goanna getting stuck into a fish head.

Caveman Lachie lining up the Goanna

Missed...but he hasn't given up yet, kaept us entertained for a good 15 mins as he chased it through the water and up the cliff on the other side.

Day 15/16 – Same thing different day…although since my thumb is starting to get better, I’m now getting a rash…awesome!

Typical morning at camp...

Tyler & Timmy found a wave, a bit smaller than we were looking for......like by at least 10ft

Lu & Adriene in the kitchen where all good women should be...yeah right!

Day 17 – I was missing being in my kayak so Tyler & I went exploring downstream, paddled a couple of rapids and met up with Timmy and Jesse for some fishing. Was nice to have a change of scenery, catch Brim, catfish and something else with big eyes, no sign of the elusive Barra though. Jesse and I carried on downstream to check out some paintings and paddle a few more rapids and it rained…yes! Unfortunately, I took a took a tumble carrying my kayak over slippery rocks and twisted my ankle. Meantime Tyler & Timmy walked up a stream and found a beautiful water hole, a little oasis.

Tim, Ty, Jesse & LU fishing trip, we decided that maybe the elusive Barra that we'd heard so much about, didn't actually exist in this river.

We had a group meeting in the evening, Time was running out and we’d had a weather update from Mikhaila via sat phone that told us there wasn’t much chance of rain. It was time to re-evaluate. We had 7 days left and it would take 5-6 days to get to Fitzroy crossing where we would be finishing the trip. Some people really wanted to head off so the decision was made, to some disappointment to pack up and head off the next morning.

Jesse, checking out more rock art.

Day 18 – I feel like I’m gonna miss this place, feels like it’s been home for ages. My rash was quite bad today, even on the palms of my hands and soles of feet, so weird.

After going over the camp with a fine-tooth comb, we were confident we had left no trace and set off from camp. When departing I had a moment of realisation that we weren’t going to get what we set out for, as much as I’d clung to hope, the elusive big-water and big waves we had hoped to surf were not meant to be. At that moment I resolved to take in what I could of my surroundings and enjoy the paddle out, afterall we were in a beautiful place.

With not enough rain, we left base camp to explore what the rest of the river had to offer.

The nicest place of all, the pool was so beautiful and clear that it was tough to drag ourselves out.

The rest of the gorge had some fun grade 3-4 rapids, which were probably a lot bigger before the water had dropped. Lachie snapped his paddle just before an undercut so was a little sketchy but he pulled it off. We found a massive cliff jump, Max managed to get about 3 ½ rotations before destroying himself on the landing, he was winded and wasn’t quite the same after that, residing to a raft. We figured that we had a few days to paddle out with a couple more potential gorges, including Diamond gorge and the famous Geike.

Coming to the end of Sir John Gorge

LU, the river level was dropping but the rapids were still fun.

Spot Max doing a triple flip off the cliff, he was shitting blood a few days later.

Spot LU

We were lucky to just come away from the trip with just a broken paddle, no other major equipment malfunctions.

Day 19-22...Trees, the battle of the trees commenced, with the lower river level, the trees really choked up the river. We often had to get out and drag rafts back upstream, under trees and over shallow spots, I found this especially stink cause I had jumped in the raft because of my busted ankle and this was probably the downer point of the trip for me, feeling a bit useless and uncomfortable, especially gutted that I couldn’t sit in my kayak so it was all raft all the time. Lachie managed to go all crocodile Dundee and catch a goanna, which was actually pretty tasty, tastes like chicken…of course.

Diamond Gorge, beautiful and unfortunately flat :(

We were still clinging to hope that Diamond Gorge would hold some big rapids but although beautiful it was flat as a pancake. It was pretty sad to see where the surveyors had made markings for a potential dam, and the reality of the threat the Kimberley was under set in.

Out come the maps again, only a couple more days to go...

During the paddle out, there were less springs to gather water and the quality of the Fitzroy water was dropping as the amount of cows and bats on the river banks increased. Often thirsty, rationing our water, spirits were plummeting as the river opened up to long flat stretches which were pretty devastating in the heat.

Tyler & Jessa, and the livin is easy...

There was some relief however, when the river changed it’s style and wove through a narrow section with rocky outcrops which formed some fun grade 3-4 rapids. It was a a bit of a slap in the face seeing the high water marks along the shore/walls, at least we can try and imagine how much water tears through the gorges. We managed to get one of the rafts nicely stuck in one rapid which was actually entertaining working ourselves out…..the little things at this point.

The landscape changes again as we head towards Geike Gorge

Note the high water line, what a tease!

Eagle - there was a lot of wildlife - birds, kangaroos, lizards, snakes, also heaps of cows but they don't count.

People!! It was a sight for sore eyes, we helped this aboriginal family get their truck out. You'll see by the wheel he's trying to dig it out.

More flat water…..

The rowdy cockatoos.

More trees....

Lachie finally caught a Goana, tasted like chicken...or fish.

Dinner time - Adriene protecting herself from the dive bombing beetles.

Our final landmark, Geike gorge , completely flat but beautiful, crazy rock and caves, there are commercial boat trips run here from Fitzroy crossing so we knew we were close to the end of our adventures. We also knew the the chance of running into a scary salty croc was now a possibility. It was decided that we would spend the night here and paddle out the next day.

Sean - Gieke Gorge, the end of the rapids and one days paddle out left, hiding out in the shade waiting for the sun to go down a bit before setting up camp.

Lachie - Geike Gorge

After over a week with no rain, in one final haha gesture, the skies opened up on us during the night. The wind was insane, sand annihilating us, it’s a miracle we didn’t lose any gear, we had decided to sleep under the stars as we had become accustomed to but dove for cover under the ground tarps and then scrambled to set up shelter. With everything soaked and covered in mud, we sat awake, drinking the rain water, watching the river levels (we were on a flood plane) and appreciating the irony in it all before eventually crashing for our last night in the Kimberley.

