New Zealand's Mighty Mungo/Upper Hokitika

The highlight of the summer thus far would have to be our descent of the Mungo. Completed only once or twice in a busy summer the Mungo is one of NZ's most committing river trips. Any descent after flood (the west coast got hammered by a 50 year flood only a month ago) means kayak teams treat every river trip as a first descent with the expectation of major changes.

Inside Mungo Gorge paddler/climber and bush basher Daan Jimmink contemplates his next move and hopes its the right one.....

Image - Zak Shaw 

In shot Jordy Searle makes a quick getaway allowing Dando to return for the last of our team. 

Location = Southern Alps as far as you can go in the Hokitika catchment.

Image - Zak Shaw

We made good time from our heli drop off point via continuous class four rapids that steepened and progressively got harder. The Mungo River gorge subtly locks you in and before you know it the valley track is nowhere in sight.

Keep your hips loose and roll with it. Jordy Searle agrees it feels best when your boatin.

Mungo Gorge scenic - Zak Shaw

 We committed into the top gorge and eddied out above a massive tree jam that we had spied from the air. Barney and Jordy would have run it onsight but I was interested in knowing if the remainder of the canyon was clean. Daan and I set off on river right with the idea of looking into the gorge downstream. Previous reports told us this would reveal nothing, it sounded like a challenge. Steep thick scrub on the verge of the gorge walls provided good hand and foot holds and we found several large tress with which we could hold onto and lean out from. We managed to see some key lines and eddies, enough to convince us to paddle the log drop. 

Below Daan and Justin Venable share thoughts on how they think it will go....

Image - Zak Shaw

Timber prevented us from charging right and so left it was. Barney was having a strong day out and charged at the left horizon first. All went to plan and 10 min later our five kayaks cautiously began to piece together the next series of must run moves in the canyon. The crux move (which would be possible to portage using ropes and a tag line on river left) involved weaving above a super steep class six slip rapid into a last chance eddy. 

Image - Zak Shaw 

After the portage we scouted within the gorge before running three must run drops. 20ft, 8ft, 6ft before we were free. 

Image below Barney young continues with form that saw him go big American style this winter.

Image - Zak Shaw

Gateway Gorge will always make a hard and fast day slow down. JV immerses himself in some of the best river scenery in the country.

Image - Zak Shaw

Hey thats Jordy Searle from the 2011 whitewater calendars!

Watch this space - Jordy Searle Mungo/ Upper Hokitika 2012 calendar run!

Image - Zak Shaw

Gateway Gorge (best place ever)

Word for anyone interested Frisco canyon is currently clean.  In the past it has held large trees which are generally portaged. (unless your jj or eden) That canyon is far less steep than it used to be.

Sepentine Hut. A safe refuge after six beautiful hours of hard kayaking. 4 bunks, stove and everything else you need for a night comes included. (except your wine and red meat that the helicopter will drop there for you!)

Image - Zak Shaw

The normal day run from Nogo creek out is a fantastic run. On our trip we had a juicy medium river level. This canyon has a low water option of going left. On our run it was to high and we had to sack up and run the falls into the gorge. In shot Barney Young is "givin er"

This says it all. If your kayaking difficult whitewater and making it look good find the best team you can and visit the Upper Hoki! Local beta is invaluable.

until next time - Zak

KOKATAHI SESSION - NEW ZEALAND

HIGH ARCTIC TRANSIT - SVALBARD, ICELAND GREENLAND, CANADIAN ARCTIC. My journey across the far north 2010. Images Zak Shaw

 

Its gone so fast this year. Twenty four hours ago I finished a 45 day work period in the Arctic. 

I was lucky this year to be given exactly what voyages I wanted to work, the idea being I wanted to see more of the isolated SE coast of Greenland. 

Voyage 2 we departed from Iceland following the movements of the Vikings across to Cape Farewell; Greenland's south cape. 

On the south east coast we ventured into Tasillaq, one of the only small Greenlandic settlements in the east. Further south our charts displayed large blank areas of coastline and uncertain depths. One fiord with soundings "Skjoldungen" "Shield for the children" became a highlight of the season. The steep walled fiord with hanging glaciers, waterfalls and dominating peaks was quite overwhelming. Nansen makes special mention of its beauty, I would love to go back.

Nanortalik on Greenlands SW coast was a quick stop before we headed north with the current to Disco Bay. After several landings, kayak trips and amazing scenery we turned west again skirting the sea ice in Baffin Bay. We took to the zodiacs and found bears out on the ice with seals in their posession.  The Inuit community of Iqaluit is where our second voyage ended. Fog delayed the plane and high winds and swell made for a challenging day of driving with Gps in hand.

Our final voyage of the season was a two week horseshoe shaped curve commencing along the coastline of southern Baffin Island. We headed north into Gibbs Fiord an extreme arctic version of Yosemite with walls of stone minus the crowds and carparks. Fog capped the 2000ft glaciated fiord. I delivered a kayak trip for eleven amatuers in rolling seas and rebounding winds. All emerged upright when our time ran low.

Our voyage touched some of the historic marks of the central Canadain Arctic. Pond Inlet; the gateway to the legendary northwest passage and of course Beechey Island; the site which has provided a great deal of insight into the disappearance of the Sir James Franklin Expedition.

