AUCC in Murchison - cause thats how we roll

We started off spending two weeks in the quiet town of Murchison. A small town with one shop and two pubs which in summer becomes a mecca for white water kayakers from all over New Zealand. The days were spent sampling the many sections of whitewater on rivers such as the Matakataki, the Glenroy and the Buller, and the evenings were spent relaxing at the campsite, drinking and telling stories. New Years eve was a memorable, if not remembered night spent and the Commercial Hotel, followed by an early morning hungover paddle on the Glenroy on New Years Day.

James Rae drops in
Ross & Keys on the Matakataki

Later that week I made a brief trip two day trip to sample the helicopter accessed rivers of the famed west coast, hoping to join some of the people from Murchison oto test myself on some o0f the hardest rivers in New Zealand on the West Coast. I paddled the Kakapotahi and the Styx river. The Upper Styx can only be accessed by helicopter and 15 of us flew up on one day, many of whom were extremely experienced kayakers from all over the world and New Zealand, I was a little intidated to say the least. The river itself was incredible, a big step up from what I'd paddled before, with over 3 hours of solid class 4+ with so sign of easing off and a few mandatory portages. Its the type of river where mistakes do not go unpunished, and I made the mistake of paddling into an eddy too small to fit 2 people and was pulled into a seive, held under water for a few seconds and subsequently spitted out and someone grabbed my boat and pulled me into the side. Unfortunatelt I lost my paddle and was forced to use a set of splits for the remainder of the river.
I'm very grateful for all the extremely experienced paddlers who looked after me that day and who I learnt alot from.