A few years ago I got into packrafting. I'd wanted some sort of lightweight, easily packable watercraft so I could potter around on a few waterways. Then I discovered the world of packrafting at a Mountain Film Festival one year. I have Deane Parker to thank for that...
I did some courses, ran some rivers, initially solo and then, due to COVID stranding me in NZ, I found like minded paddling friends in the small, but expanding, packrafting community. I initially struggled with fear when running any rapid whatsoever, but with time and experience I began to enjoy running whitewater, though I was happy to keep with low consequence Grade 2 rivers.
Eventually I began to have a go at a few Grade 3 rapids. Mostly in low flow situations when they didn't seem quite so scary, and I managed to run them all without incident. I still wasn't keen to call myself a Grade 3 paddler though, especially as my boat isn't really suitable for high grade rapids.
Cut to the Anzac Day weekend, and Deane and Hugh Canard organising a weekend of packrafting based out of the Boyle River Outdoor Centre. I arrived on Friday afternoon to freezing cold weather and snow on the nearby hills. None of us volunteered to head out for a session on the local rapid, preferring to stay inside, chat, and stay warm! By evening we had a good crew present and plans were made for the following day.
Saturday we paddled the Boyle River down to Windy Point. The water levels were dropping, but it was still running high enough for us not to have to drag our boats across any shingles. It was bloody cold though, and those only in wetsuits didn't have such a fun time.
A few of Deane's friends arrived Saturday evening, experienced paddlers from Nelson. They were joining us for the run down the Upper Waiau, through Grade 3 rapids which were not portageable. In order for me to join them I asked to borrow a self bailing boat for the day.
My boat is a bucket boat, meaning that once water gets inside it fills up like a bathtub and you need to pull in and empty it out at some stage. Long wave trains can totally fill up the boat. It won't sink, but it's not comfortable...
A self bailer, on the other hand, has holes in the floor and a full length inflatable seat, so most of the water that enters the boat drains back out.
I also don't have thigh straps, which make the boat more manoeuvrable and easier to edge into and out of eddies. Although I can run Grade 3s in it, it isn't really set up for it. And since Grade 3 wasn't really my jam.......
So we dropped the cars at the takeout and met up with the farmer to shuttle the crew in to Tin Jug Hut, just below The Narrows. The shuttling took a couple of hours. Once our gear was stowed and boats inflated we headed off down river.
I had an absolute blast. Seven out of 12 of us came out in one of the rapids, but I was completely unintimidated and enjoyed every bit of the paddle. Except for losing my sunglasses in the aforementioned capsize!!
It's now time for me to upgrade my boat. I'm keen to keep what I have for low grade expeditions, as it's much lighter than a self bailer with thigh straps. But if I'm going to join my friends on some wicked rapids, I need to upgrade to something made for the conditions.
I'm not doing much packrafting since returning to Australia then Japan for the summer months. But I'm mentally ready to tackle bigger rapids, so at some stage I'll be buying a new boat fit for purpose. I think it will be a Wolverine....
But meanwhile, back to more tramping...
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