Mega Storm, typically, the best storm and most rain we had came on our last night in the flat stretches.

Adriene and here friend 'turtle baby'

Day 23 - After scouring the area for wind-swept gear, I finally got to jump back in my kayak for the final leg, a few more small creeks joined the Kimberley and the flat water turned into slow moving water for a swift paddle to the take-out. After a few hours, we had reached our destination although it looked completely different to when we left, the shore was about 50m closer, crazy!!! Wet season….yeah right!

Pelican

We made it, the river is a lot lower than when we left, time for refreshments!

After picking up cars and packing gear, we were all pretty excited to get to a servo to purchase our hearts desires…mine was liquid, lots of liquid, powerade, chocolate milk, red bull, slushie, I wanted it all.

Next stop Broome, a backpackers with a shower, internet, pool and kitchen, everything we wanted. After a few days of tending to our wounds and adjusting back to civilisation, it was time to see off Soph before carrying on a tour of the west coast on our way back top Melbourne. A few days in perth seeing off Max & Tyler and it was onwards to find some waves…finally!!!

Apparently it’s tough to get access to the beach on the west coast of oz, and you aren’t allowed to sleep at them. How do you know you’re not in NZ anymore?….you got a fine for sleeping in a carpark…..rough!

Eventually we worked our way far enough south and got a couple days of waves in which was sweet before the haul across the south to make it to the airport in time to drop of Adriene and I.

Timmy - The surf tour home along the west coast was a sweet way to break up the drive and get in our boats, we got a few big waves afterall.

It was pretty unreal saying goodbye to these people that you had lived so intimately with for over a month. It was amazing to get to know these people and make some more lifelong friends, the beauty of the whitewater world is that I know I’ll see them all again and it’s a lot easier to say catch ya later than goodbye.

Many people have asked me how the trip was…. It’s difficult to sum up such a long intense journey. All in all, it was disappointing that we didn’t get the water we were expecting and so didn’t find any big waves or get to paddle any other creeks, but we still found some awesome rapids, wildlife, aboriginal history and spent a month in one of the most spectacular places I’ve been with some fantastic people. There were tough times for us all but at the end of the day it was an amazing experience, I believe we were probably the first group to paddle all the rapids, I learnt a lot and hopefully when the rains do come the Kimberley reveals some big waves. Meantime lets hope that the dam proposals for the Fitzroy don’t get the go ahead as it would be a huge shame to lose such an untouched piece of paradise.

Photo's by - Louise Urwin & Tyler Fox

www.kayakthekimberley.com

2010-02-01T15:28:00.000-08:00

So this is about it from me till we get off the Fitzroy. We’ll be back around the 25^th Feb for a couple days before checking out the creeks that will complete our mission. The guys will drive over them tonight on their way back from Broome so hopefully they’ll be able to see how much water is in them and they’re good to go.

So yeah, we’re sending updates via sat phone from here on in so check out the kayak the Kimberleys blog to keep track of our progress, pretty excited to find some sick waves, rapids, aboriginal artwork and wildlife….fingers crossed!

Kayak the Kimberley - Day 7

2010-02-01T15:12:00.000-08:00

The final day of preparation has begun, we’re headed to the river first thing tomorrow morning so we need to repack and be ready to go…so of course we headed to the pool, took a shower, had some coffee and thought of our friends sweating it out in the car in Broome...briefly. The day got even better when the managers of Fitzroy River Lodge, where we were camping gave us a sweet deal on their top suites for tonight, one last night of Luxury with Air con and no bugs before we hit the wilderness…allright!

Interview with Joe, Aboriginal Elder of the area sharing his experiences and info on the Fitzroy

Joe has been involved with raising awareness and fighting the threats in the Fitzroy Catchment for decades, he shares some of the archives he has.

Kayak the Kimberley - Day 6

2010-02-01T15:01:00.000-08:00

We’ve made it!!! Fitzroy Crossing, and our first glimpse of the Fitzroy river. It’s chocolate coloured water was a bit of a relief since the closer we were getting to our destination, the drier all the creek beds were. Half the team split off to pick up Max, drop off Alli and get last minute supplies in Broome while the rest of us set up camp, of course the storm started at this point. Fortunately this time, we were by a resort, a little Oasis with Food & more importantly beer…

One of the Dams already in the area, Ord River

Mega Ant Hills, line the road through the desert

The Fitzroy River in all it's muddy glory...woo hoo!!

Kayak the Kimberley - Day 5

2010-02-01T04:05:00.000-08:00

Never an uneventful effort at sleep, last night was no exception. After being kept awake by mosquito’s all night, the skies opened up on us and at 3am, so some of us got out the soap and took a shower. With our sleeping gear pretty wet, we decided to brave the road trains and animals on the road and push on. We got a couple hrs before we ran out of gas and had to park at a petrol station for a couple hrs till they opened. Pies, Water, Petrol and it’s back on the road. The Environment changed pretty drastically today, the vegetation is a lot more dense, taller and green, almost fluorescent, the flat landscape has changed to big red cliffs and we’ve crossed a few chocolaty rivers that we don’t dare swim in cause there may be salty crocs and we’re pussy’s. After a flat tyre and torrential rain, we decided to give in and spent a night in Kununara in a cabin, without rain, flooding, ants, mosquito’s, flies or potential murderers….and the best part…Air con & a shower….soooooo good!

A flat tyre was a good excuse to dry out some of our gear from the previous nights storm.

We must be getting closer….good signs for plenty of Water in the Fitzroy!!

