Anyone who has completed a ‘mission’ based around adventure and mother nature will know it is always far from easy, far from predictable and not really in your total control – hence it being a mission. We had to time our run based on a few factors like transport and evacuation by jet boat and helicopter. And, we had to all have the time off work and away from our families to make it happen. Finally, Mother Nature had to behave with enough water in the river – but not too much.
After a year of planning we were finally packing cars and getting set to leave. We had Jerry flying in from Auckland, Nathan driving back from Christchurch and the rest of us – Dave, Jt, Jerry and myself, dropping everything to disappear into the unknown. This part of New Zealand, and the world, is truly so remote and so untracked that you could vanish very easily – if you wanted too! We were driving in pitch blackness with driving rain and the temperature dropping rapidly. Oh and we were all well aware of the weather forecast: 100 km p/h winds and rain, like real heavy wash-you-away rain. We were still going with all of us positively saying how often weather forecasts are wrong. We all had an array of water sport ability and various skills that may, or may not, come in handy. Although Dave’s exact skills, being a playboy investor, were a little unclear? We drove from Queenstown towards Milford Sound, stopping twice on the way; once for Nathan to be pulled over and breathalysed by a lone police car in the middle of nowhere and the second for some greasy Chinese food. Our final destination was down a dark, windy, gravel road to the dead end of Gunns camp. If a three headed man had popped out and asked us if we wanted a shot of absinthe it would not have seemed odd at all, classic Kiwiana (New Zealand culture) at its best. We had booked, strangely via satellite internet, a small hut to sleep six. Despite torrential rain – yup it was really wet – the fire was roaring and the room was warm and we all unpacked and slid into sleeping bags. That was mistake number one: we should have checked gear. ALWAYS check gear well before you need it. We woke and what a surprise, it was still raining, just heavier than before. But we were fizzing and the damp outlook did not harsh our buzz. At times like this I always laugh as each individual has their own way of showing their excitement and also their skills, or lack of, in preparing.
We were all running around in circles and the chaos flowed, until our mistake of the night before was revealed.
