August 17th -19th 2020
Kaituna River
Grade 3-4
Flow: 450 on the gauge
who?: Mitch Collet, Ethan Roadley, Angus McGill, Sam Wright, Brendon, and more
"Yo Wilfred what are you up to this holiday, you should come on a road trip to kayak the Kaituna river with us," says Angus.
"Okay" I replied, and that's how it went.
Angus had been talking about the Kaituna river for months, in fact, he hadn't shut up about it since he came to Greymouth. He kept going on about how awesome it was and that its a "pool drop" river so it's not even dangerous, by what he was saying, it sounded like you could take a first-time kayaker down there and they'd be sweet! Everyone was getting pumped for it. We had a gang, 9 strong, that was going to tackle this beast! When we got there on the first day, Angus took Ethan and Mitchel down first so that they would get more familiar on the river by the time the rest of us came down. We waved them off with smiles at the top, not worried in the slightest. At the takeout we waited, but got concerned as the minutes ticked on, and the were still not back. By the time they appeared at the other end, they looked wrecked.
Ethan had swum out of his boat, and Mitchel got worked in a hole, it sounded intense! This understandably made the rest of us pretty nervous. Aurum and I were the only other ones there at the time (the others arrived later in the week) and Ethan and Mitch were strong paddlers in our group, so Aurum and I felt quite apprehensive.
The next day Aurum and I walked down to look at some of the bigger drops from the viewing platforms. First, we looked at the powerhouse rapid, (pictured in photos). It definitely didn't look like the mellow river that Angus made it out to be! Next, we had a look at Tutea falls, this is a 7-meter waterfall flowing out of a gorge, after seeing this in real life Aurum and I were shitting ourselves!!
By now we were seriously contemplating not even doing it. I had only done a couple of grade 3 trips and Aurum had never done any! This was a big step up for us. We went back to camp and gave it some thought.
We were lucky enough to camp on Brendon's lawn. Brendon was a local friend of Angus, and he was a crazy good kayaker, he knew the river like the back of his hand.
Angus was still keen to get some laps in, he wanted to do 10 laps a day! Brendon was also keen for a lap and came down after work, we went and ran the shuttle for them and at the top, we ran into some more local paddlers. Together they made three of the best paddlers I had ever met, if there was a good time to do the river, this was it. It would be the best crew I'd ever have the chance to go down with. I wasn't planning on doing it, but I had all my gear in the car, and my boat was on the roof. This was my opportunity. I decided "oh what the hell lets do it" and it was a bloody good decision.
Sam had met with us by this point and he had the same idea. Together we suited up, and strapped in for the show. The first major rapid was the powerhouse rapid, this was a 2 meter drop into a swirling pool of white water, followed by a small weir. One by one Brendon pulled us to the side and showed us the lines. He used his paddle as a pointer, and with precision pointed to the tongue of clear water we needed to aim for. My heart was racing, hands almost shaking with adrenaline. But I trusted Brendon.
Once you leave the safety of the eddy, there is no going back. The river keeps moving forward. I went for for it. I aimed for the smooth tongue, and before I knew it I was in the swirling pool below. It wasn't over yet, the swirling pool was pushing me into a wall right above the dangerous weir! I didn't understand how the currents of the pool worked yet, so had fight my way through them, and make it over the weir. Phew! I made it!
Before long we were coming up to Tutea falls. My heart was in my throat. Tutea falls made the powerhouse rapid look like childs play! they told be there was a trail on the side of the river I could use to get out of the gorge, and miss the rapid. I seriously contemplated it. Once again I had to remind my self of my ability and remember the crew I was with. I was in safe hands. Brendon told me to stay close and follow his line. "Start left and push right as your going of the lip" he said. "Oh, and don't forget your boof stroke". "What's a boof stroke" I replied, somebody laughed and asked if I was serious.
"A boof stroke is a special type of stroke you do going off the drop so that the nose of the boat doesn't drop and cause you to shoot deep into the water like a lawn dart. Its an important part of a drop." Well dam, I thought. Guess ill make it up as I go. "Just follow my line and you should be alright" says Brendon.
We leave the safety of the eddy yet again, and go. I'm terrified, but exited. My body is tingling with adrenaline. I see the tight gorge open up to an expanse ahead of me. "Start left, move right" I tell myself. I follow Brendon's yellow boat closely, aiming for the right wall as I get swept over the edge of the falls. Water fills my vision and the rest is a blur until I shoot out of the foaming white water at the bottom with a roaring scream. YAHOOO! I feel the rush of the biggest adrenaline hit of my entire life. I felt on top of the world.
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