Kayak the Kimberley - Day 4

2010-02-01T03:54:00.001-08:00

Soph, Adriene, Jesse, Timmy, Me, Ashley & Boz @ the Devils Marbles

There’s nothing quite like waking up covered in ants to get moving quickly. We’d all had a rough sleep after battling with ants all night, add the flies in the morning and we were up, in the van and moving in about ten minutes…easily a record breaking feat. The vegetation began to change today, getting a bit more dense and higher, the humidity has also increased which is a taste of things to come for the Kimberley. We We covered 989km’s so was a big day in the car, but still managed some sightseeing at the Devils marbles and a random bar in Barow Creek, also made it through Alice Springs…over half way…yee haa!!

The Devils Marbles - random piles of rocks.

Burrow Creek Bar – reminded me a bit of the Mahinipua Pub in NZ, walls covered with memorabilia and money from all over the world that tourists have left, bit of a character for a barman too.

The Calm before the storm...literally...A few hours later we were annihilated by rain!

Kayak the Kimberley Expedition - Day 3

2010-02-01T03:48:00.000-08:00

We awoke on Day 3 covered in sand after being annihilated by wind and rain through the night and soon set out for another day with never ending views of the barren desert. Unfortunately we bailed on Ayers rock due to time restraints and decided to push on through. Just as well because we stopped for petrol at Cooper Pedy and discovered the trailer tyre was done for. This meant we got to check out the town which was pretty interesting, it’s an Opal mining town and is so hot that they build houses underground, I didn’t believe it till I saw it. The highlight of the day came a few hours later when it rained, just when the heat was super unbearable, we hung out the windows and soaked ourselves like crazy people.

Just another burnt out car in the desert.

Eddied out at Cooper Pedy, Trailer tyre was down to the wire, just as well Tyler noticed it, could have been sketchy if it blew out on the road….too many dodgy stories about these parts, we’ve passed Wolf Creek and the town where they found people in barrels, at least we have safety in numbers.

The reason we don’t drive at night, glad it wasn’t us.

Kayak the Kimberley Expedition - Day 2

2010-02-01T03:32:00.000-08:00

Day two of the drive has taken us through Adelaide and onto the plains of the Australian desert and it is heating up! Because of the dangers of Cattle, Kangaroos and Road Trains, when darkness hits, it’s time to set up camp. Tonight we’re hoping to survive a sandstorm as it rips through our tarps, funny thing is that we were worried about the noise of the road trains from the road. At least the lightening storm seems to have skirted around us. Tomorrow it’s an early start, we’re taking time out to be tourists. Since the majority of us are foreigners, we’re headed to Alice Springs to check out Ayers rock…..should be a nice way to break up the 5000km drive!

Filming stop at the salt flats

Setting up camp in a windy ass sandstorm

Our bed for the night...

Kayak the Kimberley Expedition - Day 1

2010-02-01T00:33:00.000-08:00

The Kimberleys exedition has officially begun. After a few days in Australia, the 11 strong team have assembled and organised and we are currently on day one of the 5000km drive across the country to Fitzroy Crossing. So far no major dramas, Timmy is just getting over malaria and Adriene survived a 72hr layover in LAX but otherwise all on track.

Packing the essentials, First Aid & Rescue Kit…so much to do…

Food for 11 people for a month on the river…hopefully we catch lots of fish!

So much gear to sort and pack, was a very late night.

Load em up…

Thanks to the team at Anaconda for coming to the rescue at our time of need. The day before we were to leave and still no drybags…Anaconda hooked us up and then some…cheers guys!

Sharky

Sean, cooling off with a backy off the pier.

1^st night campsite, all rugged up, it will be hot sticky nights from here on in.

Kayak the Kimberley Expedition - Update #1

2010-02-01T00:20:00.000-08:00

Just Like every good kayaking trip, this one started with an arrival at the airport in Melbourne, coming through arrivals excited to see your friends that are picking you up but aren’t there. Soon followed by a mission to track down the internet and phone numbers to find them, with no answers. From there it’s a hunt to find a nearby backpackers and just as you hit complete frustration, your friends show up and all is good!

Here we are now, day one of the Kimberley’s, expedition was team bonding. Since it was a Sunday and we couldn’t do too much organising, we went for a two hour drive packed into the van like clowns in a mini to the beach, a good cosy introduction, With a bit of playboat surfing and laxing, we got filled in with the game plan.

Back in New Zealand with LEVEL SIX

2009-12-01T22:12:00.000-08:00

Hey All

I'm back in NZ and have brought Level Six with me.

I've been using Level Six gear for the past few years and really rate it so I'm really stoked to join the Team!

They are a pretty new company and have been quickly gaining a great reputation with their trendy designs and commitment to constantly improving their products, their range is getting huge and every year, it just gets better.

So if you're in NZ, I'll see you on the river soon, I'll be the one in the bright styley gear :)

If not, watch this space as the NZ boating missions will be coming right up.

Meantime...check out www.levelsixinc.com and see what they're about if you don't know already.

Ka Kite

LU :)

Moose Festival '09

2009-10-20T18:38:00.000-07:00

LU - In the mix @ Crystal

Well, technically Moose Fest as we once knew it is no more, yet still the masses gather for the Mid-October Moose river release to freeze their butts off, partake in the Carnage & Party like it's their job.
This year was no exception, except for the fact that it didn't snow. Hundreds Stumbled down the stunning class 4-5 river before hitting the bars in the small town of Old Forge, New York - hard....the carpark had only a fraction of the vehicles on sunday...

Garberator!!!

2009-10-07T18:56:00.000-07:00

So, we got back from BC and Garberator is prime!!!
Best part is...no line ups!!! first day, I was out there doing laps by myself...crazy.
Followed by a couple days out there with just our gang....snaps below.
The valley is so deserted it's sometimes hard to find someone to play with, it's a whole new world in the fall.

