About Us

I came to whitewater through AUCC. Although I’m Auckland based now, I grew up in Christchurch so home is down south, on the better island. I rapidly switched from “Sorry I can’t kayak, I’ve got work” to “Sorry I can’t work, I’ve got kayaking” and haven’t looked back since. I’m keen to see more diversity in people on whitewater, particularly encouraging women to participate and grow within the sport. Outside of kayaking I work at AUT University encouraging students to find whatever the equivalent to kayaking for me, is for them. My strengths are in digital marketing and communications, so I am focused on continuing the work of WWNZ developing our digital presence and communities. Publicising the challenges, celebrating the wins, and most importantly encouraging people to get involved with whitewater!

I started my kayaking life as a slalom grom under the watchful eye of Gordon Rayner in Alexandra as part of the Central Otago Whitewater club, this led into a lot of river paddling through high school and then later university and beyond. As well as the slalom and whitewater I have done a lot of multisport and down river kayaking. My day job is on the road as a Business Development Manager, but i spend all my time thinking about kayaking!

I grew up kayaking as a child in Wales and am now in my 30th year of kayaking! I've kayaked all over the world and seen how life in and around the river differs to different people . I moved to New Zealand in 2015 and after 3 years on the North Island I've settled in Christchurch where I'm now introducing my two boys to the sport. Coming from a country where access rights to rivers is a hot issue and a legal grey area, I'm passionate about ensuring access rights to all river users.

My motivation for joining the board of Whitewater NZ is to help protect the immense value of Aotearoa's rivers for our country, and to promote the voice of the whitewater community which often does not get the recognition it deserves. . Currently based in Whakatū (Nelson), I've been lucky enough to work and play in the whitewater scene for the last 15 years, mostly in a whitewater kayak or raft, but more recently in a pack raft and even a multi-sport boat. The whitewater whanau is a small group but it has a mighty spirit. I look forward to serving on the board of this valuable organisation.

Whitewater has rapidly gone from a recreation to addiction for me. Cutting my teeth at the Otago University Canoe Club, I spend every chance I get to paddle both here and overseas until more recently moving to Livingstone in Zambia for a season on the Zambezi. It was heartbreaking to be kayaking a world class river and know that destruction of that section is impending. As a Central Otago local I came home to a hub of stunning, and wild rivers, but where the damage has already been done. I am hugely passionate for river protection and am excited to funnel that into the great work Whitewater NZ does. My day job is something between law and data science, but I spend most of that time thinking about paddling!

I’ve spent the past 20+ years enjoying paddling around the world — River conservation, access and ensuring our rivers are clean and runnable for the next generation is hugely important to me. I’ve been fortunate enough to travel with my kayak a lot and seen the effects of major dam projects around the world, drowning the most amazing of rivers. I’m excited to be asked to jump on the WW Board. Outside of the river I sit on the Rotorua Athlete Development Trust, and the NZ Antarctic Heritage Trust board as a governance intern, do ambassador work for NZOC & Sport NZ, coach canoe slalom and shoot film and photography content for brands.

I started paddling at my uni club in the US and was immediately drawn to the amazing whitewater community. Though I was scared out of my mind for the first couple years I spent paddling, I forced myself to continue so that I could keep hanging out with the people! I first came to New Zealand on exchange and swiftly enmeshed myself into the UCCC where I fell in love with Aotearoa’s clear blue rivers. After a brief stint back in the US, I came back to New Zealand in 2019 and have called it home ever since. I’ve overcome my overwhelming fear of whitewater too, with kayaking taking me on some fantastic adventures around the world and introducing me to my closest, lifelong friends. For the last few years, I’ve been co-organising Waip Out, an annual race and festival on the Waipori River down in Dunedin, and it has been fantastic to see the event grow bigger over the years. A goal of mine is to encourage more women to give racing a go, and particularly to see greater representation at the Grade 4+ races around the country. These days I’m based in Wellington where I work as a geospatial specialist. As a WWNZ board member, I’d love to help the organisation take advantage of modern GIS/mapping tools to share stories and spread awareness about the awa.

Whitewater kayaking became an obsession pretty quickly after getting my start with the University of Canterbury Canoe Club with the weekly program becoming smash uni work, get after it, and repeat. Since then, I’ve had the pleasure of paddling plenty of gems around the South Island with the awesome community that makes the sport so special. I’ve found a huge passion for getting people into whitewater and experiencing them progress as many did for me, and for protecting our stunning wild rivers - especially those on the West Coast. Growing up near the tron means family visits double as an excuse for summer Kaituna and Wairoa laps. When I’m not on the awa or in the outdoors, I’m usually found in the lab pretending to be an organic chemist, but mostly just daydreaming or yarning about kayaking...

My name is Max and I am the Whitewater NZ ambassador for the Otago/Southland region. I am 24 years old and work as a civil engineer in Queenstown. I grew up in Alexandra where I learned to paddle with my family and the Central Otago whitewater club. I have since travelled overseas in pursuit of whitewater, forming close friendships and developing a passion for river conservation along the way. My priorities in this role are river protection, access, and supporting WWNZ members in the Otago/Southland region. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or issues regarding Otago/Southland.