Devon Island turned on a show with great weather, ice, Polar Bears, Musk Oxen and Caribou. In a remote arm of Starnes Fiord - Ellesmere Island Narwhal and Beluga whales ran alongside the ship and provided us with illusive glimpses. Back into Baffin Bay with the ice now drifted south we made good time back across to the more temperate waters of Greenland. A day at Jakobshavn and the mighty glacier, humpback whales and views of picturesk Greenlandic homes will for ever be lasting memories.

Enjoy some of my images from the season.

zak

Arctic Diaries

Arctic diaries

Back in the groove, its like I never left! In Svalbard’s main port of Longyearbyen I boarded the Akademik Ioffe and reunited with friends of past seasons. Russians, Pilipino Aussies, Canadians, Americans, Polish, English and Swedish and kiwi staff employed to deliver polar expedition cruises.
This all began in 2006. Unknown to me a friend Graham Charles had put my name forward to an expedition cruising company with the hope that they would need guides to work their northern season.
Calling from Vancouver, Canada Aaron Lawton introduced himself and then offered me twenty-five days work in the high Arctic onboard a Russian vessel called the Akademik Ioffe. My role as part of the fifteen strong staff was to deliver a polar sea-kayaking program. I acted quickly seeking permission for time off from an employer in California before boarding a plane bound for Cornwallis Island twenty-four hours later!

My first voyage involved a transit of the renowned Northwest Passage. We headed south following the routes of famed explorers such as Amundsen, Franklin, and Ross, explorers who sought fame, fortune and a fabled passage that would link the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. History and hardship, it seemed the two came as one. Those bold enough to explore this barren wasteland and brave the cold of winter accepted sacrifice, many would not return home. We visited the graves of English sailors on Beechey Island, a desolate windswept landscape shaped by abrasive winds. We paced the thawing tundra of Devon Island, the largest uninhabited island on earth and sat in kayaks below Baffin Island’s eroding bird cliffs. Greenland’s Jacobshavn Glacier held us in awe, its scale, sheer power and beauty simply incomprehensible. At night the black northern abyss captured all passengers under the snaking green spell of the Aurora Borealis. 
Before I knew it the Ioffe was docked in the Inuit settlement of Iqualuit and it was time to fly south. I’d had a blast and walked away hopeful of a return to the frozen north.


Now in my 5th Arctic season I have been fortunate enough to have seen many regions of the High Arctic and I return each year looking to discover more.
This season has kicked off with a real bang! Graham and I are working together for the first time in the Arctic and its his style is more in tune with my own.
Our two week voyage commenced in Svalbard. We found a group of bears feasting on a dead whale, kayaked under clouds of Little Auk returning to their nests and had a stunning time in Hamiltonbukta; a heavily glaciated bay and host to thousands of birds that raise their young on the tiny ledges spire topped cliff called Austplana. Two days at sea saw us visit the worlds largest fiord system; Scoresbysund in Eastern Greenland. My visit last year was a full month earlier and we found impenetrable sea ice bands and gigantic glacial bergs jamming the fiord.  Many of our landings locations have been new this year, which keeps it fresh and exciting.
During our four day visit temperatures soared the entire time. Ice charts had gradually showed ice clearing out of Scoresbysund twelve days prior to our arrival so our transit of many fiords went largely unhindered by ice. Most days I paddled my kayak wearing cotton shorts and just one thermal top on! Turquoise melt water cascaded from melt bowls the size of hot tubs sitting on the tops of tabular bergs. Calving was constant. Brash ice bobbing around on the surface formed large areas of slushy soup. Millennia aged air cracked and popped as it escaped free having previously been trapped in the Greenland ice cap. This is one of the polar special sounds. All the signs of climate change were obvious everyday and its effect pronounced. Hot days under the midnight sun makes for comfortable days but the glaciers are dying because of it.

The Denmark Strait dividing Eastern Greenland from Iceland is one of the world’s populated areas for whales and we enjoyed some great Humpback whale sightings on our way to Reykjavik.

Gisborne Herald Peru Expedition feature

This week the Gisborne Herald ran a short article on our Peru adventures. The article has some pretty cheesy lines added by the editorial team that didn't come from me but hey...enjoy the read 
http://www.gisborneherald.co.nz/article/?id=18530

Big mountain climbed, Big river paddled - Tiki Tour - Peru

Image - Justin Venable
Our time in Peru was grand! Rewarding and surpassing expectations JV and I left several kilograms lighter. Weight loss indicative of long days and reserves burnt. Is it always worth it? hell yes! Nothing a couple of weeks on a cruise ship wont fix!

Traditional Peru                                                                                 
Image - Zak Shaw

Image - Zak Shaw
Thanks to Tiki Wine, New Zealand who came on board in support of our travels 24 hours before I left NZ! Their sponsorship dollars went a long way in Peru helping us move from one adventure to the next. From home Tiki followed us closely constantly excited about supporting kiwi adventure.
It felt good to have the support of a New Zealand brand and toast to adventurous spirit of kiwis!

May the Tiki Tour continue!