BC Domination...

2009-09-24T12:33:00.002-07:00

After the disapointment of not making it to California this year, we're making up for it by getting our creeking fix in BC. Tyler, Blake & I, loaded the car with boats, replacing the standard roof racks with the extra wide 2x4 special and with the back wheels almost completely in the guards of our trusty new wagon, hit the road.

From Ottawa, we made it as far as Toronto before our first stop...Colin & Ashleys wedding. We poshed it up (well as much as a car load of skid kayakers could) and enjoyed the hilarious (& perhaps a little tipsy?) priest and garden Canapes (that's posh talk for really good fancy food) before the newlyweds left us in their dust...beautiful wedding 'congratulations' guys :)

Tyler, LU & Blake poshed up for Colin & Ashleys wedding (for you mum:)

The next leg of our journey took us 40hrs across the country, through the states (with only minor immigration hold ups) before we got near Invermere, BC and our first waterfall stop, Lunderbeck...so excited...and it was too low...doh!

Lunderbeck Falls - a bit on the low side :(

A little disapointed, we arrived in Invramere and of all things got our teeth cleaned by Blake's sister.....so we're on a boating trip and so far we've been to a wedding, drove a lot, got our teeth cleaned and haven't boated....next stop Golden.....Paddle time!!!

After a slow start on the boating front, it's been game on since, we've hit up a bunch of sweet runs from Golden to Revelstoke, Jasper, Squamish & Whistler. Including 5 sick days in our playboats at Skookemchuck Wave...We've met up with a lot of friends and had some great crews to play with...good times all round, Unfortunately didn't have the camera on all of them and missed out on Beauty creek & the Ashlu due to water levels which were a couple we really wanted to get on but only one swim so far (no it wasn't me) and no real carnage (touch wood).

As far as wildlife goes, this is my 4th season in Canada and before this season hadn't seen any bears..on the Clearwater river yesterday alone, I saw three black bears, a bunch of Bald Eagles & lots of jumping salmon trying to get up the big drops and slamming into the rocks...poor wee guys. BC is riddled with cool animals (I'm a sucker for them) although I'm not sure if I'm ready to see a grizzly bear just yet....

On the wedding front, we spent some time in Jasper for Matt & Megs wedding which was unreal! Sooo many activities...Boating, Biking, partying & we even did a premier for "Valley High" in one of the local Bars...it was a big hit and thanks to some local businesses, we had a bunch of prizes
to give out and ended up a pretty wild night.

Crack me up - "Wet Dream Result" spoof trailer

2009-09-23T09:58:00.000-07:00

High Tension

2009-08-02T12:33:00.000-07:00

Well, after a fantastic spring at the Ottawa, Quebec & Vail....we were looking forward to heading to California for a summer of creeking. All we had to do was get our Van fixed in Canada and we were off......and this is where our plans were smashed...the van was beyond repair and has been laid to rest. So as much as it broke my heart...by the time we got a new ride, we'd have missed a lot of the good Cali runs so it's been back to the Ottawa for a couple months.
Good times as always, water levels weren't ideal on the Ottawa but High Tension was sweet so got back in the playboat for a bit....roll on September & BC creeks....

Teva Mountain Games 2009

2009-06-18T12:35:00.000-07:00

The Games finished on Sunday... today is thursday and I'm finally starting to feel like I've recovered.

Reflecting on a fantastic week, it's almost like a blur.

The Streets of Vail from hotel balcony

HOMESTAKE STEEP CREEK RACE

Mike takes the Podium - Steep Creek Champ

The week began with the Homestake Creek extreme race. The water was a little low but rumour had it that we would get more water on race day. However, the level stayed the same and so there were a few more rocks to avoid than previous years. There were 46 male competitors and 6 women. The race begins with a ramp into the river and you're off for 2 mins of intense paddling before you hit the finish line. The times were so tight that to get through to the next round, you needed smooth, fast lines, no room for error. Even if you weren't fast, there was no room for error because if you flipped, chances were you would lose teeth (as Kelsey found out last year).

LU Homestake Racing

The day kicked off with the womens heats and we were all a bit bummed at the bottom as we had all made mistakes shaving precious time off our runs. Lucky for us, we all got to go through for the next run and our combined times would determine our overall placings.

LU Sprinting down Homestake

The mens runs were tight as a camels arse in a sandstorm... 10 seconds separated 1st & 23rd place who were to continue to the next round....Our very own Mike Dawson took the fastest time heading into the next round but closely followed by Pat Keller & Tao Berman.

Sam also went through to the next round in 14th place, Tyler in 19th and Josh missed out by .04 of a second, which is probably less than a paddle stroke and so ended up 24th overall. Unfortunately Brad spun out half way down the course which cost him the cut too.

Tyler dropping in on Homestake...

Sam tearing through his race run - pic by Anna Bruno

Josh cleaning "Best boof in the world" - pic by Anna Bruno

The womens second run was pretty intense, the times were less than a second apart for the top spots. I was having the best run I'd had but unfortunately near the end of the run, came off a drop with pace directly at a rock and split my boat open which put me out. The fight for top three was fierce between Nikki Kelly, Tanya Faux & Aidrienne Levkneckt. In the end Nicky took it for another year pocketing US$2k, followed closely by T Faux and Adrienne came in third.

Nikki Kelly, Womens X-race winner - pic by Anna Bruno

The pressure was on for the mens final, also with US$2k at stake. It was hard enough to be consistent let alone step it up. Sam improved hugely on his first run, making up a huge 7 secs but it wasn't enough. Pat Keller kept his third place after his run and it then came down to the last two competitors Tao & Mike for the top spot. Tao had a good run, slightly slower than his first run but enough to hold second place. It all came down to Mike to top Tao... He had a few seconds on Tao but he needed to go fast without any errors, one mistake could cost him a placing. Mike finished his run and looked good, the suspense in the crowd was huge as we waited to see whether the underdog Kiwi's time beat out the previous champ. Mike beat Tao by a second overall and we didn't see much of him for the next day as the paparazzi took over...Congrats Mike!! Way to represent!!

