Kayaker caught on deadly conveyor belt

 

Risk, danger, peril and loss are all hand maidens to exploration kayaking. My friend Bruce and I know this only to well.

In 1996, we were exploring and descending what was to become one of the harder whitewater runs in the country. The mysterious Kokatahi River had sat idle while rivers to the north and south of it were becoming world famous.

It was rumoured to be steep and gnarly with some deep gorges and the fact that the track providing foot access, and possible scouting points, to the valley sidles for the most part high along the massive walls.

I had spent a great deal of time hanging out the helicopter door and scouting from 150 metres up. It looked difficult but possible. The general rule of thumb for helicopter scouting is that if it looks like Class IV from the helicopter it will generally be Class V when you get on the water - the Kokatahi looked like class V from the helicopter. But, most things looked possible.

There were two gorges that were shielded by trees. One was very short and mostly looked like a respite from the kilometres of class V whitewater leading down to it, the ...more