From L to R Jared Meehan, Ben Brown, Rafa Ortiz and Rush Sturges somewhere in the South Island.

We spent a couple of weeks in the creeking paradise of Hokitika on the West Coast of the South Island using the traditional kiwi shuttle vehicle of the helicopter to access the remote creeks on offer here

The team loading the Heli to fly into the 2 day Mungo Hokitika River. A highlight of the trip.

Flying into the Kokatahi River

Putting the Atom Top and AMP PFD through its paces.

Dropping into another dark and ominous gorge on the West Coast

Committing but breathtakingly beautiful. The Mungo/Hokitika River is as good as it gets for multi day paddling in NZ.

The infamous 'Carnage Gorge' on the Kokatahi River.

Exiting 'The Gates of Argonath' at the conclusion of the Hokitika River

The creeking on the West Coast exceeded our very high expectations and some of the footage we got was incredible. The Atom Drytop along with the Sidewinder Pant combo performed amazingly well keeping me dry and comfortable yet remaining comfortable during some of the very arduous portages and hike-ins that we subjected ourselves to. The Mungo/Hokitika two day trip was a highlight of our time on the Coast and I was very impressed by both the weight and functionality of the Palm waterproof storage bags I used.

Before long a low pressure system from the deep south slammed into the Coast sending all the levels sky high and grounding the helicopters. We teamed up with a few of the local chargers and sampled several of the amazing flood runs the Coast also offers.

Hunting the Flow after some heavy rain on the West Coast

Lemming style flood boating on one of the local boys secret gems...

We then headed further south to explore some of South Otagos high volume runs. Fortunately for us the rain followed and we had a rare summer descent of the Nevis River, easily one of the finest hard runs in the country, before spending a few days on the classic big water test piece – Nevis Bluff.

The final move in 'Freight Train', my favorite rapid on the Nevis River

Getting a unique Heli filming angle of Nevis Bluff

Pretty stoked at the bottom of Nevis Bluff!

After over a month in the South Island we spent our last week on the Central Plateau of the North Island where we discovered a couple of rarely run waterfalls which  was a great bonus in country not renowned for its tall drops.

Finding a hidden waterfall in the North Island was an awesome treat.

The Flow Hunters trip was an amazing adventure that I was sad to come to the end of. I got explore my home country with a group of amazing paddlers and friends and we had a trip that I will remember for a long time. The footage will feature in a TV show scheduled for a June release but until then you will have to settle for the teaser below. The edit has been a huge task but taking the time to sift through the huge amount of footage has reaffirmed to me what a great journey it was and what an incredible kayaking destination NZ is. Get down here soon!

Thanks guys,

Ben - https://www.facebook.com/BenBrownProKayaker