Mike, on his way to Victory - pic by Anna Bruno

Mike & Nikki - pretty much Rockstars!

FINAL RESULTS - HOMESTAKE STEEP CREEK:

MEN:

1.Mike Dawson
2.Tao Berman
3.Pat Keller

WOMEN:

1.Nikki Kelly
2.Tanya Faux
3.Aidrienne Levkneckt

PRO-FREESTYLE

The next two days were Freestyle time for the Kayakers, none of our crew had playboats so we took to the sidelines to enjoy the show. The first day were qualifiers and although the hole/wave wasn't big, Nth Americas best with some Euro, NZ & OZ ringers were pulling off big scoring rides. We saw some of the biggest loops ever, thrown in with Space Godzillas, McNasty's, Phoenix Monkeys, Cartwheels and even the occasional blunt.

Mike pulling some Freetstyle out of the bag - finished 19th!

Rush showing he can rip it just as hard the day after as the night before

Casper stepped up the pace, like a man possessed.

Anna Bruno hucking her hide.

The top 10 girls and 15 guys made it through to the next round with Emily Jackson & Dustin Urban topping the heats.
The second day of competition was huge, as the cut was made to top 5, there was no way of telling who would take the mens with Dustin, Andrew Holcolme, Stephen Wright, Casper, & Nick Troutman, all killing it. Emily Jackson was clearly dominating the women with consistently high scoring rides....although Tanya & Ruth looked to come close, Emily took it easily in the end. Stephen pulled out a huge ride in the mens with biggest loop & Space God I've ever seen, Nick & Dustin both came back with high scoring rides but couldn't quite top Stephen who took the home the big money in the end.

Stephen Wright on one of his Hugemongous loops

Emily knows exactly what to throw to win every time.

FINAL RESULTS - VAIL FREESTYLE

MEN:
1.Stephen Wright
2.Nik Troutman
3.Dustin Urban

WOMEN:
1.Emily Jackson
2.Tanya Faux
3.Ruth Gordon

KAYAK 8-BALL

The final Kayak event of the competition was the 8-Ball. Basically you line up with 4 other boaters and race down a 200m stretch of class 2 water, easy right... Now you add 3 topo-duo's and half a dozen other "8-Ball" paddlers hiding downstream waiting to take you out. No amount of speed, Skill or strategy can really help you win this race. You're gonna get hit no matter what position you're in, the further in front you are, the more you're gonna get hit. What you do need for this race is elbow pads and preferably a full-face helmet...it's a riot. Personally, I got railed into the trees on the shore by EJ & Dane in a duo and that was game over for me.
Both Tyler & Sam made it to the mens final and this had to be the spectator event of the whole games, 8 of them went at once, and since it's the final, the 8-Ballers just keep paddling downstream, trying to take out the competitors all the way to the finish line. I was one of the line judges and it's tough figuring out who came where since pretty much all competitors & 8-Ballers cross the finish line in one big tangled bunch.
In the end though, NZ did it again with Sam charging through first!! yeah boy!

FINAL RESULTS - 8 BALL

MEN:
1.Sam Sutton
2.Geoff Calhoun
3.Nick Troutman

WOMEN:
1.Ruth Gordon
2.Nikki Kelly
3.Emily Jackson

The Teva Mountain Games was a wicked week of competing, Reuniting with paddling buddies from all over, partying and checking out all the events. They also had on the World Bouldering Champs, Various types of Biking, Running, Dog Events, bands & DJ's, heaps of gear/vendor tents all in a beautiful town surrounded by snow capped mountains. There was plenty to do and I would reccommend anyone to check it out, be one of the 20,000 people to flock to the city even if it's just to chill and soak up the atmosphere....Roll on next year....

Big thanks to Ron Fischer for letting us occupy his hotel room & Anna Bruno for the x-race pics :)

2009 World Bouldering World Cup @ Teva Mountain Games

Freeride Racing @ Teva Mountain Games

Bruno showing us how big the Trucks are in the States...

Teva Mountain Games - Vail, Colorado

2009-06-03T09:09:00.000-07:00

Lu doing laps on Homestake Creek - Pic Anna Bruno

After 40hrs in the car covering 3700km from Chicoutimi, Quebec, we arrived in Vail Colorado.
The Teva Mountain games begin tomorrow and we've spent the past few days getting in some practice laps before the Extreme Race which is on Day one. Also went for a blat down Gillmans Gorge on the Eagle river which was pretty fun and was nice to paddle some big volume after dodging rocks on the Homestake Creek section the race is on.

The Posh Ski Town of Vail - Pic Ron Fischer

Tyler flying off the 2nd clean drop on Homestake - Pic Anna Bruno

Josh Boofing 1st Clean drop on Homestake - Pic Anna Bruno

Ron running the Steep, Homestake - Pic Anna Bruno

Josh & Brad, Homestake practice run - Pic Anna Bruno

Thatcher dropping in for a Piton, Homestake - Pic Anna Bruno

Although it's a 2 minute walk back up to the top of the Homestake race section, the 9000ft altitude leaves you panting by the time you've walked back up.

