We had a great group of five for a Sunday morning beginners packraft paddle. The river had a great flow at 17 cubic metres, but the water was pretty cold! After a fairly smooth car shuttle ride, we had a briefing at the confluence of the Akatarawa and Upper Hutt Rivers and then jumped in.
The ~4km stretch of river down to just before the Totara Park bridge is a perfect beginners run – with a variety of rapids interspersed with more relaxed sections. We had a great time practicing our eddy hopping, ferry gliding and surfing. We also practiced some self-rescues, and some planned and unplanned swimmer rescue situations!