Back to back new runs!

- Our mess preparing for the missions ahead - Photo Josh Neilson

- Our base at Pat and Veroniques house on the Shipshaw - Photo Josh Neilson

So with some nice warm up runs under the belt it was back to the reason we are here! Finding new rivers. Last year we found a section of the Riviere du Portage that looked like it had potential but didnt not have the time to do it. This year we were about to go in when I spotted a higher volume run a bit further away that we decided to check out first and see what it was like. We arived at the forestry road that was our entry into the put-in and found in the middle of nowhere a gated community and surveillance everywhere. We were forced to abort and the next morning took a longer harder road up.

- Camp at Put-in of Petit Saguenay - Photo Tyler Fox

- Translation - Bridge Closed! - Yeah Right - Photo Lou Urwin

- Road works 101 - Snow shovel/paddle - photo Lou Urwin

We were almost there when we got shut down due to bad road and snow so we set camp and walked our kayaks in to the lake that was our put-in. At the lake we found out that we were one lake short of out intended put in but this was all good!

- Hiking our boats into Petit Saguenay - Photo Tyler Fox

- "I think we are at the wrong Lake"..."Yes we are" - Photo Lou Urwin

- Fishing for fish - Caught mostly weeds - Photo Tyler Fox

The rest of the day we set shuttle and did a spot of fishing with no success!
Early the next day we walked in and got started. The river was a bit different to what we expected but still had some sweet drops. Half way down we came into sight of the private land and while Tyler was out scouting a drop out of nowhere a big truck pulled up telling us we were not aloud there! with some broken French from our Irish translator we were let off and got into the best drops of the section.

- Sam Melting a big hole on the Petit Saguenay - Photo Tyler Fox

- Josh on the big one, melting the middle line - Photo Tyler Fox

- Sam running the boof line on the bigger one - photo Tyler Fox

Lou on the Bottom slide midway - photo Tyler Fox

After 18km of kayaking we were out to the main road and stoked to have run a nice section of whitewater. We didnt take many photos due to the length of the run and the unknown ahead.

- Josh on tight drop - Photo Lou Urwin

- Lou on the tight drop - Photo Tyler Fox

From here we boosted up and did shuttle and headed to a small town to re-fuel and headed into another forestry area. Heading up the road we were stopped by a gate which Lou lifted up and we thought we were away free till a drunk guy on a motor bike started chasing us! Once again Dave the french speaking Irish man got us away and even scored us a sweet topo map of the river. At camp we studied the Topo map and decided the next day was going to be a lot steeper than the Petit Saguenay!

- Tyler on the top drop of the Portage - Photo Lou Urwin

- Sam at the bottom with a dislocated shoulder! - Photo Tyler Fox

On the first main drop of the day Tyler and I ran ahead with sweet lines but then Sam hit a rock at the top, flipped into a slide ran that upside down then backwards and hit some rocks on the bottom section. At the bottom he was in a lot of pain and decided he would walk out and Blake went with him. Back at the car they got his gear off and realised his shoulder was dislocated so they rushed off to Hospital!

- Josh bottom slide - photo Tyler Fox

We carried on for a sweet day of steep gorges and nice drops. The 2 main big drops unfortunatly were un runnable but still some fun in there for sure!
At the bottom we loaded the car and headed back to Chicoutimi to check in to a hotel and get stuck into Lou's Birthday celebrations!! Needless to say the next day we did nothing!
A great few days with some good new drops!
Again photos were limited as we had 28km to cover! Check back soon as the next update is from our mission to Huit Chutes, Translation - 8 Waterfalls!!!!

Quebec Update 1

- Quebec Crew 2010 - Photo Tyler Fox

In a rather unfamiliar way my year started with 2 easy flights up to montreal with Lou with no lost baggage, missed flights or anything inconvenient! At the airport we were met by Blake and headed back to Ottawa for the night to rest then the next day drove a further 10 hrs up to Chicoutimi where the rest of the crew was based. With a day of driving/rest we were ready to get into it. First stop was the Middle Valin. This was a sweet pool drop section to get back into it with a good amount of water!

- Drop 1 in quebec on the middle Valin - Photo Tyler Fox

- Josh Neilson, Middle Valin - Photo Tyler Fox

- Lou Urwin, Middle Valin - Photo Tyler Fox

All warmed up we were set for a few months of kayaking ahead! Warmed up maybe but the weather still freezing! The next morning my kayaking gear was frozen solid!!!
With big plans for day 2 we set out to try run the upper Haha river. Almost at the take-out we were hit by a snow storm that continued all the way up to the put-in. By the time we were almost there the snow was a few feet deep and the truck was forced to turn around!

- Forced to turn around at Haha River - Photo Josh Neilson

back in town we ran a sweet creek called the Moulin that runs right into town.

- Poutine Stand - Chips, Cheese curd and Gravey!!! Savage - Photo Tyler Fox

Overnight Quebec decided that spring was over and summer was here. A beautuful day out on the Cyriac started our week of hot weather paddling and much higher spirits!

