Spring session

Following our stellar week of kayaking in the Upper Ruakituri the clock started.
I had two months of NZ spring before heading back to the Southern Ocean. The following are images from a few cool missions in the hills and Mick Hopkinton’s 60th birthday.
Ben Jackson - Arahura River
Image – Zak Shaw
Ben Jackson drops into the Arahura’s Cesspit
Image – Zak Shaw
60! Birthday boy Mick Hopkinson runs from the chopper, Arahura River
Image – Zak Shaw
Breakfast before climbing the Lyell Range and the Rocky Thor.
Image – Zak Shaw

5am Lyell Range
Image – Zak Shaw
Evening light on the Thousand Acre Plateau. Sally Birchall heading for camp.
Image – Zak Shaw

Currently I’m back onboard my second home completing a two month work stint around the coastline of the Antarctic Peninsula, South Georgia and the Falkland Islands.


January 2009 - HAYLEY SHEPHARD (New Zealand) will attempt to be the first person to sea kayak around South Georgia SOLO!
This remote Antarctic island has been circumnavigated three times previously by teams of paddlers, the first being New Zealand’s Adventure Philosophy team.
Hayley will face isolation, frigid seas and howling storms in her bid to fulfill a livelong dream. Hayley has spent the last two years intensively preparing herself for this unparalleled challenge.
Passionate about her natural world Hayley’s aims to raise the awareness of long ling fishing practices in the Southern Ocean. Fishing currently claims more Albatross lives than any other threat they face.

“Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power
and magic in it”.–Goethe

I’ll be there for that in the capacity of yacht crew, photographer and token sick guy!

Stay tuned, more to come as January 20th 2009 draws closer!
zak

The Munamuna rapids, smooth papa and East Coast quality! quality....

"The Albatross has landed" Paddler - Elby Shaw, Where?? how many people would like to know that!

Ben Jackson is a talented man. He runs a blog and keeps me honest. http://www.jacksonoutdoors.blogspot.com/
Take a look at his most recent post “East Coast Representing”

Point 1 - My navigation is flawless. Lost - Never... just not 100% on current location.
Point 2 - Sometimes in order to lure your paddling mates into carrying their kayaks through mud, blackberry, in heavy rain, on slippery clay uphill for three hours you have to "sell it" well and leave out detail.
Something thats certain - Greg McKinnon (farmer who hooked us up with the shearing palace) is an absolute legend.
Point 3 - It is flat in the gorge for about 30m. But it is a pool then its class 4-5 again.
Point 4 - After a day like that driving 1.5 hours for liquor is mandatory.

Ben Jackson doing the hard yards during our recent mission into the "Upper Rooks"

Image - Zak Shaw

Bens post represents our recent week of kayaking and springtime exploration. It sheds light on our adventures out east, my middle of the road brilliance and images of whitewater unlike anything else in New Zealand.

Going back a few years now.... 1994 - I held on with my toes. Smooth papa stone underneath my bare feet gave me grip as I edged forward and peared over the waterfall. I was thirteen and the waterfall seventy-five metres tall. That day we jumped for over an hour into a teacup, a deep Californian look alike teacup on the verge of a massive falls.

Time then passed until three years ago. Based on my teenage teacup memory my father and I walked four hours and re visited the papa cauldron’s and the secret "Munamuna rapids" No longer thirteen and looking through the eyes of a kayaker I saw amazing drops, not aged granite but smooth East Coast papa!

Elby and Ben take a break from mud and blackberry.

Image - Zak Shaw

On Sunday Ben and I finished running a river safety course, picked up my brother Elby and made tracks. I’d been watching the river levels and weather forecast for weeks to ensure our timing was perfect. We spent two days enjoying the juicy flows in the Ruakituri’s Papunui station section before heading deeper into the Urewera National Park. We walked with our boats for three hours before arriving at the base of our secret falls.

Wedawhakrwei?? Matawai boy Elby Shaw having an adventure close to home.

Image - Zak Shaw

How cool is that! yep its NZ, slides, drops. East Coast represent! Elby finds the line.

Image - Zak Shaw
Paddler - Ben Jackson

Image - Zak Shaw

No mission is complete without at least two flat tyres. Ben and Elby deal to puncture number two. Location = Somewhere on the 95km section of gravel near Lake Waikaremoana, Urewera's. Time to mechanic or tyre repair shop = two days walk.

The following images were taken on the Ruakituri's Papuni section.

