Heavy rain warnings, flooded paddocks, windscreen wipers on full noise & big water butterflies… Now we play!

It’s the weather report every kayaker waits for, and every non kayaker dreads…. A Heavy Rain Warning. Earlier this week, the remnants of a slow moving easterly cyclone and a cold and wet front roaring up from the Southern Ocean collided over the North Island of New Zealand. This was bad news for Easter holiday makers but it was good news for us. As per normal when heavy rain is approaching the cell phone lit up, plans were hatched and a restless night ensued…. The rain arrived as predicted and it was game on. Our destination for the day, The Wainui River…

I had been itching to get on the Wainui after missing the first descent several years earlier due to food poisoning that I picked up the previous night from drinking a large number of dodgy beers… Or something like that! Since then there has been a number of descents and the reports filtering back have been all good! Stories of epic slides and big drops were more than enough to wet the appetite…. Finally, on Tuesday, it was my turn!

- Only a kayaker knows the feeling! The moment we live for…. rolling off the lip of the big one.

 

- Inside the beast… About 50 feet into the freefall and preparing for impact!

 

- Tucking in and hanging on….

 

- This drop in the middle of the Wainui is about as good as they come… Who says kiwis can’t fly.

 

- Pretty stoked, and a little dazed and confused!

 

- Watching Simon take his run.

 

- Jamie taking flight.

 

- Big old air boof on little brother.

 

- Airing it out on little brother.

 

- The other end of a 30 foot boof… This would explain the stiff neck!

 

- Simon styling it!

 

- One epic slide after another…

 

- Letting gravity do the work on another rowdy Wainui slide.

 

- STOKED!

Check out the video from the day below!

Cheers,

Ben: www.benbrown.co.nz

Spring Rain in NZ

Hi Guys,

Well Spring in NZ has officially sprung and has brought with it rain, and lots of it! This is great news for Ducks and Kayakers alike! I shot out last week for a run on the Tuakopai River, in the Kamai Ranges in NZ’s North Island. This creek truly is a kayakers version of a skate park – awesome fun!

Ben: http://www.benbrown.co.nz

Icelandic Video Diary

Hi Guys,
I just uploaded a little video diary that I took during a month paddling in Iceland. A little insight into life on the road!
Cheers,
Ben: http://benbrown.co.nz

Iceland: Dream Result!

I have just returned from an awesome expedition in Iceland where we were filming for Rush Sturges and Tyler Bradts upcoming feature ‘Dream Result’. Along with Rush, Tyler and Patrick Camblin we headed to the Land of Fire and Ice in search of big waterfall adventures!

We spent three weeks circumnavigating the entire Island and found some amazing drops. As well as dropping a few of Iceland’s more postcard drops we also knocked of several sweet first descents.

Camping in Iceland during the summer months is always a challenge due to the 24 hour sunlight and the extremely changeable weather. Luckily for us Iceland has a constant stream of natural hotsprings offering welcome refuge to the weary kayaker! Luckily for me on the water I was wearing the Sidewinder Top and Pant Combo as well as the new SIS Immersion Suit which both performed exceedingly well keeping me warm and dry in all conditions.

This was one of the most enjoyable trips I have been on for a long time. The combination of an awesome crew, unique location and epic paddling made for a memorable adventure. We filmed a great segment for Dream Result and got a ton of amazing images so be sure to check back here and on www.benbrown.co.nz for more tales as well as a video blog from the adventure.