New Zealand chipped away at any ounce of hesitation that had previously kept me from having a go at whitewater kayaking, as I finally caved in, jumped in a boat and ran the rivers this weekend.

The underwater (yes, underwater) adventures commenced Friday morning with some quality water-up-the-nose time during a roll session at the pool in Dunedin. After some quality panicking and frustrating my instructor for an hour and a half, I walked away having rolled my boat twice...which was more than I had expected so I was quite satisfied. The battle wasn't nearly over, as unsettling fears lingered through the night until it was time to jump in the actual river...

We spent Saturday on the Matukituki river in Mt. Aspiring National Park. The water was super low (about two feet) so I pretty much got over the whole fear thing after clearing my head and thinking rationally about the situation.
My instructors were very talented, chill...and patient! I hadn't really understood the gist of whitewater kayaking but they were tolerant of my dumbfoundedness (word?). By the end of the day they had us floating down the river backwards to build "water confidence" (of which I'm still seeking more!)
Sunday was spent on the Clutha River...enter hesitation. This river was much wider and deeper, with heaps of boils. Not being a proficient paddler, the best I can describe boils are as bubbling pools of water that mess with the current and your boat in such a way that you tend to tip! And that we did...twice. The first time I panicked (stupidly...instead of carrying out the actions i had been taught) but by the second time around I remembered what I was supposed to do. Never tried my roll...we'll save that for a different trip.
All in all, I've come away with a very different understanding of kayaking than the previous images I had conjured up in my mind. Much of the time spent on the river is relaxing...floating down calm stretches and goofing around in eddies (calm sections of the river off to the side where the current is moving upstream). As for the rapids, lean forward and paddle like you've never paddled before. That's the basic concept so I'm told. You really have to maintain focus during the whitewater stretches, shrugging off any fears you might have. The river is certain to sense your hesitations and run with them, spitting you back out slightly less composed. But with a little determination, a mean face and some work on my paddling skills, I definitely see more fun times on the river to be had.