2-day Coast to Coast River Preparation Course
- In stock, ready to ship
- Inventory on the way
Book now pay later? Use the code TSKBOOKNOW to secure your space with a 30% no-refundable deposit. We will be in touch to organise final payment or payments at a later date.
Overview:
If you are travelling from overseas or another part of New Zealand and new to the Waimakariri River then this course is the best option for you.
This two-day course is the perfect couple of days to familiarise yourself with the river and the famous Coast to Coast race course. Let our instructor’s help you fine tune your river paddling skills with a full day of instruction on the Woodstock section of the river on day one and then paddle the famous Gorge section of the river on day two. If you are anxious about the paddling section of the race then these two days will go a long way to easing your nerves. We cannot recommend this course enough. For many of our previous competitors this has been the difference between finishing the race and not.
Download everything you need to know here!
Please think carefully before booking. If you are very new to kayaking, you must do the full 4-day course.
Course Details
Return transport from Christchurch is provided each day.
Day One
Welcome to the Waimakariri River. For some of you this may be your first opportunity to paddle a long NZ style multisport kayak on a braided river. Today will be all about familiarising yourself with your kayak and our river. We will be paddling at the Gorge Bridge, which is the finish of the Coast to Coast paddle section. Our instructors will be focused on teaching you the basic skills you need to navigate the river safely. We will be helping you to improve your forward paddling, boat placement and river reading skills. We will be teaching you how to set your boat up for bluffs, wave trains and helping you to gain further control of your boat on the river. We will be taking you through a series of drills and techniques to help improve these areas. You can expect to see some whiteboard theory and some video analysis too if we have time.
Day Two
Day two is a trip down the Waimakariri Gorge to Woodstock. This is a 55km paddle and will be approximately 5 to 6 hours of paddling. By the end
of today you will have paddled the full 69km paddle section of the Coast to Coast over the two days and gain some invaluable skills and confidence along the way. This section today includes the famous Rock Gardens and the Gorge. Our instructors know this river better than anyone and will be guiding you safely down the river. They will help you identify effective lines for race lines and important landmarks and features along the way.
What's the Topsport difference?
- Weather permitted this course covers the full Coast to Coast 70km river section split into multiple days
- Complete the course in your own multisport kayak or hire one of ours if you are travelling
- Our team are unrivalled when it comes to Coast to Coast experience, instructing, racing and success!
- NZOIA qualified and experienced instructors
This 2-day Grade II Express Course has got everything you want and nothing you don’t. These 2 days are ideally suited to two types of paddlers, those looking to refresh their skills and regain their Grade II Certificate or those few paddlers who have a sound kayaking background with good paddling skills and just want to get straight into the fun stuff on the river. The first session of this course is a moving water session at the Gorge Bridge on the Waimakariri so it is a must that anyone wanting to get on the Waimakariri Express has previous paddling experience and confident in their multisport boat.
We will cover the following skills throughout the program:
- Boat & Paddle setup
- Gear & Equipment
- Sweep Strokes
- Edging
- Ferry Glides
- Rapid and Bluff Running
- Picking Braids
- Identifying River Features and Hazards
- Swimming Skills
- Self Rescues & Throw-bagging
- Interpreting Weather & River Flow Data
Kayak Hire
Hiring a boat is a great way to try a good multi-sport kayak without the investment just yet.
Click here to hire a kayak for your course.
Travelling Athlete Info
If you are travelling from outside of Christchurch to spend some time with us on the river or over the mountain here is some information to help plan you trip.
Requirements
These requirements are in place for your safety and to ensure we can fit you in one of our boats (if required)
- You MUST be able to swim
- Weigh less than 110kg
- Be shorter than 6'4.
- Reasonable fitness/strength to paddle throughout the course
Please contact us to discuss options if you don’t the fit these requirements.
Topsport Kayaking Cancellation Policy
Terms and Conditions
Topsport Kayaking’s cancellation policy allows clients to reschedule or cancel their booked course or guided trip provided enough notice is given. This policy ensures our small local business can continue to operate if someone cancels their space at short notice.
COVID 19 – Our standard cancelation policy applies.
Cancelling a booking
If for any reason (this includes illness, COVID, travel delays and injuries) you need to cancel your kayak course, gorge trip or mountain run, you will receive a refund minus our cancelation fee. This is provided you contact us at least 21 full days before your booking. We are a very small business and cannot afford to operate our business without the policy. If you cancel outside this period full payment is still required.
We have a lot of cancelations due to sickness and injury. Whilst we are always sorry to hear of an injury or illness, both are a common reality in multisport. Our business is unable to cover the cost of a missed course or trip when an injury or illness has prevented someone from cancelling within our cancelation period. This is a common occurrence for us, therefore full payment is still required. You can transfer your space to another person if you know someone and can organise this.
We deduct an administration fee for any courses or trips that are cancelled.
Our Cancelation fees for courses or trips cancelled 21 days prior to starting are as follows:
- Grade II Certificate Course - $295
- Guided River Trip - $95
- Guided Run Trip - $95
- Guided Run/River Combo - $195
- Waimakariri Skills Course - $295
Cancelling Part of your Grade II Course
If for some reason you are unable to attend a day or days of your kayak course we will try to rebook in with another group, if successful there is an additional cost of $250 per day. There is a no refund for the days missed.
Rescheduling a booking
If you need to reschedule your course or trip, Topsport requires a minimum of 21 FULL DAYS notice. Any booking rescheduled outside this time period will require a new booking and new payment.
All rescheduled trips are subject to an administration fee which is as follows:
- Grade II Certificate Course - $49
- Guided River Trip - $49
- Guided Run Trip - $49
- Refresh with Ryan - $49
- Guided Run/River Combo - $49
- Waimakariri Skills Course -49
- Two Day River Course - -$49
Sometimes Topsport Kayaking postpones your trip
Topsport Kayaking can only operate in favourable conditions. Our trips and courses are 100% weather and river flow dependant. For this reason YOU MUST be flexible with your availability. If you cannot commit to flexibility please do not make a booking with us.
When we have to postpone a trip it is not something we want to do. When a trip is postponed it is for your own personal safety and the safety of our Topsport staff. Your trip may be postponed due to high river levels, high wind or cold alpine conditions.
If we need to postpone your trip we will contact you as soon as possible. This may be in the days leading up to your trip or in the morning of the trip. If this happens you will be provided with a code to rebook your trip on our website at no charge on another date that suits.
Please Note – As we get closer to race day in February the rebooking options may be limited due to the time we have left before the race. If you are unable to make a rescheduled trip a refund will not be given.
When travelling from out of town PLEASE make sure you book flexi flights and accommodation as none of our trips are ever guaranteed to run. We can only operate our trips when weather and river conditions are safe to do so.
In exceptional circumstances we may need to cancel your trip after travelling to the start location or even part-way through your trip as conditions change. Typically we decide prior to leaving town but sometimes we make the extra effort to make an important trip take place e.g race week and overseas clients. If this happens there is a minimum cost of $100 pp. Our standards are to cancel are trip using the latest weather and flow resources BEFORE we leave town but occasionally the forecast is incorrect and we do not know until arriving at the start location.
Cancelling your Coast to Coast Kayak Hire Booking
Topsport Kayaking will gladly cancel your Coast to Coast kayak hire booking prior to the 30th of November. A cancellation charge to the value of 20% of the original hire fee will be deducted. You will be credited back the balance through your original form of payment. If you cancel your hire outside of this time period the full amount is still payable.
