Oceania Championships- Selection 3 and 4

The Jull house here in Otaki has become universal with residents from Switzerland, Thailand, Czech Republic, Ireland, Canada, Holland and of course New Zealand. The 2011 New Zealand Selection races 3 and 4 will be combined this weekend with the Oceania Championships. In preperation for the races we have been training daily at the Mangahau course along with trips to the beach, whale watching, IRB rides and kneeboarding.
For more info on the races checkout: www.slalomnz.org.nz or for results click here

Photo Credit: Ciaran Heartau

Race Day- New Zealand Selections

Saturday: Having not raced since the Worlds in September I was feeling a bit nervous on the start line. It is always hard to know where you are at and how your training is progressing so I was intrigued to see the results. I set a solid race plan for Run 1 and stuck to it putting down a safe and solid clean run. It felt awesome to get to the bottom of the run and know that I had executed to plan, maybe not as fast as I had hoped but there were some good sections and things to take out of it. I finished with a 111 clean, 2^nd after Luuka who did a 102+6. Going into my 2^nd run I was feeling a lot more relaxed and was ready to bust out some aggression. The top was mint and I was going well until I messed up a move and lost composure. It was disappointing as I was hoping for a better run but all good. I finished a second slower than my first run and was given a 2second penalty.

Full race results can be found on: Slalomnz

Sunday: Today the tropical cyclone hit the Islands of the South Pacific! Waking up to the rain is always a good feeling and for my flat and many friends around, it was a wake up to an epic day of creeking! For me, I was back to Kawerau for selection race number 2, only to find it has been cancelled!!!!!!!!!A bit funny really, to cancel a kayak race due to rain. Back to training now on the high waters of the Kaituna! Gutted for my mates too as the rivers are too high to run..they will have to wait for them to go down before they shred them up!

Katrina Van Wijk (Awesome Canadian chick) has also returned to NZL for another epic summer! Heres some pics we took the other night when we, along with our German friend Lisa, went for a sunset paddle on the lake next to my house.

Andy Duff Memorial and New Zealand Selections

Last weekend was the Andy Duff memorial Race- a race brought about in memory of a local paddler that passed away several years ago. It is always a great race with loads of people attending, both on and off the white water. The Race is mass start and on the wkd it saw 70 or so boaters busting down the river in fight for the overall glory. The mens was taken out by Mike Dawson with Sam Sutton in 2nd, and the Womens was won by Luuka Jones followed by myself.

The countdown for New Zealand Canoe Slalom selection races has begun. The first two races will be held on the Tarawera River in Kawerau this weekend. For more info on the race go to: www.slalomnz.org.nz
Here are some pics from our epic surf sessions and some angles I got when I swum the Kaituna river the other day...enjoy.

2011: Sun, Surf, Kayaking, Wakeboarding and Hot Water Streams!

For me 2011 began with a splash and a bang in the biggest Lake in the Southern Hemisphere- Lake Taupo! Anna White has a sweet bach on the waterfront of Lake Taupo so about 30 of us boosted there to meet up, swim, sunbathe, talk smack and of course celebrate the end of what has been for many of us an absolutely epic year! Seeing in the new year with a dip in the lake followed closely by a soak in Anna’s hot tub and some sweet boogying on the D floor was just the style I was hoping for 2011 to bring...Raging good times! The days following have continued to bring all sorts of fun and sweetness along with the occasional bit of work at the restaurant. Yesterday was full on beginning with a 6am surf at Maketu with a whole lot of the local chicks, followed by some training and then the most amazing afternoon on the Waikato river in Oraki-Karako! Sam, Flick, Josh, Harriet, Sams folks and friends and I all cruised up Lake Waikato in the Roil’s boat. We spent the afternoon enjoying the sun and making the most of the cool waters with some swimming and wakeboarding, it was radical! This was followed by an adventure into the forest, through some caves and walking up a hot water stream to land in a hot pool resting at the foot of a hot waterfall. Awesome days with awesome people! This year has gotten off to a great start, let the good times continue...

Also check this sweet video Josh made from our preemo day:)

http://vimeo.com/18449258

Photo credit: Josh Neilson.

2010 in review

2010 has been a rollercoaster ride with wins and loss's, injury and recovery and some interesting journeys both here in NZ and abroad! Highlights include: South Island Creeking missions, Living here in Okere Falls, Teva Mountain Games- Colorado, Racing World Cups in Prague and Spain, Canoe Slalom World Champs, Full Kaituna River Runs, Cruising Croatia with Izzy, Spring Snowboarding with Heather, Training on Tacen again after injury, Kaimais creeking with the Okere Boys, Early morning surf sessions with Izzy in Papamoa, Mountain Biking with Rach and the chicks, and spending many epic moments with many awesome people!
Happy New Year to all, heres to 2011!
Cheers!

