Stage 1: Makarora River
My first raft, partly sponsored, comprised several logs, measured about six metres long by about three metres wide, and weighed some five and half tonnes. Historical records proved little help in the raft’s design and construction.
Log-raft launching ramp prepared beside Makarora River
Logs and cross-braces laid out, with braces notched
Logs and braces lashed (hemp rope), plus deck, steering-oar and mast added
Mast and jute sail rigged (sail made from wool-pack)
Finished, ready for launch, river rising
During the second day, having already been delayed on two shoals, I approached a ninety-degree bend with a willow hazard. The raft came into the chute above the bend, and flew toward a tangle of willows and river-works laced with old train track rails. The impact was immense. The raft’s left forward brace struck hard against an upright rail, and the raft curled swiftly under the torrent.
Moments later, I surfaced, grabbed a branch and climbed up. I supposed the raft to be gone, yet, incredibly, it emerged downstream undamaged, so I jumped in and swam after it until I caught hold. Just as I regained the steering-oar, however, the raft caught fast on a snag.
Later, I set about cutting it free, using a saw underwater. Heavy rain came. The river rose a metre in a few hours. The fore-line was secured to a shore log, and at the moment the raft came free I had to be ready to release it, lest the raft be sucked down by the floodwaters. As the raft snapped free, I dived for the release knot, but too late – the tension was so great that the rope jammed tight, and the raft heaved slowly and overturned like a struggling giant.
It took hours to right it again.
That night, with nowhere to moor, I left the raft on a shoal near the Wilkin confluence and swam the floodwaters to seek shelter from the storm at the Makarora Ranger Station. The following morning, the raft was gone, swept away by the flood. And though I scouted the river the few remaining kilometres to Lake Wanaka, I could not locate it. Yet, I had learned something crucial, both about the raft’s design and my conviction. If was possible to reach the sea by log raft, I would do it, somehow.
