Ben Brown
Name: Ben Brown
Hometown: Hamilton, New Zealand
Where did you last paddle? Kaituna River, Rotorua, New Zealand
Where will your next big boating mission take you?
West Coast of the South Island, NZ. Home to some of the most challenging and most beautiful steep creeking and technical river running on the planet. Following that a month long expedition into Papua, Southern Indonesia.
Do you have a favourite spot/drop/rapid/move?
Favorite spot would probably be the High Sierra’s in California. Epic multi day expedition paddling, beautiful weather, breathtaking landscape and an endless supply of world class whitewater. Drop – so many to choose from…. Cherry Bomb Falls on Upper Cherry Creek, California. Aldeyarfoss in Iceland – terrifying, awe inspiring, immensely powerful… Terminator 2 on the Mangawhio River in NZ… The list goes on! Rapid – hard to beat the minus rapids on the Zambezi, hard, big water rapids all beneath the Victoria Falls – would be a very magical place if I wasn’t so scared every time I paddled them! Move… Well I’m not really up to speed with the freestyle kids these days but I still really enjoy throwing a big clean helix. I was there the first day it was thrown and I never thought anyone else would be able to do it!!!!
What paddling trip should everybody make at least once?
I would say the Zambezi… For the whitewater, the location, and the experience. Africa is a magical place, it is hard, rough, but yields so much adventure in return. In terms of out and out river running, it is hard to go past the Zambezi. Huge rapids, warm water, so many different lines on each rapid. You can challenge yourself every day if you feel like it – the ultimate paddlers training ground.
What advice do you have for anybody wanting to take their paddling to the next level?
Paddle as much as you can – when you’re not paddling, think about paddling. Every time you look at a rapid or drop picture yourself running it – even if you have no intention of paddling it. Push yourself to run new lines on rivers you know well. Never accept just getting down a rapid, be hard on yourself, make sure you feel as in control as possible and hit the lines you want – it may look like you made it down a rapid ok but only you know if you really stuck it. Never run a hard drop if you can’t visualise yourself nailing it first. Never be afraid to portage. Learn swift water rescue techniques. Always carry safety gear. Trust your gut instinct. Remember, there are no heroes on the river, all that really counts is that everyone makes it to the bottom.
httpv://www.youtube.com/user/palmequipment#p/a/f/0/kPU-iSKOhNo
Who are your paddling heroes?
Steve Fisher: for his inspiration, friendship and advice on many paddling trips around the world and for the way he has pushed the level of kayaking forward. Lars Hollbeck: He pioneered almost all of the classic high sierra runs and documented them along the way, all from the cockpit of a 13 foot boat! In a lot of ways the god father of steep creeking. Mikey Abbott, Allan Ellard: Two of the nicest guys you will ever meet and not to mention two of the most gifted expedition paddlers ever to have lived. Mikey and Allan have pioneered rivers all over the globe in some of the most remote locations on earth. Johnny and Willy Kern: I grew up watching them and the rest of the driftwood crew on the Liquid Lifestyles video. Through their paddling exploits my eyes were opened to what was possible in a kayak. Donald Johnstone: NZ’s greatest ever kayaker. For as long as I can remember DJ has been kayaking at a level few of us will ever attain, whether it’s on a slalom course, a grade 5 creek or big water hair boating. Mick Hopkinson: One of the pioneers of expedition kayaking and still pushing himself down grade 5 rivers today at the age of 61!. And anyone else that seeks out their adventure in a kayak – whether it be paddling a grade 2 rapid for the first time or plugging a 186 foot waterfall. The shared joy of paddling and the river is what makes kayaking great.
All time favourite piece of Palm kit?
For me it would have to be the combo of the Mango Sidewinder Dry Top and the Mango Axis Extrem Vest, that kit has been with me all over the world in almost every river environment imaginable and has never let me down. I’ve just used the new Amp vest for the first time and I can see that becoming a favorite too…
Favourite type of Pie? Beef, Bacon and Cheese from the Okere Falls Store.
