Gareth Cox (Instructor)

Position:: Instructor & store assistant
Length of service:: Since 2007
Favourite trip:: Arahura and the West Coast in General
Courses and trips you could take with Gaz:: Multisport Waimakariri Gorge Guided Trip, Multisport Grade 2 Prep Course, Multisport Grade II Assessment, White Water: An Introduction, Multisport Guided Rakaia Gorge Trip, Rolling Course (3 sessions)
Favourite boats:: Jefe Chico for creeking - fast and reliable under pressure; Fluid Nemesis - Small for playing - Awesome, a boat the right size!!!; Barracuda Beachcomber Ultralight - It's great for grade 2 teaching. Lightweight, fast enough to not kill yourself keeping up with clients in multisport kayaks when guiding and plenty stable enough to put overboated clients in if they get out of their depth. The Beachcomber makes it easy to clearly demonstrate techniques - I can exagerate moves to make them easily visible to clients and it allows clients to start using the same techniques with less risk of taking a swim and slowing down their progression.; Barracuda Saracen Ultra - My choice of race boat.
Favourite paddles:: Werner Double Diamond
Solution Lithium - A great shaped blade for river races, small enough to keep a good cadence over longer distances, forgiving to a tired paddler and the titanium tips can handle the knocks.
Countries paddled:: New Zealand, Australia, Zambia, Norway, Italy, France, England, Scotland, Wales... more to come
Qualifications:: NZOIA Kayak 1, NZOIA Bush, Work place first aid

I was raised in Motueka on a farm that backed up to the Motueka River and spent copious amounts of time floating down the Motueka on tyres until high school came along - then tyres turned into kayaks. Whitewater is my main love and I've paddled a huge number of the rivers in NZ. I've taught kayaking in NZ, the UK and Zambia as well as safety kayaking in Norway and Zambia and guiding in NZ and USA.

In the 2008 NZ winter I guided river trips in California for the Otter Bar Lodge Kayak School.

Gareth has an excellent understanding of river hydraulics, his white water experience has also provided him with solid river rescue skills. He's a firm believer that more multisport kayakers should learn to roll a kayak ( and practice it regularly ) - it doesn't just save you time and energy when you don't swim, it gives you a rock solid bracing technique that means you'll probably never need to roll on a grade 2 river.