Hometsake is conveniently Roadside, perfect for scouting & doing laps - Pic Anna Bruno

Gillman Creek - big holes, big waves, bridges to duck under and lined with deserted buildings - Pic Ron Fischer

Gillman Creek, calm before the storm... pic Ron Fischer

Thanks to Anna Bruno & Ron Fischer for the Pics :)

Quebec - scratching the surface

2009-06-02T12:38:00.000-07:00

It’s a beautiful day in Quebec, Canada & I write from the take-out of Riviere Blas Pilote in the Chicoutimi area. Tyler, Josh & Pat are running the First Descent of this section which from investigations via topo & Google Earth should contain a couple of nice tight canyons and a stunning waterfall which could be anything from 40-200ft since it was spotted from Google Earth. Meantime, I am doing a first of my own…shuttle bunny, but that's another story.

We came to Quebec with visions of clean slides, waterfalls and class V runs and so far have found this and much more. We started out with a map, a few ideas of things to check out from the net but no real plan except to explore as much as we could in a week and a half before we head south to Vail, Colorado.

Lucky for us Quebec-ers love their Waterfalls, or rather “Chutes” so all we had to do was look at our map. The land of Quebec was riddled with them, all marked for our convenience. On day one as soon as we hit the Quebec Province on our way to Quebec city , we started taking detours to check these out and the first one was a go. Chutes Monte de Peine was a spectacular drop, the right side was super burly although I believe has been run in the past. However, we entertained ourselves on a sloping 12ft drop on the left before heading to Chutes Sainte Ursule. This rapid was amazing, run a few years back by Steve Fisher & Dominic Chaput as seen in ‘Black Book’. It was enormous and steep as hell….definitely worth a rubber neck if you’re in the area.

Day two was the highlight for me so far, we hit up the Mastigouche du Nord….Slide City! We hiked upstream for about 20 mins till we got to a lake then paddled down two 40-80ft slides with a few moves, 2 clean 20ft slides, a tricky drop that Josh ran and nailed, a more boulder style steep rapid and all these awesome drops leading up to the grand finale…a clean 200ft slide…woo hoo!! (I actually said that half way down). Unfortunately darkness was catching up with us so we took off to scout a couple more drops for the next day. After a bit of hiking we found that Chute A Bull & Sept Chutes were no good and called it a day.
(Mastigouche level 4)

We awoke on day 3 and decided that we should head towards Quebec City where we were to meet up with David LaRoche, one of the Quebec locals pioneering the local runs.
Since the Mastigouche happened to be pretty much on the way, we spent the morning doing laps on the slide, it had dropped a bit but was still good to go…rude not to really.
(Mastigouche level 3.5)

After catching up with Dave and John, we woke up next to the riviere Gouffre du Nord and headed a few k’s down the road for a quick dip off a 30ft waterfall. Since it’s a pretty good way to start the day, we’ve taken to calling it the breakfast special. The rest of the day was spent in and out of the car scouting numerous chutes and rapids that we either spotted on maps, from the car or rumours Dave had heard. There are an incredible amount of rivers & drops that have yet to be run in Quebec, there are a few guys around exploring them but it will take a very long time before all the goods are revealed. We quickly realized that we needed much more than a week to even paddle what we had found so far, let alone an area such as Charlevoix which is a small part of Quebec.

Oh yeah and after 4 seasons in Canada, I finally saw my first Bear…that’s right, all those who have listened to me whine about it all this time…it’s over…now I’m just scared of them.

Next up we headed to the Chicoutimi area and met up with Pat Levesque who has been gathering beta on the tones of rivers in the area. We hit up one of the classics in the area, the Bras Louis, after a run down the class 3/4 continuous boulder garden “A” section, our Quebec companions left us to run the much steeper “B” section. We walked the first manky looking drop which may go at lower levels and the next half dozen drops went and were pretty fun, this just left the big dog. The last rapid was a wicked 15ft drop/ramp into a pushy slide that went into a huge hole. Good times!

.Day 6 – It was a miserable cold day and motivation was low from Pats nice warm apartment. However, we managed to rally later in the Day and Tyler & I went for some park & Huck on Chutes Haha. This was a 12ft sloping waterfall with a steep reactionary down one side. We both dropped off, and then I decided I wanted to do it again and go for a better line. Instead I took a much worse line, flipped on the reactionary at the top and grated myself down the left wall. Thankfully this was smooth rock so just managed a slight graze to the face but hit my arm pretty good and to finish, got stuck in the bottom and swam….dam! Luckily got out with all my gear before the river tightened into a pretty manky canyon. Maybe should have stayed inside afterall, the knock to my arm put me in the drivers seat for the next couple of days but thankfully I took the knock to my elbow pads so could have been a lot worse.

And that brings us to today, sitting at the take-out. At least it’s a nice day out side and my gear will be nice and dry & ready for action when I’m good to go again…..meantime I’m sticking close to the truck cause I’m scared of Bears… I’m a Kiwi…we don’t have scary creatures in my country…lame I know!

AFTERMATH: The rest of our time in Quebec was spent in the Chicoutimi area scoping out 1st descents in the zec. With help from Pat's research into the area....we got in a bunch of spectacular runs and quickly discovered that we'd hardly scratched the surface of Chicoutimi let alone the other parts of Quebec that we had been hoping to get to. I'm looking forward to next spring and exploring the area more to reveal the precious Jems that are sitting there waiting to be paddled....

Big thanks to Pat Levesque for sharing his home and river beta with us!!! Pat has dozens of pinpoints on google earth for the Chicoutimi area and saved us a lot of time by shwing us where the goods might be. It’s common for Kayakers to keep 1st descents to themselves, But I guess when you have so many possible runs in your area, you don’t mind sharing the load

Also big thanks to David LaRoche & friends for their help & hospitality...

Quebec Update 1

2009-06-01T17:24:00.000-07:00

Here is just a quick update on today. We had a day of updating everyone on the net and then Tyler and I decided to whip across town and park and huck this sweet little drop in town. This drop is called Chute de la HaHa.

