Whitewater 'sledging'

Today (their Saturday the 30th), Tj and Melanie are going whitewater sledging on the Shotover River. This sport involves getting on a boogie board and heading down some class III and IV and V rapids, perhaps waterfalls (we will have to wait for a report to see which section of the river they did).

Snuggling up against the force of Nature! Good luck, ladies!

For some pictures of this extreme sport, follow these links:

sledging

more sledging

and more sledging

Here's the report: Although we'd originally planned to raft the Shotover River, due to low rainfall, there wasn't any rafting on it. Since the Kawarau River is quieter, we decided to sledge it instead - it only has Class II and III whitewater. But let me tell you - this is plenty big when you're basically on a modified boogie board! Just to give you an idea, Class II rapids may have waves up to 3 feet, and Class III gets hairier with higher, irregular waves coupled with narrower passages. I would not want to be in Class IV with a boogie board!

We went with Frogz Have More Fun, as they have actual sledges. This means that your hands and arms have more protection, and because there are channels on the bottom of the sledges, you have an easier (not easy) time steering. We had no idea what a work out we'd get! After freezing our patooties off in Kaikoura, our guide Jake's reassurances that we wouldn't be cold because we'd be in wetsuits rang hollow. He even gave us a book of testimonials and all these people wrote how they couldn't believe they weren't cold, but we were still doubtful.

We arrived at Frogz Have More Fun headquarters - no changing rooms, so we found a relatively secluded area in the bush and changed into our swimsuits, then raced to where our wetsuits were lain out, hoping to get them on before being endowed with more sand fly bites (no such luck - I got a huge one on my back).

Once we were in full wetsuits, including booties, hoods, and gloves, we added life jackets and helmets, and then carried our fins and shockingly heavy (these float?!) sledges to the edge of the river for some instruction in maneuvering in the river. After laughing hysterically at our guide's antics, we hopped in the water to have a go at turning left and right, both gradually and sharply, barrel rolls, and reconnecting with our long lost sledge in the event of an unanticipated separation. It's always unanticipated because no one wants to get separated from their floatie in Class III rapids! Although a couple of us did. Not me, not Safety Girl. Although once I came off my sledge, I had such a death grip on the handles that I just kicked myself back into place - never try to rescue me if I'm drowning - what a grip!

Over the course of our day, I did two barrel rolls on purpose and two spins in whirlpools on accident. Jake was right though - none of us were cold, most assuredly due to the fact that despite our superfins, we all were shaky with fatigue from kicking through the Kawarau. Our esteem for our guides grew as we were all rescued more than once by them during the course of the day whether we were idling in an eddy too weary to kick any more or given an assist if whitewater forcefully separated us from our beloved floaties. We were amazed that they could quite literally swim circles around us, and even overtake us from behind if needed to rescue us. Thanks guys!

My most exciting moment of the day was in the rapid Maneater (shudder), when someone else's sledge was grabbed by a channel of water and literally shot over me, skidding over my wetsuit-padded rump, shoulder, and helmeted head - it didn't hurt at all, but the sound of the sledge scraping over my helmet almost made me wet my pants - a no-no in wetsuits which are designed to hold liquids IN. Actually, this is probably a no-no in most places and events.

I managed to retain both of my contact lenses by blinking furiously and occasionally squeezing my eyes shut. This was an adventure in itself as I would sometimes re-open my eyes immediately before the next big rapid smashed into my face, rinsing both of my contacts, and sending me spluttering down the river.

It's also hard to prepare for whitewater with your eyes closed. For me, riding through the Roller Coaster (another aptly named rapid) was a little like someone grabbing my shoulders and furiously and repeatedly dunking me underwater. If you'd like, I can show you how it felt next time I see you ;-)

Love from NZ,
Teej