Coast to Coast Whitewater Skills Course
For multisport kayakers looking to improve their whitewater skills for the Coast to Coast, this 4-day course provides expert coaching, structured river time, and proven strategies to help you handle grade 2 rapids with ease.
- Learn to roll and develop solid whitewater skills
- Gain confidence in grade 2 rapids
- Enjoy a swim-free Coast to Coast race
- Only 2 left available!
Struggling with rapids in your racing kayak?
- Do you get nervous when the water gets rough?
- Have you spent hours in your boat but still take unnecessary swims?
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Are you frustrated by how slow your progress feels?
On Canterbury Kayaking’s 4-day Coast to Coast Whitewater Skills Course, you’ll train in a whitewater kayak so you can build confidence in rapids without fear. Learn to stay upright, roll when needed, and eliminate swims. With expert coaching and structured progression, you’ll improve faster than months of trial and error in your race boat. Once you’ve improved your whitewater skills, you’ll return to your racing kayak more capable, in more control, and ready to race Coast to Coast with confidence.
Without solid whitewater skills, you’re always one mistake away from a swim.
Many athletes believe that “the more time in my boat the better,” but if all your training is on grade 1 or flat water, you’re not truly preparing for the rapids of the Waimakariri Gorge. When you finally get the chance to paddle the Gorge, you’ll spend around five hours on fairly smooth water, and only a few minutes in actual rapids. That’s just not enough time to build the whitewater skills you need for race day.
While the Waimakariri doesn’t have many big rapids, the ones it does have can make or break your race. If you hesitate, lose control, or swim, you lose valuable time and momentum.
On this course, you’ll maximize your time in real whitewater on the rivers around Murchison—the perfect training ground to get comfortable in big rapids. You’ll also develop a reliable roll, so when mistakes happen, you can recover instantly instead of swimming.
By the time you return to your racing kayak, you’ll have the control, confidence, and skills to handle rapids with ease—so you can focus on racing, not just surviving.
How to Book
- Select your dates and complete your booking at the top of this page ↑
- Download your information pack and train for 4 days with expert coaching.
- Apply your new skills to your racing kayak and enjoy feeling way more confident.
Meet Your Coach
Sam Milne is the most expereinced kayak coach on the Waimakariri River and the founder of Canterbury Kayaking.
Through coaching over 1,000 Coast to Coast athletes, Sam has seen that what often separates good paddlers from great ones is their whitewater skills. Many multisport athletes train exclusively in their racing kayaks on fairly easy water, only to find themselves nervous, unstable, and swimming when the water gets rough. But the best competitors know better. Elite racers like Steve Gurney, Rachard Ussher, and Nathan Fa’avae all spent time in whitewater kayaks to develop their skills and achieve world-class performances, and you can, too.
Sam knows that confidence in rapids doesn’t come from trial and error—it comes from structured training in the right environment. That’s why he designed this four-day whitewater skills course, which gives multisport paddlers a proven way to develop control, read the river better, and handle rapids with ease.
In this course, you’ll get access to the equipment, coaching, and river time you need to fix the weaknesses that are holding you back. By the time you return to your racing kayak, you’ll be paddling stronger, smoother, and with the confidence to take on the biggest rapids in the Waimakariri Gorge without fear.
What do I get with the course?
- Free use of a whitewater kayak, paddle, and spray skirt for the entire program.
- 4 days of professional skills coaching with Sam Milne, the Waimakariri River's most experienced kayak instructor.
- 2 nights accomodation in Murchison.
- 1 day of pool and lake sessions, plus 3 river days.
- Exclusive discount on products from our gear shop.
While no experience is required, this program best suits paddlers who have done the majority of their paddling in a racing kayak and have very little or no expereince in a whitewter boat.
We will provide you with a whitewater kayak, paddle, and spray skirt, to use for the entire course FREE of charge.
You will need to have ALL of the following items (* = hire available):
- Booties
- Neoprene shorts
- Thermal tops and bottoms
- 20L dry bag
- Helmet*
- PFD with whistle*
- Semi-dry paddle jacket*
All required gear is availble to purchase through us at a discounted rate and can be collected at the course.
You will need to arrange your own accommodation in Christchurch for the night before, and the night of day 1. For the nights of day 2 and 3, we will provide you with accommodation in Murchison (included in your course fee).
If you are travelling from out of town, the North Island or overseas, plan to arrive in Christchurch the day before.
We suggest renting a car, however, a combination of taxi/Uber and ride-sharing with others in your group is often possible.
Book accommodation in Christchurch for the night before the course and the night of day 1.
We will provide you with accommodation for the nights of day 2 and 3.
We suggest booking some accommodation in Christchurch for the night of day 4 before travelling home.
This program runs over 4 consecutive days to maximise your water time and learning outcomes.
Day 1: Meet at 6:30 a.m. Wharenui Pool in Riccarton. After your pool session, the remainder of the day is based at Lake Rua in Harewood and finishes at around 4:00 p.m.
Day 2: We will depart Christchurch at 7:00 a.m. for Murchison. You will paddle on the rivers around Murchison from 12:00 midday until around 5:00 p.m. then meet for dinner at a local restaurant.
Day 3: We meet at Riverside Holiday Park at 8:00 a.m. for a theory lesson, then go paddling on the river until around 12:00 midday. After a lunch break, we will meet for another theory lesson, before spending the rest of the day on the river until around 5:00 p.m. We will meet for dinner again at a local restaurant.
Day 4: We meet at Riverside Holiday Park at 8:00 a.m. for a one-on-one check-in with your coach(es) before going on your fourth and final river trip of the program.
We aim to finish in Murchison around 2:00 p.m.
Your safety is our absolute top priority. While it's impossible to guarantee nothing bad will ever happen, incidents are extremely unlikely. We gradually increase the difficulty (and associated risk) throughout the program as your skills develop. You will progress from a swimming pool to a lake, then to a gentle river, and finally, to whitewater rapids. We will never put you in a situation we don't think you can handle, and you do not have to do anything you are not comfortable with. All our coaches are fully trained in river rescue techniques and our safety systems have been independently audited by AdventureMark and registered with WorkSafe.
This is not normally a problem. Unlike most other course providers, our program will run in virtually all weather and flow conditions. By basing ourselves in Murchison for the days of 2, 3, and 4, we can access multiple river sections, providing different options at various flow scenarios without a reduction in course quality.
Yes. If you are unable to pay in full at the time of booking, please enter the discount code DEPOSIT during checkout to reserve your spot with just a 25% deposit. We will invoice you for the balance, which will be due 21 days before your course.