-Tyler Running the entry drop- Photo Josh Neilson

-Tyler on the main drop - Photo Josh Neilson

- Louise Urwin immersed in the curtain at the top, spot my paddle.. - Photo Josh Neilson

We are now getting ready for a mission tomorrow and now have another first d lined up for Thursday or Friday too! Too much to choose from! So little time...
Stay tuned

Stoked to be Joining the Hydraulics Team...

2009-05-15T12:35:00.000-07:00

Hey...just wanted to give a big Thanks to Hydraulics for sending me some sweet gear.
I'm stoked to be representing them, love the gear and I look forward to working with you guys...Cheers!!!

Sweet Bottoms Up boat - by Bliss-Stick

2009-04-15T12:34:00.000-07:00

Just got a sweet new boat from Bliss-Stick. A 'Mini Mystic' with Pimp Bottoms up logo's and outfitting....... Thanks a lot guys, can't wait to take her for a rip :)

NZ Team Trials '09

2009-03-20T12:34:00.000-07:00

The inaugural FJ @ FJ - Full James Freestyle Jam, where NZ's top Freestyle Kayakers Battle it out to Become National Champion and a member of the 2009 NZ Freestyle Kayak Team.
It's been years since an event has been held at Full James due to the difficulty of getting access & water so plenty of people crawled out of the woodwork for a chance to get on NZ's only river surf wave.
It was a busy weekend with hundreds of AUCC (Auckland University Canoe Club) kayakers paddling/swimming down the river during the competition.
The Competition was a one-day event and although the wave is small and difficult to pull out the big tricks, there was definitely enough going down to keep the crowd entertained.
It was a beautiful sunny day and everything went really well until just before the womens final (last event) when the water went down early. With no wave, the three women finalists had to settle for 1st Equal...not too big a deal since there are three spots on the team but still disapointing.
With prizegiving out of the way, it was party time courtesy of AUCC and was a pretty wild night.
Good times all round!

RESULTS & 2009 NZ FREESTYLE KAYAK TEAM:

Open Men:
1st - Johann Roozenburg
2nd - Jason Searle
3rd - Brendan Bayly
4th - Sam Sutton
5th - Tyler Fox (Canada)
6th - Josh Neilson (NZ team #5)

Open Women:
1st = Louise Urwin
1st = Sophie Hoskins
1st = Leela Samuels

Jnr Men:
1st - Stuart
2nd
3rd

Citroen Xtreme Race 09

2009-03-15T14:42:00.000-07:00

The Final Chapter of Our South Island Tour was to take place in beautiful Queenstown.
So, after another all night drive from the creeking Mecca of Hokitika, we found ourselves at Queenstown airport. It was with great sadness that we had to let Tyler go...he was flying back up north to spend 5 days teaching high school kids to kayak, unfortunately we all have to make a living, but at what cost.... Nevis Bluff & Citroen Xtreme race, that’s what.
As for the rest of us, it was play time. We had one day to get some runs down Citroen Rapid on the Kawarau river before race time. So in true kayaker style, we drove towards the river, parked up and waited for our gear to dry for a while. When our gear had gone from sopping to damp, the group geared up and headed for a quick run down the mighty Nevis Bluff . One of NZ’s few big water runs, The Nevis rapids are about a minute of white water madness as you plough through massive waves and holes till you get spat out at the bottom, hopefully upright and still in your boat. With that out of the way, we finally made our way downstream to Citroen rapid to get in some race practice runs.
With a few runs under our belts, we’d sussed the lines and headed back to Queenstown to see how many kayakers we could sneak into one rented apartment.
Race day came and Citroen played host to a record number of competitors. This race was first run in 2005 and has run every second year so this was only the third race ever, and was pretty well organised as a ‘grass-roots’ event. As paddlers got on the river and headed down to the Citroen rapid, we soon realised that the river level had changed and therefore, the lines we had scouted and practiced the previous day had also changed...dam!
So, we spent the first half hour, jumping up and down the boulders on the shore, revising the fastest lines and winding up our fellow competitors.
There aren’t a lot of “Big water” runs in New Zealand, but the Kawerau river, home to Nevis Bluff & Citroen rapid is one of the few. Citroen rapid takes about a minute to paddle, a bit less if you’re racing, the race starts above with a seal launch followed by about 20m of flatwater leading into the crux part of the rapid. The water drops and ploughs into a huge rock in the middle of the river that you can either go left or right of. If you miss your line, you can end up getting pushed right on to the boulder and get surfed a bit before falling own one side or if you mess up the line on the left, you can end up flipping and getting scraped along the wall. Beyond this you paddle through the huge waves and around the huge holes trying to work your way left to the fastest line. However, a lot of competitors end up further right where the re are a lot more holes & rocks to avoid, sometimes still a fast line, other times you get surfed and/or take a swim that you’ll feel the next day...All to try and be the first through the gate at the bottom.
First up was a time-trial to decide the seeding for head-to-head races. The times soon showed that the races were going to be close. Mike Dawson came out with the fastest time-trial time but there were a lot of quick paddlers in both Mens and womens so this race could be anyone’s. Then began the head-to-head races. In my race I sprinted off and got a good lead of several boat lengths but it soon turned to custard. I had a sweet line through the first crux rapid but came out with a little too much left angle and eddied out behind the huge rock, by the time I’d peeled back out into the fast current, I’d been passed. I managed to catch up again half way down the rapid but punched through a wave too hard driving for the left line and ended up eddying out again and got passed, I gave it my all but lost too much time getting back into the current in the burly water and I lost.....First time I’d ever been knocked out of a race early so I was pretty gutted, mostly because I really didn’t feel like I was done, I was thirsty for more!
On the upside, I didn’t have to do the grueling long walk back to the start of the rapid any more and I could sit back and watch the show.
It was an exciting race to watch, NZ boaters aren’t necessarily used to paddling big water so this leveled the pack a bit. Some great boaters were making rookie mistakes, even Sam was getting nailed on the wall down the top left line, people were catching eddies or flipping the whole way down so any race could go either way. The semi-Finals in the mens came down to Brad vs Mike & Johann vs Jamiee. all solid boaters and exciting races to watch, Bard & Mike had an especially tight race with Brad Lauder taking it in the end which put him up against Jamiee Sutton for the Final. The womens Final was also exciting with Louise & Monica battling it out, Louise took the early lead but flipped and caught an eddie allowing Monica to pass and get a good lead...looked to be Monica’s race until she flipped coming into the final part of the rapid and Louise Jull got past her and made it to the gate of victory. The mens Final was another battle with Brad & Jamiee right on each other the whole way down, it was a hustle to the finish line until Brad took a roll which allowed Jamiee to get a bit of a lead and make it first.
So, the race was over but I wasn’t satisfied so we headed back to Nevis Bluff to get in a sneaky run before prizegiving. All those days on the Ottawa river in high water had made me surprisingly comfortable in big water so was a pretty fun run down, despite flipping in the crux hole (but so did everyone else)...So I got my adrenalin fix that I hadn’t satisfied in the race...good times!!!
The Citroen extreme race was a great day out on the river with paddlers from all over NZ & the world, competitve yet fun racing...thanks to all the organisers!
The event was such a success that they are now planning on doing it every year.....It seems the event will keep growing and it’s well worth the effort to head south. Strategically set to take place the weekend after Bullerfest 2010 again. For us Northies, a great way to finish up a South Island Tour.

