Te Araroa - New Zealand

Nach de paar täg idr bay of islands, hani mi ufe wäg gmacht a River Safety kurs. Dä het idr Karangahake Gorge stattgfunde, idr nöchi vo Paeroa - öpe 2h fahrt südlich vo Auckland. Will mi vom kurs niemer het chöne mit abe nä, het mir dr Seán lieberwis abote mi abe zfahre - willer sowieso i die richtig het welle.

Das het eus nomol bitzli zit gä zum d gegend rund um d Firth of Thames und d Coromandel Halbinsle go uskundschafte ufem wäg. Mir hei e spaziergang zu dr cathedral cove gmacht und in Thames glernt, dass dr Captain Cook die stadt so gnennt het will dr fluss ihn ad Thames in ängland erinneret het.

Denn het dr Seán mi in Paeroa abglade. Das isch übrigens d heimat vom neuseeländische getränk Lemon&Paeroa - es het au e riisigi statue vonere L&P fläsche.

Idr Karangahake schlucht het denn dr River Safety kurs stattgfunde. D schlucht hetmi bitz a zältplatz am Doubs erinneret. Wäge däm hetsmer denn au bitz weniger angst gmacht zum mitem ganze gepäck drin go bade. Am morge heimer e theorie teil gha zum lerne was d risike vo flussdurchquerige si und öb, wenn und wie me fluss durchquert und wieme verhinderet dasme durch das erfriert. Am nomitag simer denn mitem gepäck i fluss und hei dr fluss uf die verschidene arte durchquert und hei eus bitz lo abetriibe zum lerne wieme widr usechäm wenn me s glichgwicht verliert.

Die wichtigste sache woni glernt ha:
- me mues e fluss nid durchquere. Wenn sichs nid sicher afühlt, denn besser warte, e andere ort finde oder umkehre - au wenn s ziil vo dr etappe grad uf dr andere site isch
- dr rucksack schwümmt und isch bitz wie e wickelfisch - i mues eifach no e paar drybags chaufe, d sache wärde nass
- die neuseeländische wanderwäg hei so vill flussdurchquerige wills no es jungs wanderland isch im vrglich zu europa
- dr grund werum lüt vertrinke, isch will si usrütsche und is wasser gheie
- wenn me irgendwenn ine wasserfall grotet, söllme rückwärts mitem chopf/rucksack vora go - dasme nid d bei bricht... hoffentlich passiert das nie!!
- me söll nie über stei gumpe zum e fluss durchquere. Au wenn denn d schue die nöchste täg nass si.
- die 4 froge wome sich mues stelle: 1. Muesme dr fluss durchquere? 2. Ischs sicher zumene durchquere? 3. Wo isch e guete ort zum durchquere? 4. Uf weli art durchquere (elei mit de wanderstöck oder als gruppe mit inenand ihäncke)
- die verschidene strömige wo hindernis im wasser mache und wases bedütet zum durelaufe
- usefinde was e guete ort isch zum durchquere - me cha stäcke und stei schiesse zum d gschwindigkeit und d tiefi vomene fluss z erkenne

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After spending a few days in the Bay of Islands, I headed off to a River Safety course. It took place in the Karangahake Gorge, near Paeroa — about a two-hour drive south of Auckland. Since no one from the course was able to pick me up, Seán kindly offered to drive me down, as he was planning to go in that direction anyway.

That gave us a bit of extra time to explore the area around the Firth of Thames and the Coromandel Peninsula along the way. We did a short walk to Cathedral Cove, and in the town of Thames we learned that Captain Cook named it because the river reminded him of the Thames back in England.

Seán dropped me off in Paeroa. It’s actually the home of the New Zealand drink Lemon & Paeroa — and there’s a massive statue of an L&P bottle in town.

The River Safety course took place in the Karangahake Gorge. The gorge reminded me a bit of the campground at the Doubs, which made the idea of getting into the water with all my gear slightly less intimidating. In the morning, we had a theory session covering the risks of river crossings, when and if you should cross, how to do it safely, and how to avoid hypothermia. In the afternoon, we went into the river with our full packs and practiced crossing it in different ways. We also let ourselves get carried a short distance downstream to learn how to regain our balance and get back to safety if we lose our footing.

The main things I learned:

You don’t have to cross a river. If it doesn’t feel safe, wait, find another spot, or turn back — even if the end of the section is right on the other side.

Your backpack floats and behaves a bit like a drybag — I just need to buy a few more drybags inside it, because things will get wet.

New Zealand trails have so many river crossings simply because it’s still a young tramping nation compared to Europe.

The main reason people drown is because they slip and fall into the water.

If you ever get pushed toward a waterfall, go backwards with your head/backpack first — to avoid breaking your legs… hopefully that never happens!

Never jump from rock to rock to cross a river. Even if it means your shoes will be wet for the next few days.

The four questions you should always ask yourself:

Do I need to cross the river?

Is it safe to cross here?

Where is the safest spot to cross?

How should I cross — alone with trekking poles or as a group linked together?

Different types of currents created by obstacles in the water and what they mean when you’re moving through them.

How to identify a good crossing point — you can throw sticks or stones into the water to get a sense of the river’s speed and depth.Weiterlesen