He who fights and runs away .....

.....
may live to fight another day.
Oliver Goldsmith

Ann (not her real name) & I pulled out of the river trip yesterday, after 2 dramatic days on a fast and swollen river. The 'expert' advice we were given, to launch at 127 cumecs, when the upper limit was 100, was unwise and the more fool us for going with it. The first day was horrendous, with 1m+ high standing waves in the rapids. 3 of us ended up in the water at the same time on the second day, with 2 needing serious assistance. Ann was sore & freaked by yesterday morning, so decided to pull out, and I decided I didn't want any more incidents and had had enough. No road access after yesterday either. So the 3 guys paddled on - as you can see in the image; they're paddling back down the Retaruke River, towards the Whanganui River.
We took solace in the fact that we'd done the 2 hardest sections!