- Josh Neilson, Cyriac's finest drop! - Photo Tyler Fox

- Irish Dave on Cyriac's Finest - Photo Tyler Fox

Back at Pat Levesques house we were doing some recon on a first descent we looked at last year and with a bit of searching i spotted another creek near by! Check in to the next post for the back to back first descents of Riviere du Petit Saguenay and Riviere du Portage!

- Portage Quebec style - This is one of the easier ones! There are sooo many trees here!!- Photo Tyler Fox

Peace

Up Up and Away!

Alright people its that time again! First of all thanks to everyone who helped out over the past few months to get REALM out to the world! i has been a great film tour and am still stoked with the film!
Within the busyness of the film making I have managed to come up with a plan for the first part of the year! On the 6th may Lou and I head off to Quebec to meet up with the rest of the crew for a month of creeking up there before heading down to Colorado for the Vail Mtn Festival. Here we will party and paddle for a week then Lou and Tyler head back to canada and I swap cars and head for the sunny paradise of California! 2 months of creeking in Cali will end with a Middle Kings trip hopefully then im off to meet up with Ty and Lou and few others in Thailand for a month of new and old rivers there. September is where my plans end and ill play it by ear then. More countries, more rivers and a sweet trip with great mates once again! Check back soon as we start to update you on 2010! Cheers
Josh

The end of my years holidays! Bring on 2010

- Stitched photos of lake Taupo from where we had new years! - Photos Josh Neilson

So since Tree Trunk it was back to the Okawa bay for a few days then a sneaky Huka Falls run in before heading back to Hawkes Bay for Christmas in the sun with great food, drinks and family!

- Making a swing in the big tree for my mum - Photo Jenny Neilson

- New Years Day Dinner on the beach - Photo Josh Neilson

- Great way to see the 1st of Jan 2010 in! Taupo NZ - Photo Josh Neilson

After a few days it was time to get back out on the road looking for some more rivers to paddle! We headed back to central North for a few Kaituna runs and then Tyler and B hatched a plan to head south to the Mangawhero River which was said to be at a good flow to hit up some nice falls. With 2 cars loaded up we set off and about 3.5hrs later we made it only to find the gauge was far from correct and the river was a meer stream.

- Driving to the river - Photo Josh Neilson

- The Crew with the waterfall in the background...Low - Photo Josh Neilson

With closer inspection the main drop was definatly too low to run but we found a smaller one just up stream to hit up since we had driven so far. We all had sweet lines and B even stuck a sweet free wheel before Ryan took it to the next level and swam it.

- Brendan Bayly having a go - Photo Josh Neilson

-All the way from the building sites of OZ, Corey Kelly on the lip - Photo Josh Neilson

- The flying Fox - Photo Josh Neilson

- Ryan lucas forgets his kayaking gear but goes anyway - Photo Josh Neilson

After that we made our way home for some more laps on the Kaituna and then off to Taupo for New Year celebrations and a couple more Huka runs. Perfect weather meant lots of burnt bodies over the few days drinking and swimming in the lake!

- Breakfast banquet on the 2nd - Great times! - Photo Josh Neilson

Back in Okawa bay now finishing off some film stuff and then the reality of the much needed dolar sets in and its back to Hawkes Bay for me to get stuck into editing the film and back to earning for the next trip. We shal see how things go and keep coming back to see where 2010 takes me!
Cheers
josh

Back to Tree Trunk

-In the car park gearing up - Photo Josh Neilson

Almost 2 years to the day from my last mission to Tree Trunk I found myself standing on the bridge again scouting the lines! This time we had a team of 6 keen to fire it up! As this is such a sick place for footage and photos and a pretty difficult place to run safety we decided to split into two groups and 3 go first and the others runs saftey and media and then swap round.

-Setting up safety in the gorge - Photo Will Martin

Once we had scouted from every possible angle Brendan, Trent and I geared up and headed to the top. With the flows looking rather burely B and I opted for the seal launch entry while Trent ran the guts. Ask him about how this went down...!

-Trent Garnham firing up the crux - Photo Will Martin

-Brendan Bayly going first on the biggy - Photo Tyler Fox

At the top on the big one we circled round a few times before B rolled off the drop..... Boom....."yeaaaahhhooooo" (muffled by the sound of rushing water) and we guess he made it good!

-Trent following suit - Photo Tyler Fox

Next up was Trent... BOOM(even bigger sound)... and another cheer which signaled my time to roll of the sweetest lip into the canyon. about 30ft of freefall then a 10ft reconnection and into the pool!

-Josh Neilson rolling off the big one, with the coolest view! - Photo Will Martin

-Josh from above - Photo Tyler Fox

In the middle of it we re gathered and Safety and photos moved down to the next drop for us. As the light came out it lit up the last drop perfectly as B boofed off (if you want to see the shot of this you will have to ask Tyler really nicely or keep a look out in the Mags as it was the shot of the day!), Another cheer from below and Trent and I followed suit till we were making our way out of the slot canyon in one piece! Stoked to have made it through again!
-Josh getting air on the bottom drop of the gorge - Photo Tyler Fox


With a bit of bush bashing we made it back to the car to fire up the next group and get in place for safety and footage. Sophie opted to coordinate the safety side of things in the gorge and due to a recent broken back Ryan was behind the lens. Soph tied Ryan and I in and we hung off to gorge wall to get in position for shots while the others set up above. With a quick game of paper, scissors, rock deciding that Tyler would go first we gave the signal and he was off. In the same fashion as our run Tyler, Sanga and Wils all had sweet runs and made it out!