December

It is nearing the end of 2010. Christmas for me was celebrated here in Okere Falls with my parents. There was the annual Okere Falls Xmas river run at 10am and this provided a wicked atmosphere. The slalom shots were taken by Kenny Mutton. The little ripper Zach is charging!

Waterfall Hunting...

Its well into summertime here now in New Zealand and for most people the idea of rain is not a welcome one. For the small breed of kayakers however the wet weather is no intrusion but a glorious sight that is welcomed with pleasure. Yesterday we heard rumor of the Turakina river to be in flood, unfortunately this was a false alarm. After driving a few hundred Km across the Central Plateu of the North Island we were a bit gutted. So we moved on to scouting out some waterfalls! 15km South of Turangi we came across this little beauty. Here is a picture of Tyler Fox styling it, he ran the falls along with Willz and Jamie G.

Panekire Bluff to the depths of the Kaimai Ranges!

Wow...where to start. This week has been absolutely awesome! After a solid 6week training block in my slalom kayak I decided it was time for a break. So along with my flatmates (Sam, Flick and Jamie) and Nick and Harmony we headed to one of New Zealand's Great walks- Lake Waikeremoana. A beautiful 46km four day tramp was just what I needed to rest my body and mind from the river. We were treated to some nice weather for swimming in the first few days, and this was followed by rain and some cosy nights snuggled up in sleeping bags in the huts, drinking a lot of tea and wine, cardgames and flax weaving.
From the high peaks of Panekire we then tripped back to Okere Falls to arrive home to copious amounts of rain that has been flooding the Bay of Plenty creeks and streams. We had been home barely 10mins and Sam, Jamie and I were back out the door and on our way to the Kaimai ranges. We met up with the Sutton brothers, Willz, Chris and co., Tyler, Brendan and Ryan Lukus and ran 'Tuakopai stream'. It was soo wicked with loads of stout waterfalls, 20footers, Spa Falls, mustache, all super sweet. I actually dropped into a pocket at one rapid and got a bit stuck so pulled tag, I payed for it at the end...
Then this morning the crew of Okere boys came round and we all boosted back to the Kaimais for a second round of creeking, this time we hit up 'Waipapa stream', like yesterday it was totally sick mission that took us 3-4hours! Massive waterfalls and a few knarly sections. We had to portage a few rapids that were super sketch with not enough water, just a bit too rocky. I portaged one of the first waterfalls, 'Jizzm' It required a fine line and hard
boof that most of the boys dominated. Big thanks to all the boys, couldn't have asked for better people to paddle with- Sam R, Jamie G, Sutton Bros, Ryan L, Bernard O, Tyler F and Brendan B.

The Latest

As of the 1st of December Summer officially commenced here on the Southern side of the world, however for me, summer began weeks ago! The weather here in Okere Falls continues to be stunning with stella days that just keep on rolling by at a steady pace.

Our new flat in the Taheke Hood that is occupied by Jamie G, Sam Roil, Flick and myself is all class and has been host to a few bbq's and sunbathing epics. Taheke is a sweet little neighbourhood with Nick and Harmony who provide the table tennis matches and Johann and Greg B as our neighbours! Friday night has become the locals night for some awesome games of ultimate frizbee in taking place in the outback of Okere Falls.
As you can see from the pictures I have been pretty busy Kayaking, Rafting, Watching Sam Paraglide, Mountain Biking and training...oh and working as a waitress down the road in Okawa Bay, serving the wealthy, the rich, and the famous.

Training Camp- Thornton Beach

Training has been going well. On the weekend we headed to Thornton Beach just out of Whakatane for the Waiariki Academy of Sport training camp- incl. Mountain Bike, Golf, Kayak, and car racing squads. It was really awesome and great to reunite with the Ocean! Luuka, Sam, Brent and I paddled out to an Island just off the Coast! It was really cool! Photo Courtesy of Sam Thompson

Okere Falls- Summer begins!

I have moved back to Okere Falls for another awesome summer here.
I am currently living with two smelly boys, yoga Tom and band boy Calum-who wakes me up in the mornings with his tunes. I will be moving into another flat closer to Okere Falls central in 2weeks and will join Sam, Jamie, Flick and Leo.
I have secured a job waitressing for the summer and training is back on, it is hard but I am amped for the up and coming season!
Photo Credit: Calum