w w w . k a y a k n z . c o . n zP A G E 6 I s s u e 7 6 S u m m e r 2 0 1 5

Paddling on the Equator by Nathan Fa’avae

Ecuador is a unique country with it’s hugely diverse zones, the tropical coast, rain and cloud forest, Amazonian jungle and the massive Andean Range. Flowing from both sides of the Andes are scores of rivers that flow their way through spectacular gorges, canyons, valleys and jungles creating limitless breathtaking world class whitewater.

Ecuador centrally located on the globe, holds the headwaters of the Amazon River, as a result the country has one of the highest concentrations of rivers per square mile in the world. Add to this, warm tropical waters, year-roundflows,excellentaccessibilityandanopportunitytopaddleinthe Amazon jungle, and you have something exceptionally unique. Tena, the capital of the Napo Province, is a city in the Amazon rainforest. Known as the “cinnamon capital" of Ecuador, it is also getting a reputation as the “kayaking capital of Latin America”.

While travelling Ecuador for two months between October and December I couldn’t not go to Tena.

I wanted to do some kayaking and a rafting trip with my family. We read upontheriversavailable,andtherearealotofthem,finallyselectingtheJatunyacu River (meaning “big water” in Kichwa).

We contacted a highly recommended rafting company ‘River People’ andsetupatwodayvoyage,withchildrenaged8,10and11,theywerehappy to run a private trip with us, and kindly put a safety kayaker on the water also. All up there were eight of us on our mini rafting expedition, including the guide and gear oar raft.

Leaving the city of Tena it is incredible how quickly you are in the wilderness of the jungle, which is largely protected by a number of large national parks in the area.

When we got to the put in I was surprised to see how big the river was, it was full of big waves and pools. Listed as a grade three trip, I suspected there would be a couple of grade three rapids but mainly grade two. I asked our guide Alex how many grade three rapids there were, he said he didn’t know for sure but guessed about 20. I did wonder at that moment if we had chosen the most suitable trip, would it be too full on for the kids to enjoy it? But how many times in your life do you get to paddle a tributary to the Amazon?

The river had extra significance forme as the headwaters of theJatunyacu are found on the Cotopaxi volcano which I had climbed a few weeks earlier.

Normally a 27 km river run, our trip was 40 km in total as the guides offered to raft us back to our lodge further downstream, a real bonus for us.

The river was topped up from previous night’s rain, making it good for rafting but it limited how far we could go up a canyoning side trip on the firstday.Theraftingthoughwasexcellentandtheextraflowspeedwashelpful given we had three children on board.

After an action packed morning of negotiating some large powerful rapids, which thankfully were mainly pressure waves and not nasty recirculating holes, we enjoyed a replenishing lunch on the river bank. Duetotheriverspeedandalsoourcanyoningtripbeingfloodedout,wearrived at camp early and spent the afternoon relaxing on a glorious river

I s s u e 7 6 S u m m e r 2 0 1 5 P A G E 7w w w . k a y a k n z . c o . n z

w w w . k a y a k n z . c o . n zP A G E 8 I s s u e 7 6 S u m m e r 2 0 1 5

beach, swimming and soaking up the sun. Amazon evenings are special andabonfireonthebeachenhancedtheexperience.

I love going to sleep in the tropics, the warmth, scents and the cacophony of insect and bird life blended with the river ambiance produces a rich atmosphere. The guide kindly warned us that snakes and scorpions were often spotted around the camp.

Before we boarded the rafts for our second day, a visit to the local village was a worthy excursion. At a Cocao plantation, where they also make chocolate, we spent an hour with the kids making chocolate and thenhotchocolate,servedwithbananasroastedonthefire:wehadthe

I s s u e 7 6 S u m m e r 2 0 1 5 P A G E 9w w w . k a y a k n z . c o . n z

For all the kayak specs. and stockists, visit www.q-kayaks.co.nz or phone 06 326 8667

Skua - Top selling Sea Kayak in New Zealand - Circumnavigation of the North, South and

Stewart Island.

Skua

Tui Excel

Penguin

Shearwater

A versatile, go anywhere kayak

A tried and true winner that delivers affordable excellence

A proven design that just got better

Southern Endeavour A double that will go anywhere in

most conditions

An exceptional performance sea kayak

QK Sit in - Skua v2.indd 1 3/12/2014 11:03:14 a.m.

sustenancetotackletheawaitingrapids.Wedidfindastowawayscorpionon the raft as we were departing.

With three adults and three children on the raft it was really exciting and engaging making our way safely downstream. Our guide took conservative lines but still ensured the kids got splashed and tossed about, we all knew flipping inabigholewasnotgoing tobepretty,save that for the thrillseeking backpackers.

The morning was continuous rapids so we were kept busy with paddling commands, all forward, all back, left back, right back, all down and hold on!

The afternoon was more sedate, we drifted, chatted and looked around us, “Wow, we’re in the Amazon” . It is an astounding place to be, very distinctive.

Inside the Amazon is a boat load of world records. Spanning 6.7 million

w w w . k a y a k n z . c o . n zP A G E 1 0 I s s u e 7 6 S u m m e r 2 0 1 5

A Comfortable Entry Level Sea KayakTwo Large Storage Compartments• Two Large Hatches• Comfortable Foam Padded Seat• Easy to use Rudder System• Stable and Comfortable to Paddle• New Zealand Made with Top Quality UV Stabilized Plastic• Orange Fade - A Stunning, Safe Colour• Two Year Warranty• Exclusive to Canoe & Kayak•

All this at an affordable price

Matariki v5.indd 1 20/01/2014 11:29:57 a.m.

km2 (twice the size of India) the Amazon Biome is virtually unrivalled in scale, complexity and opportunity, and truly is a region distinguished by superlatives. Not only does the Amazon encompass the single largest remaining tropical rainforest in the world, it also houses at least 10% of the world’s known biodiversity, including endemic and endangered floraandfauna,anditsriveraccountsfor16%oftheworld’stotalriverdischarge into the oceans. You can feel it as you paddle along, you’re insidesomethingverybig.TheAmazonRiverflowsformorethan6,600km, and with its hundreds of tributaries and streams contains the largest numberoffreshwaterfishspeciesintheworld.Italsohasahugeamountof natural and cultural diversity. Equally impressive are the unfathomable numbers of mammals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles found across the biome. The Amazon is home to more than 30 million people living across a vast area.

While we were only on the river for two days, aptly to the nature of jungle, it was a heartfelt journey. The only way it could have been better was more of it, we easily could have lived that expedition rafting life for a few more days.

For more information contact:

www.kayak-ecuador.com

Hot Tip: Candiru Fish. This nasty creature, also called the toothpick fish,hasbeen reported toswimup theurogenital tractofbathersandlodges itself therein. Removal by surgery is the only treatment. In nature, thepencil-shapedfishparasitisethewasteductsofaquaticanimals,andapparentlyfindshumanorificesirresistible.