Why New Zealand rivers matter to me

There is something about New Zealand rivers that got into me. It happened instantly.

The early morning coffees, the hard work on and off the river, figuring it out as a team as we moved downstream and enjoying the fruits of our labour around the campfire. I would be standing there in my gear, listening to the river, and it would hit me why I keep coming back. Not because it was my job, but because this is where I feel most alive.

Most people only ever see a river from a bridge or through the window of a car. When I’m guiding, I get to see it from the inside. I feel the water on my body. I hear the echo of the canyons. I move through places that most people don’t even know exist. That is what hooked me right from the start. Of course there’s the adrenaline from big rapids, but that feeling of being in a place only accessed by raft or kayak fueled these adventures. 

Every New Zealand river has its own personality. Some are short and steep, guiding the highest commercially rafted waterfall everyday didn’t get old. Others move slow and steady and give you time to actually look around and take in where you are. Some have carved themselves into deep canyons with walls rising straight above you. Others open into wide blue stretches where everything feels still and endless. Guiding on these rivers has taught me to respect how different they can be and how much they can change day to day.

I have built some of my best memories on these rivers. Cooking meals that impress the crew, swimming rapids, giving opportunities to kids, connecting families, exploring side hikes, and just having a bucket load of fun with everyone. Even the tough days are important to me. High water, changing conditions, moments where the river reminds me that it always decides what you do. They test and teach you something every time.

The biggest thing these rivers have given me is people. Guides who started as co-workers and ended up feeling like family. Travellers who stepped into my raft nervous and stepped out buzzing, soaked, laughing and talking non-stop about what they just did. Families, couples, solo travellers, old friends, complete strangers. Rafting brings people together in a way that feels real and simple. You take them through something that isn’t staged or controlled. It’s the river being the river, and everyone gets to be part of it for a while. It’s a snippet of time, a facilitation of sorts when guiding, that has left me with worldly connections, memories and the ability to create an unforgettable experience for those willing enough to get in the boat. 

That is why New Zealand rivers matter to me. They aren’t just part of my career. They have shaped my life. They have influenced how I travel, how I work with people, how I guide, how I see this country and how I connect with it.

If you want to understand New Zealand in a real way, get on a river. The real New Zealand is out there in the cold water, in the hidden valleys, in the quiet stretches where you can hear nothing but nature doing its thing.

That is the New Zealand I carry with me.
it is the New Zealand I love sharing with people.

Let’s get intimate with New zealand & its rivers.

- Nathan Stead