Don’t Hit the Giant Rock with Your Canoe

Whanganui River Great Walk

My friend, Alyssa and I, did a three-day backpacking canoe trip along New Zealand’s Whanganui River. This is one of New Zealand’s eleven Great Walks. Described on the Department of Conservation website the Whanganui River Journey is a 3-, 4-, or 5-day trip for those to “Explore the scenic Whanganui River by paddling down it through a landscape of remote hills and bush clad valleys. This trip is suitable for people with good fitness and confidence with a canoe.” We chose the 3-day journey (and are very glad we did).  

The Whanganui River is the longest navigable river in Aotearoa (New Zealand). In “March 2017, the Whanganui River became the first river in the world to be given the same legal rights as a human being.”

Waterproofing Gear

The trip was beautiful! We both typically hike during a backpacking trip, and don’t spend days on the water. Alyssa and I have both spent weeks out on a ship, but it’s very different than being on a canoe for more than a few hours.

We both loved it and thought we were getting better with the rapids, due to our sore arms and shoulders at the end of each day. Some rapids were easier than others. And some rapids soaked us, no matter what we did. But that’s just part of the fun! And that’s why we had to be careful. That’s why we made sure that all of our waterproof barrels and bags were sealed tight.

Not only does everyone need to make sure of that, but I took extra special care to make sure that all of my diabetic supplies were super-duper dry. Like most backpacking trips, it’s incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to get help or supplies if you need them. Diabetic supplies included. Making sure you securely pack enough is most important. Check out my packing list and travel tips for traveling with type 1 diabetes.

We did find out on our last day if we had secured everything well enough…..

The Hidden Rock

During our safety briefing at the canoe rental company, they informed us of a few rapids and locations that we needed to take special care. One of these was a rapid with a large light-colored boulder in the middle of the river. We had to stay to the left of this boulder. According to our map we knew that this section was coming up, and we were keeping our eyes out for this light gray boulder. Unfortunately for us, we did not see the giant boulder until we nearly crashed into it.

The boulder was hiding and didn’t come out of the water until we were almost on top of it! It was pretty rude, if you ask me. It definitely wasn’t our fault for not seeing it, we couldn’t have seen it any sooner, it was just too good at hiding from the tired tourists. The boulder wasn’t a light gray color like we were told in the briefing. It was a dark brown color that blended in with the brown river water. (But it was actually hiding from us like I already said).

Luckily for us, we did notice the boulder after he came out of hiding. We freaked the fuck out, probably screamed, no one knows. With our quick reflexes we both paddled out of the way of the boulder, just missing it. In doing so we may have overcompensated… by turning the canoe perpendicular to the rock, losing balance among the rapids and tipping over.

Keeping our Cool

Alyssa bailed out with her paddle. Me, on the other hand, decided to let go of my paddle and hold onto the canoe, and ended up underneath the flipped canoe. Alyssa watched all of this happen and was freaking out that I was under the canoe. While under the canoe, I did realize that being here was not a good idea, and I had to get myself out. I popped myself out, downstream of the canoe. In the middle of doing this I realized that popping up directly downstream of the canoe wasn’t the best place to pop up. The current could be strong enough or we could hit a rapid that pushes the canoe into my head. Because of this terrifying realization, when I popped up, I turned and faced the canoe to brace myself in case it was going to hit me. By looking back at the canoe, I wasn’t in the correct position – face up, feet first.

Not only had Alyssa bailed out with her paddle, she bailed out behind the canoe and was able to watch me resurface. She was relieved that I had come out. According to Alyssa my face looked “dazed, confused, maybe concerned. Like you knew what was happening and you didn’t like it.”

Once she knew I was okay she yelled “keep your feet first!” I promptly listened and adjusted my position. She then yelled “Do you have your paddle?” to which I yelled back “NO!” A second or two after she asked about my paddle, it ended up next to her, behind the canoe.  

Damage Report

After she found my paddle, she noticed a rocky patch to our left. Alyssa and I started swimming ourselves, our paddles, and our canoe over to shore. We got to the rocks and we and the water were calmer, not calm, just calmer. Finally, we could start thinking a bit clearer. We flipped our canoe ride side up and Alyssa bailed out all of the water. I checked all of the barrels, latches, and closures. Thankfully, we did a great job packing everything, and nothing got wet.

With all of my adrenaline pumping I couldn’t tell what my blood sugar number was, so I checked. Thankfully my number was within in the normal range, and I could help finish tightening all the straps.

The only casualty during all of this was my knife and our confidence in all future rapids. This whole fiasco felt like it lasted 20 minutes, but I would be surprised if it was longer than 2 minutes.

We both wish we could have seen our faces when we flipped, because after some time it would have been hilarious to see! During the rest of our trip, we kept reliving this incident and laughing!

The Rock’s Next Victim

As we were calming down and re-securing everything, we noticed another canoe coming down the river. We just had to watch to see how well they navigated this hidden boulder. We wanted to see if they would see the boulder in time. If they would flip, or if they would skillfully avoid the boulder and make their way safety through the rapids.

Like us, they too didn’t see the boulder until it was too late. From shore, we could see the moment they noticed the boulder and frantically started paddling away from it. They also flipped over. We were able to help them swim over to us and help them bail out. And talk about how the boulder was definitely hiding from everyone. How rude!

Everyone ended up in one piece and mostly dry, and we got back on our way. Even though we flipped over, it was such a great trip! This was the story that we kept thinking back on and laughing about! You know it is a true friendship when you can mess up like this and laugh about it together in less than an hour.