On Friday afternoon I was off for a weekend in Taupo, to
learn how to white water kayak with the Auckland university canoe club. By the
time our car got to the camp site it was already dark, which added a little
extra fun for my first time setting up a tent. Luckily I had help, but the second tent was missing parts, so the first tent became a tent for 4 instead of 2! Cozy to say the least! Once they arrived we used the other tent and a tarp to waterproof our little tent, but let’s just say we are really happy it did not rain because I don’t
think our tent would have held up.
The next morning we got a nice wake up call at 7:30. Not that
any of us were actually sleeping due to the fact that we were sardines, and
freezing our asses off! But the sun was out and it was time to hit the river.
Once we got all of our fashionable gear on, into the river we went to practice
being rescued if our kayak flipped, and how to get across a T-line into the
flowing part of the river.
We stopped many times along the river to practice skills we
would need for the bigger rapids the next day, and got to experience some grade
1 rapids. I have kayaked a lot but I still found it very hard to make these particular kayaks go in a straight line. For lunch we stopped on the side of the river at some hot
pools that also included a hot waterfall. It was just what we needed to warm us
up from the cold river.
After lunch it was not that far before we ended up back at
the camp sight and had to go through one more section of rapids. I of course
managed to flip my kayak as I was trying the leave the rapids and enter the area
of calm water where were supposed to get out. I also did not even try to wait
for someone to come to rescue me and just decided to bail myself out of the
kayak. This left me a little ways down the river, massive bruises on my legs
that were there for weeks, not to mention a complete feeling of panic. I had practice that
moment in the pool, but nothing prepares you for when it actually happens in open water.
That afternoon/evening we all went down into the town of
Taupo to have dinner and take in the magnificent lake.
That night we had a bonfire, despite it being a
fire free camp zone. Ongoing theme, Kiwis have trouble with rules… I was really thankful because it allowed for me to start
off the night warm when I went into the sardine-can bed, which made a huge difference. I also had
to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, which was an ordeal. I had to
climb over people, get out of my sleeping bag, find shoes and go to the
bathroom in the dark. If you can’t already tell, I am not a huge fan of
camping. As much fun as I had on the trip, it is safe to say my relationship
with camping is over. Even after my joy of camping night, the next day, Sunday, was amazing,
scary and fun all at the same time.
Sunday was the day of the class 2 rapids with an ending
portion called the wave. I made it through the river alive.
I only flipped once
and I was all set to be rescued and then my hips just fell out of the kayak and
I ended up having to empty my kayak while standing in a VERY small edge of rock
on the side of the river. After that we came upon this old structure that was
about 7 meters tall. A couple of us got out of our kayaks and climbed the hill
and jumped off.
It was so much fun! Not long after that the wave was upon us.
In true fashion my kayak decided to turn itself and I ended up going down the
rapid backwards and I did not flip, which was impressive. Once we pulled our
kayaks onto land we decided to jump back in the water and swim down the wave.
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| This is not me |
Then came the ever-so-fun task of carrying the kayaks up the
hill to where the cars were waiting to take us home.
I was exhausted and slept the entire 4 hours home!
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