November 1st

Andy: What a way to end the year - a trip down the magical Arahura River, considered by many to be the finest kayaking run in New Zealand. Hours of big drops, great scenery, and one very nervous Andy.

So far, runs have looked easier from the helicopter flight than they actually were (since you're so high up). Flying up the Arahura, the river looked HARD from the air, so I knew it was going to be a long day.

I'm fairly sure I had exhausted my adrenal glands about 3/4 of the way through the day. Towards the end, just looking at the "Cesspit" was enough to send me whimpering to the portage trail.

Wendy: And for those of more mellow natures, we were sitting in Queenstown drinking tea and enjoying the company of Diana and Andy from San Francisco. They happen to be in New Zealand for 3 months hiking and traveling, so Steve and I hooked up with them to make a New Years eve dinner. The plan was to go out to a pub after dinner, but the 30-something sides of us kicked in and we ended up talking and hanging out until midnight. Pathetic, that's what we were!

A view upstream of some of the "easy" stuff between rapids - this is flat water Arahura style

One of the many sweet boofs on the Arahura. This one is appropriately named "Curtain Call". When boofing, the critical move
is to get your nose lifted so you don't drop straight down ("pencil in") to the hydraulic (and/or rocks) below the drop, and instead launch out
past the hazards and land relatively flat. Chris is getting a fine launch in this photo!

Dent Falls - a clean 15 footer. Moms, don't ask why it's called "Dent" falls, you really don't want to know

Uh oh, hope this line goes, it looks a bit chunky down there.

Chris, finding his way through the rocks

"The Cesspit", a very impressive place. Needless to say, we all portaged this rapid.

click to enlarge (you'll need to scroll on the popup page)

After portaging the Cesspit - the only way back in the water is a 20 foot seal launch (sliding off a rock) into boiling, fast current
above a hard rapid with a must-make eddy after the launch. Oh joy!

Chris, enjoying the view of the next rapid from the must-make eddy.

December 31th - Kayaking the Arahura River