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White Water: An Introduction

Price: $395.00 ( inc. GST )

Quantity: Preferred date(s):
Price	$395.00
Payment	Own gear, Hire gear
Item #	AZWW1

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Come experience the excitement of following a river through incredible gorges, down rapids or even over waterfalls (small drops in the beginning) - that is white water kayaking. This course is for you if you are a complete beginner who has never been on the water before, or if you have paddled before, but want to update or improve your white water skills.

Our course starts in the warm, calm of the QEII pool, where you will learn how to exit your kayak upsidedown while keeping hold of your gear, get used to being upsidedown and underwater, practice some confidence routines, learn group/pair rescues, and then start the journey of learning how to roll.

There are two options for this course:

A weekend away, camping out on the Hurunui riverbanks (or similar level of river if the weather changes our plans), paddling two days straight on this excellent grade 2+ river... or
Go surfing for the first day (after a flatwater and introduction to moving water morning session) and learn how and where to kayak surf in Christchurch.
Then go to the Hurunui River (or similar if the conditions require a different location) for your second day and learn how to read the river, cross eddy lines, and safely kayak rivers.

The first day starts with learning to control your kayak: how to turn your kayak in a controlled and confident manner; how to edge your kayak; and how to paddle while on an edge. Then, on moving water, you'll learn what an eddy is and how to break in and out of one, as well as how to ferry glide (get from one side of the river to the other without getting swept downstream). And lastly, discuss and practice some basic rescue techniques on moving water before spending some time playing in either the surf or on small rapids depending on your choice of location.

The second day builds on the techniques and theory learned the session before - more practice on more powerful eddies and ferry gliding. Then comes the best part - running a river and learning river features so you know what the water is going to do before you get there. Learn how to choose the best line through rapids based on this information. The section of the Hurunui that is normally used for this course (conditions permitting), is beautiful - see the photo above for where the trip starts - a real playground for learning white water among the mountains.

This Introduction to White Water Kayaking course requires two students to run, and has a maximum ratio of four students to one instructor. Since we keep our courses small, it is generally easy to match students with similar interests and allow the group to decide which style of course you'd prefer, and as always, we tailor our instruction to your skills and needs whatever they may be.

Once you have completed this course, and once you have learned how to roll, then there are many options to advance your new skills. For example: you may take one of our intermediate white water courses which builds upon this introduction course and covers more advanced white water paddling techniques, or you may join the White Water Canoe Club ( WWCC ) which paddles most weekends from October to April - and some members continue straight through the year . The WWCC usually has two trips per weekend - one for grade 2-3 paddlers, and one for more advanced paddlers.