-Will taking the sickest line of the day - Photo Ryan Lucas

-Wils with a hole in the chin! The best type of battle scars! - Photo Josh Neilson

Unfortunalty somewhere in Wills perfect line off the big one he managed to connect with his paddle and come out with a hole in his chin!
So with everyone back in the carpark safe and excited we peered over the shots from the day and shared all the stories of epic landings and airborne time in the gorge. With the gear loaded ther was just one last thing to do... in true athlete form we headed to Turangi Burger King to re-fuel the bodies before we went our separate ways for a bit. I am back in the bay for a few days, B and Soph headed South for a few days and the rest of the crew headed back to Okawa Bay for some more Kaituna action. Cheers everyone for a super sick day! Keen to hit it up again next week!
Chur!

P.s Footage from this, Aratiatia and the rest of the world trip this year coming soon...

Uganda, Africa in less than a page!

Murchison Falls - Photo Josh Neilson

Alright so it has been a while since the last real post but the African internet speeds just were not inviting enough to slog over the computer in order to get the story out!
So now after spending 4 months living in Uganda on the banks of the White Nile i am back in New Zealand and enjoying the luxury of good food, fast internet and the joys of buying a car!
After being home a week I have sorted through hours of footage and photos to bring you a quick update from the past few months.
- View from my room, Uganda - Photo Josh Neilson

-In the local Jinja Market, Fishy - Photo Josh Neilson

-View from the deck - photo Josh Neilson

So it started off in usual NRE (Nile River Explorers, the raft base we lived at) fashion with a good welcome back party which would turn out to be the start to the down fall of my body! About 10 days later the mosquito that bit me on those early nights turned into yet another bout of Malaria! So for a few daysI spent my time in a fever, feeling sick, tired, bored etc, generally feeling like Shit. After that i decided to give up the preventative meds that have failed me a few times now and decided to take on the malaria mozzys head on with just my positive thinking! And it worked! No more malaria for the remaining 3 and a half months!

Me on Kalagala Falls - Photo Ben Jackson

-Ben filming and Berno running Kalagala Falls - Photo Josh Neilson

- Will freewheeling into Bujagali Falls - Photo Anna Bruno

Ben Jackson - Kalagala Falls - Photo Josh Neilson

Kirk Hollis, melting in! Photo Anna Bruno

Sam back on the water after many months recovery! Photo Anna Bruno

So with 4 months in Uganda and a very very low budget and a fast growing bar tab i decided to do a bit of rafting which was a great time! Good mates out on the river each day causing trouble and smashing the clients!
With Anton (who did the rafting videos) leaving and Davey (owns the video production company there) also going home for a month I took the job and spent the next month or so paddling every day, editing the film at night and selling the videos. Was a awesome experience for the editing and made a bit of coin to bring home!

-Our Safari Camp in the delta - photo Josh Neilson

-Sneaky Leopard in the trees - Photo Josh Neilson

- Wandering Giraffe - Photo Josh Neilson

Once that was all over I got into some of my own kayaking and filming which was good fun. Got all the necessary shots for the up coming film which was slightly last minute but all good! Ben Jackson came over from NZ for the last month and that was a blast! We went to the market and kitted our selves out in safari suits and headed to Murchison Falls National Park to check out the animals! Was the highlight of the trip with an abundance of Hippos, Elephants, Lions, Giraffes and even a sneaky Leopard in the trees!

-Morning elephant- Photo Josh Neilson

-Me standing by Murchison Falls - Photo Ben Jackson

- Filming with a boat boom, look carefully - Photo Anna Bruno

Once back from safari it was into the leaving Parties! Halloween was a crack up which lead into my birthday and then the next day was the makeshift Nile Festival where we loaded up the rafts and kayaks and headed out to the day 2 section of the Nile! What a memorable few days! Thanks to everyone who was there! definatly a highlight!
After that i just had a week left to paddle, rest and film the last things before i embarked on the 60hr journey back to NZ! Almost missed the first plane as the car broke down half way! Luckily i had a similar problem on my car 8 years ago and i knew how to fix it! hahaha!

Bujagali Falls, Where the lake from the dam will drown to! - Photo Anna Bruno

- Me at the Equator - Photo Liss Raymond

So now im back in NZ and its good to be home! Still got a few things to film before i can get into the edit for this years film but its underway! Hanging out to get over to the tuna to catch up with the crew there and go kayaking again!
There will be a few photos up on here as I find them from the last few months!
Sorry for the long delay in Updates and the briefness of this one! If ya wanna know more ill tell you when i see you!
Cheers
Josh