To hit off 2012 in my homeland, New Zealand, some mates and I loaded up our gear and headed off to the West Coast for some creeking action. Amongst the week of heavy downpours and beautiful sun, we hit up the action on offer. I got on many of the popular runs which ‘only’ required hike ins with boat and gear on my shoulders. Thank you Jackson Kayak for the Little Hero, I’m not sure these hikes would have been possible with heavier plastic! Not only was it a light weight both, it is ideal for someone of my size 5’2″ and under 100pounds to take on any creeking mission the coast had to offer. It is narrower than most creek boats designed for bigger people meaning i never felt like i was in a bath tab having to lean both ways just to reach over the sides for each stroke but it still carries sufficient volume to drive through the whitewater and keep me floating above. It is also short enough that it is super easy to manouever and take tight lines, yet long enough to get through and make that boof. If you are a smaller person don’t settle for anything less than what fits. this is not just a kids boat, it is for anyone of appropriate size and capable of some sweet airloops when appropriate!

Some of the runs I got to take it down was the Toaroha, Upper and Lower Kakapotahi, the Totara -thanks to mother nature for providing enough rain as this run requires a lot of it! Also Arahura Gorge, probably the most intense hike in I have ever done, but all soo well worth it! This gorge provided some great excitement right from the first moment! Then on the reluctant drive back south we made our final stop at the Perth River. This was to be my first ever heli trip, as I saved money by hiking in to all my earlier runs while parts of the group split off to do other runs that required more cash but less excitement. This was definitely the best value for money trip with a 7-hour paddle out and definitely was the perfect way to end our creeking mission before heading home to work!
I put together some of the footage we collected from this mission.
To hit off 2012 in my homeland, New Zealand, some mates and I loaded up our gear and headed off to the West Coast for some creeking action. Amongst the week of heavy downpours and beautiful sun, we hit up the action on offer. I got on many of the popular runs which ‘only’ required hike ins with boat and gear on my shoulders. Thank you Jackson Kayak for the Little Hero, I’m not sure these hikes would have been possible with heavier plastic! Some of the runs I did was the Toaroha, Upper and Lower Kakapotahi, the Totara -thanks to mother nature for providing enough rain as this run requires a lot of it! Also Arahura Gorge, probably the most intense hike in I have ever done, but all soo well worth it! This gorge provided some great excitement right from the first moment! Then on the reluctant drive back south we made our final stop at the Perth River. This was to be my first ever heli trip, as I saved money by hiking in to all my earlier runs while parts of the group split off to do other runs that required more cash but less excitement. This was definitely the best value for money trip with a 7-hour paddle out definitely was the perfect way to end our creeking mission before heading home to work!
I put together some of the footage we collected from this mission…

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/52260078[/vimeo]

Enjoy and remember no-ones too LITTLE to be a HERO!