NZ South Island Tour 09

2009-03-10T14:41:00.000-07:00

Well, like every good Road trip this one started with a bender....After a 7 hour drive from Rotorua to Wellington via the Bliss-Stick factory where we were loaded up with boats, we parked the van at the ferry terminal and after a meen feed from Aaron & Nards (cheers guys!), hit the bars.
We somehow managed to all get back to the Ferry terminal, join the queues and fall asleep. We woke to one of the workers tapping on the window telling us we were gonna miss the ferry, I’m still stunned none of us woke up with the dozens of other passengers driving around us.

After a few hours nap on the Ferry, Sam our legend driver drove our broken asses all the way to Murchison just in time for the first of the Buller Festival Events.

BULLER FESTIVAL ’09

I think I’ve missed one buller Festival since I started kayaking and this year topped them all!! With over 130 competitors, this was the biggest turnout ever and with a Fluro theme thrown in it was destined to be great!
This year we probably also had the biggest North Island crew heading south and on day one began our South Island domination. We arrived in Murchison in time for Registration on Friday morning, pumped ourselves full of coffee and Demon Energy Drinks, pulled out some fluro river attire and made our way to the river.
It was a hotly contested event with so many fast competitors that it was impossible to predict who would be in the final. In the end it was all North Island Crew in the mens with Tyler Fox, Sam Sutton, Brad Lauder & Johann Roozenburg Battling it out. After a close fight, Brad took it out for another year, from Tyler in Second. In the womens, it was another good battle with some top boaters, Jess Brown, Nikki Kelly, Myself & Tania Perrit. After a rough Fight at the start, Tania ended up showing the old girls up with her canoe polo skills and came out top dog from me in second...grrrr..haha. So a pair of Deuces for the Bottoms up team :)

Friday night was Showtime for Bottoms up Kayaking. For the very first time, the public would get to see the Valley High Movie being released in May ’09. The Murchison theatre was packed for some good quality kayak porn from the best the Ottawa river has to offer. It was a good show and by the time we all had our white water fix we were ready to hit the local bar, conveniently located a few buildings down and so began the second night of partying.

Saturday was recovery day for some of us while the Slalom & Raft races were held, we spent the majority of the day sitting in a cafe while it rained, hoping it would rain enough to crank some of the local rivers up but much to our disappointment it didn’t happen. So, we got ready for the main event...BullerFest Fluro Party. Although some of us had been flaunting the Fluro all weekend, this was where it counted.
The Northies rocked the fluro especially hard and me and Soph had the Self-proclaimed brightest out there, with fluro Shutter shades, wigs and dresses we’d spent days making ourselves...luv it!
The party was a good time with a pumping dance floor thanks to the drum & Bass Dj’s.

The next morning brought headaches and more rain...what better way to deal with these then by sliding down a big ramp, flying through the air and hucking tricks in your kayak on a Big-Air ramp!
There was a big turnout despite the drizzle as spectators waited for the face plants. They weren’t disapointed, even managed one myself. The Organisers did a great job of modifying the ramp after the dummy kayak run just managed to flop off the end. The big air tricks got bigger as the comp went on as people got used to the ramp, best move of the day had to be the back flip but there was allsorts being pulled out, some on purpose and only a few broken paddles for the day, In the end, I managed to top the women with a airscrew/pirouette (or something) and went the biggest in the mens.

Well, with Buller Fest over, so was party time but the best part of the Tour was yet to come....West Coast Creeking!!!

I LUUUUV THE COAST!!!!!

Chilled clear blue water, stunning scenery, continuous class 4-5 rapids and helicopters...it doesn’t get much better than that...well actually it does, add a dozen of your closest friends and you’re in for an amazing week.
The coast is packed with spectacular rivers, most only accessible by Heli and unfortunately we had only a week to sample the goods.. between us we managed to get on the Styx, Kokatahi, Arahura, Kakapotahi & Upper Hokitika before we had to head further south. Only a few swims & no major drama’s which was pretty impressive for such a big group, some of whom were on their first coast trip.

(READ MORE ON WEST COAST CREEKING TRIP - click here)

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2008-08-31T11:16:00.000-07:00