Paddler - Ben Jackson
Image - Zak ShawPaddler - Elby Shaw
Image - Zak Shaw

High water Ruakituri, possibly the highest level its been run. Ben Jackson comleting the final gorge move.
Image - Zak Shaw

New to slides, Elby finds out what all the rave is about.
Image - Zak Shaw

Team "Upper Rooks"

Wyoming, USA Clarksfork of the Yellowstone "The Box" = big, deep, nasty, committing river gorge

Paddler - Zak Shaw - Deliberation Corner, thanks for the image Scott!
Image - Scott Doherty - www.worldclassacademy.com
Cover shot. This how it is. After seeing this image at least paddlers believe there's a way out! . Henry Munter sets himself free of constraint.
Image - Zak Shaw

Day one began. David Maurier and I having made the massive drive from California through Nevada (fantastic state, definitely receives a full and honest endorsement from me) On our way north we passed thousands of desert acres, countless casino's and trucker relief establishments. One in particular the "sleek kitten" kept our eyes awkwardly low and motivated us to leave the truck locked at 75 miles per hour.
After a nine hour haul we arrived at the Payette's world renowned north fork.


Image - Zak Shaw
We met two paddlers from West Virginia. Concerned looks on their faces was the result of my introduction. It included my experience as a sea kayaker with no mention of any river time. Davey assured them "he has a really solid roll before we set off! We spent four days avoiding the savagely sharp boulders and coincidently met a team headed east into Yellowstone National Park.
Day one - Clarkfork. We joined US paddlers Henry Munter, Brian Fletcher, Ryan Casey and Scott Doherty who had done the river several times before. This took out some of the rivers sting. They knew where to portage and who had supposedly been under which rocks. Mick Hopkinson in his typically thorough fashion had not held back on the drama of previous mishaps. Before the trip I'd walked from his house feeling Id be better off wearing pink fluro scuba gear. Seeing a Clarksfork sieve as I understood it was just part and parcel of each descent.

Finding out why - Zak Shaw takes a closer look into the "green monster" and the first major portage.
Image - David Maurier
As we got into our work the stories faded and I learned it was just more important than usual to be on line. For around six hours we paddled and climbed our way downstream into the canyons heart.
Scott Doherty prepares freshly caught fish for dinner.
Image - Zak Shaw
Our view from camp upstream of the rising domes and craggy vertical walls that stand imposing and forming the box canyon.
Image - Zak Shaw
Henry Munter - Classically Clarksfork. Through the entire section the canyon is stunning and the moves are equally as good.
As we dropped further into the gorge endless valleys of exposed stone climbed above us. I drifted through deep pools and imagined that at any moment dusty outlaws could reveal themselves from dark caves and and open fire. Did anyone see the TV add where the Sheriff flushes out a hundred crooks by opening a box of crunchy nut cornflakes?

Day two was a big day with most of the rivers intensity coming at us early. Brian Fletcher times it well and makes it look good through "Dilworth"
Image - Zak Shaw
Once your in your in!
Image - Zak Shaw
"Deliberation Corner" Scott Doherty amongst the meat of the rapid with no time to deliberate.
Image - Zak Shaw

Having completed the "leap of faith" one of two drops that is difficult to inspect we again portaged high above a series of boulder jammed un-runnable drops.
Beyond here the canyon walls relaxed and we were home free!
Image - David Maurier.

"The cold edge" Back to Svalbard

Norways Voss Extreme week came and went in a flash. In a mad rush I flew back into the Arctic to rejoin my Rusian friends onboard the Vavilov. The past ten days have been an absolute wildlife frenzy, daily encounters with fat bears miles from the coastline, at home on the ice.
Images below - Zak Shaw

Early Explorers - the people I work with!

JJ boof sequence, Voss extreme week downriver race, Norway

Norway, Voss Extreme week.

Perfect. I was not needed on the ship this last week and had the chance to see some of Norway, catch up with mates and paddle a few rivers.
Around ten kiwis competed in kayaking events as part of the Voss Extreme Week.
We had a blast paddling rivers during the day and meeting people from all over the world. Active, crazy, loose and daring competitors raced, flew, jumped, paddled and danced from cliffs, planes, mountain roads and down rapids for seven days straight..

Image – Zak Shaw
Kiwi Mike Dawson stoked with his win and some Norwegian TV airtime .

A good time was had by all at the downriver race on the Brandseth River. Young stud Mike Dawson dominated in the men’s race finishing his two descents of the racecourse four and five seconds faster than his nearest rival.
It was classic to watch all the kiwi boys surround him on mass and excitedly discuss how much of Mikes race winnings they would be drinking that night!
Top effort bro!

Image - Zak Shaw
Mike Dawson sets up to boof the last drop and land fast.


Image – Zak Shaw
Mike Dawson, tequila time.

Image - Jason Shepherd
Paddler - Zak Shaw first rapid in Norway, Upper Branseth