Kayaking the mighty Manawatu (mid-Jan)

This text was read by OCR from a scanned newsletter and has not been proofread yet, so expect odd characters and mistakes.

by Margaret Craigie

The plan was perfect. Annette had a (double) kayak and a car with a roof rack. I also hada car (sans kayak and roof rack). The plan involved us driving in Annette’s car, with kayak up above, through the Manawatu Gorge to Balance Bridge. From there, we would put the kayak in the water, float downstream to the finishing point at Ruamahanga, Palmerston North, where my car would be waiting, drive back to Balance Bridge and then return in both cars to Ruamahanga. From there, we would strap the kayak back onto Annette’s car and go home, tired but happy. It sounded brilliant, so I had to go. Exciting, wet, but safe. All I had to do was turn up fora great time. Utterly flawless.

I helped to lift the kayak onto the roof of the car and after watching Annette’s impressive abilities with rope and knots, we dropped off my car at the finishing point and we were on our way. We wove our way through the gorge, enjoying the sunshine, lack of traffic, and life in general. Far below us, the river glistened as if a twisted ribbon.

Annette calmly mentioned that beneath us, now lay the Big Rapid. I glanced down, and not paying particular attention, calmly replied, “Oh, is that all?”

The next thing I know, Annette has hauled on the brakes and pulled into the first side-bay. We got out of the car and scrutinised the rapid. My mind suddenly became extremely focussed as I took in the foam and froth and general death sentence awaiting me.’ This is my excuse for everything else that happened that day. My brain was sharp and clear. DO NOT DIE! NOT DYING TODAY IS A GOOD THING! I remained calm, climbed back in the car and continued to chat until Balance Bridge.

Once again, my brain was screaming at me not to die. In fact, it hadn’t stopped since making the mistake of actually discovering what was in store for me. I told myself to bugger off, I was going to enjoy myself very much thank you, and I didn’t want a kill-joy on the ride with me.

And I have to say, I had a fantastic time. I emptied my pockets of things I really did not want to lose at the bottom of the river (such as keys) and put them on the passenger seat. I also took out things that I did not want to get wet (such as tissues, lint etc). As 1 was in Lord of the Rings country, I did a quick final check in my pocket for the Ring That Binds Them All, but I didn’t have it, my Preciousss or not.

At around 10ish, we carried the kayak to the water, climbed in and started the journey proper. It was absolutely idyllic. There had been a great food season, and the resultant abundant bird-life flew up above. Tui, hawks, wood pigeons... The river maintained an extremely pleasant pace with some stunning bush for scenery. Occasionally there was a ripple or two, so we called these rapids so as to keep up appearances.

Around one particular corner, there before us was a HUGE blade of a windmill. It’s slow pace reflected ours as we meandered on. Gradually the water increased its speed, and I got completely wet. I like being at the front because you get to blame the person at the back for not steering where they should. All I have to do is provide engine power. And when it came to the rapids, Annette was deliberately choosing the roughest part of the river, for my “benefit”.

Then, there it was. The Big Rapid. It was full on and I paddled like crazy, Annette was yelling at me to go even faster, and in a confusion of paddles, people and water, we shot down the rapid at a truly exhilarating pace. And we didn’t fall out! 1 was incredibly impressed with Annette’s skills and we pulled in to the bank for a relaxing lunch.

The stress of trying not to die had lifted, and I was really enjoying the fact that I was “away from it all”. No work deadlines or commitments, and especially no technology such as computers/TV/telephones (Yay!) and I simply truly relaxed. I then thought forward to the next few stages of the trip and it finally dawned on me that my keys were still at Balance

Bridge. The ensuing conversation was fairly one-sided I have to say. There was a plethora of suggestions including me paddling upstream (alone), to the start; me walking (alone), back to the start; me (alone), taking a walk in the deeper parts of the river without my lifejacket...

However, all was not lost. Annette pulled out her cellphone, (I just want to make the point here that I love modern technology!) and rang all her workmates. Unfortunately, no-one was heading in the right direction at the right time. Annette continued to ring people. Having finally found a knight in shining armour to save the day, we continued the trip without incident. The view consisted more and more of farmland, and the rapids were not quite as thrilling as The Big Rapid, but still worthwhile, and we finally pulled in to Ruamahanga around 4pm. I gota ride back to the start with Annette’s ex-husband. Alone.