RUDDERS “The man”. Simon is our Nelson/ Marlborough ambassador and it’s fair to say there is a lot of love for this guy. “I started kayaking when I realised I needed another pursuit that wasn't based around man on man contact (rugby). I can remember well struggling to negotiate the eddyline at one of the outflows into the estuary in Christchurch. That was more than 15 years ago now. Kayaking has taken me on a journey that has humbled and pushed me beyond my wildest imagination. It still continues to do so. From the community that it introduced me to, to the wild places it has taken me. I have now retired to the Marlborough region now, where Sauvignon blanc runs from the kitchen taps and the summer sunshine bakes the grass brown. Come find me I am always keen to paddle and tell lies.

I started paddling when I joined Auckland University Canoe Club back in 2013 and heavily involved in the organisation and operation of the club ever since. Auckland has a very large and active whitewater community with AUCC and also Manukau Canoe Club running events and trips throughout the year. I interact with most paddlers in Auckland through those trips helping out as an instructor, or at the Vector Wero whitewater park paddling with people from AUCC and MCC. I also go out paddling at every opportunity possible often down at the Kaituna and Wairoa with many people from Auckland and other regions.

Most people call me Rob, I have been kayaking almost non stop for the better part of a decade. I am originally from South Canterbury where I studied outdoor education at Aoraki. I became hooked on kayaking after some mates dragged me out for a three day kayak trip in my second year. Since then I moved to Okere Falls for the dream of consistent whitewater but here I also found a fantastic community that welcomed me in. I have been on whitewater journeys all over the world but I am always drawn back to the beautiful rivers and people of New Zealand. You will most likely find me flapping around upside down somewhere down the Kaituna.

Soph ‘Steezy Mum’ Mulder our Buller Regional Ambassador. “My background is mainly in white water kayak instruction with some dabbling in raft guiding, adventure boating and racing. I’ve been based at the NZ Kayak School in Murchison for the last 10 years and now call Murchison home. My favourite thing about living in Murchison is all the readily available runs you can do right on the doorstep, I also love how paddlers flock to Murchison at certain times of the year which makes catching up with friends for a paddle nice and easy!”

Barnaby ’The Blessing’ Young. @barnyyoung is our West Coast Ambassador. You usually hear this man before you see him but he is passionate about kayaking and protecting the beautiful rivers on the Best Coast where he resides. “I’m based in the spectacular town of Franz Josef on the West Coast of NZ. I have been lucky enough to paddle and explore many places around the world, but one thing that makes the West Coast stand out for me is how we are actually able to drink many of the rivers we paddle on. I love kayaking because it gives me the opportunity to explore untouched and spectacular places that very few others are able to reach”.

“Kia ora koutou. My name is Luke Kirner and I am the WWNZ representative for the winterless north. I grew up in Golden Bay and went on to study Whitewater (and did some outdoor degree thing) at CPIT (now ARA) in Christchurch. I have had stints of pushing my personal limits in a boat (highlights being the Upper Perth and Tutoko in big flood), instructing around Canterbury / Murch / Nelson and even safety kayaked on the Mae Taeng in Thailand and the Tulley in Australia. After teaching OED for a few years, I now teach an outdoor based wellbeing course at Huanui College in Whangarei. I also run Safe Outdoors NZ Ltd which focuses primarily on getting kids outdoors via school holiday programmes and a Nature School (called Nature’sCool). www.safeoutdoors.co.nz. The Northland Whitewater scene is a (very) slowly evolving machine. There are some super fun / classic and challenging (unrun) sections up here, as well as some quality park and hucks, but getting the combination of the right people and enough rain is nearly always tricky. There is a very small handful of paddlers up here of varying abilities and every so often a team will rally up from down the line to tick off what’s in the guide book. Our biggest concern up here is without a doubt water quality. With a huge amount of dairy farms bordering our waterways, it is inevitable that most rivers will have some level of contamination despite the best efforts of many conscientious farmers upstream. Other water quality concerns centre around the vast pine plantations and even runoff from quarries. An example of this is our local Ngunguru River, a classic grade 4 / 4+ that has all of these issues and a dying pipi bed in the estuary as a result. If you are coming up for a paddle, I welcome you to get in touch (best via Northland WW kayak facebook page) for my take on what’s hot”.

“I grew up in North Canterbury and learned to kayak on the Hurunui River. Paddling became life for me when I founded Canterbury Kayaking in 2012. I now spend the majority of my summers on the Hurunui & Waimakariri Rivers helping novice paddlers prepare for the Coast to Coast Race. I believe our Canterbury rivers have something really unique to offer, and it's an honour to introduce so many people to these special places”.

I remember talking to a guy in Hawaii about kayaking off Huka Falls, at the time that sounded like fun, I'd never been in a kayak before. This seeded a journey with the UCCC for a number of years learning in the cold rivers of Canterbury and later west coast/ Murchison. All this time I found a great connection and love for the environment and how valuable it is for our species to play and not exploit. I am currently working with a variety of organisations helping transition our Taranaki community and economy to a sustainable one in a fair and just way.