The Cover Shot - Wild #186

“THE NEXT RAPID IS GRADE 5 and we’ll need to portage,” our friend and guide, Barny Young, told us as we paddled downriver toward the thundering whitewater. “Just wait for the water to surge up, climb onto the rock, then throw your boat down the other side and jump on top before it floats away!” Barny grabbed my partner’s arm and hauled her onto the rock, boat and paddle in hand, before it could be sucked into the rapid.

Below this set of rapids, we found ourselves in the most beautiful, peaceful gorge either of us had ever seen (pictured on the cover). Electric-blue water coloured by rock dust from glacial melt flowed between tall schist walls. The gruelling walk in, the difficult portages and the risk were all worth it, and Barny and I swapped turns both in front of and behind our cameras, each eager to photograph the magic environment.

Read more about packrafting on the West Coast of NZ’s South Island in Neil Silverwood’s destination piece starting on P124 of Wild issue #186.

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