A ride down the Hurunui River

by Russel Norman

Taking a kayak down a powerful river feels like being on the side of history. You start out on a river that progressively gets bigger and more powerful as other rivers  join.

As we travelled down the Hurunui River on a kayak today as part of the Wild Rivers campaign we were joined by more and more flowing freshwater. It seemed we are all marching in the same direction, with a purpose.

A small creek came down a steep craggy boulder strewn gorge, rushing to be part of the movement. It seemed a modest flow but the wreckage of boulders behind it spoke of a different, more violent, nature when the rains were heavy.

A seepage of water flowing under the topsoil came over the edge of a small cliff covered in moss, in a grotto only accessible from the river, and formed a steady waterfall. We pulled into an eddy in the grotto, safe from the raging rapids and I drank of the reinforcements, delicious.

And then the south branch of the Hurunui joined us coming out of the valley, a valley that those who think of money alone want to put a 70m high dam across. It knew we were marching in the direction of history and wanted to join in.

Overhead the airforce was dipping and diving, as black fronted terns searched the water for food for their fledglings, flying like swallows.  There may only be 5000 of them left but they were impressive, with black masks to hide their identity like armed offenders squad, and sharp pointed wingtips, beaks and tails. Precision flying.

I ended up going for a swim after a collision with a rock in a grade 3+ rapid but I didn’t care. We were there to draw attention to the wild rivers that make Aotearoa New Zealand such a fantastic place to live. We’ve saved wild places before and we can do it again. History was marching with us today.