Teamwork, Team Games - Trust Games

Trust Games



If we think about it....we use trust everyday in our normal lives.... We trust that car that is coming towards us has an experienced driver beind the wheel when we cross the road, we trust our friends when we tell/ask them various information, and we trust that pilot in the cockpit of the jet plane that we are travelling on to see our loved ones.

Trust is a very hard thing for us to do....but an easy thing for us to master. Trust is usually a matter for us to learn....and with some people, they take all their lives just learning to trust. Unfortunately, in this day and age, of all of the wild things that people do, trusting people in society may be like climbing a huge wall without the end in sight.

S-Teem places in the eye of the participant, a chance to enhance their trusting ability without any prejudices, and with the aide of the many team building games that can be accomplished. All people, even shy people, will always be happy in the fact of accomplishing a very intuitive, interactive team initiative. Trust forms the basis of this fact. So the circle is formed....to trust, you have to know whether your teammate is competant....and to know that your teammate is competant....you have to trust them.

Teamwork is fostered by respecting, encouraging, enthusing, caring for people, and not exploiting or dictating to them. Trust is gained in that the participant must respect that the fact of the matter, is where their teammate would not voluntarily place them in danger. To illustrate this fact, blindfolds are a great aide to enhance this special trait. In the above photograph, the game called " Blind Train Walk" , enables people to trust in the person who is driving the train. The driver in this case, is the person at the back who "drives" the train by squeezing the shoulder/s of the person in front, and that person although blindfolded, does the same, and the person in front of him/her, does the same. This is communication at it's most basic so as to guide the team through a safe passage. Trust comes about by the fact that the person in front has to believe that the train driver will affect the necessary changes and thus keep them safe.

For this game to work, the rules are that if you are the driver, you need to squeeze the shoulder of the person in front for the way you wish the train to move. On no account, is there to be any verbal communiaction. For the team to go straight ahead, a squeeze on both shoulders at the same time should be affected. To stop, the driver just needs to affect a "double squeeze" on both shoulders. The train driver also needs to affect the change with enough time for the message to get from the back to the front. Thus, the driver has to anticipate the amount of time to affect a change at the front.

In this game, it is easy enough to complete without blindfolds....but blindfolds would enhance the trust factor. "Blind Train Walk" is a simple and easy way to introduce the team to trust issues, and a gentle game to play on the way to the "Games Area".

"Hug a Tree" is a pure blindfold game where trust is placed in one person. The participant is blindfolded and "led" by the guide who is not blindfolded of course. This game is best used in Nature....or some park . The object of the game is to get the blindfolded participant to retrace his/her steps to find out the journey that was recently undertaken.



The guide having blindfolded their "mate", then takes their mate on a journey over the ground in the immediate area, getting them to experience the absolute despair of not having the advantage of sight. The guide leads them all around the area for a number of minutes and then gets the mate to grab hold of a tree/object. Then the guide leads them back to the start. The mate then takes the blindfold off and has to go and identify the tree/object. Once this is done, the persons swap the tasks.


" Magic Hat" is a game of strength and team initiative. The task is to get the team from one side of a defined area to the other other something like a "River of Radioactive Dinosaur Snot". The trick is that only one person wearing the "Magic Hat" can be able to walk across the river. The "Magic Hat" can only be worn once by each person.


The solution is basic. One person caries another person across. That person walks back with the hat on and then waits while the rest of the group follows the same with the final person carries two people across.


This game enables people to understand that with communication, they will eventually get the solution while throwing their ideas into the ring. It also shows the team that various people of different sizes and strengths may be used at cruicial times during the game.

"Tic Toc" is a basic game to enable trust to grow between the team members. In groups of three, One person "the clock hand" stands in the middle of the other two facing one, and with their back to the other. That person fold their arms across their chest, keep their feet together and close their eyes. (You can also use a blindfold). Keeping their body stiff, and their feet still, they gently sway between the people who catch them and redirect them back to the other person. Once people get comfortable, they may increase the distance or speed. This is a great game to start your trust activities with.

"Wind in the Willows" is another game for basic trust principles and is a respectable game in which to follow "Tic Toc". It is just a formulation of the Tic Toc game where the unsighted or blindfolded person stands in the middle of a tight circle of the whole group. The person then can sway in any direction. The whole team keeps their hands up to support the "Willow" in the middle.

"Bull at a Gate" is another intimidating trust game where the group lines up in two lines facing each other with arms extended out so that their fingertips are touching. One person stands about 10-20 metres away and runs at full speed towards the middle of the two lines of people. Just before the person running gets to the outstretched arms of the waiting team members, the persons standing in the two rows lowers their arms quickly by their side allowing safe passage for the person running.

This is a fun game and to have different sized people running at you is another anxious trust activity.

The "Trust Fall" is the Epitome of any trust game and is seen on many displays of personal character building games. Usually the person faces away from the catcher and falls into their arms. However you can add an increase to this challenge by having the group line up closely in two rows facing each other with their arms slightly bent and alternating with the person beside them and opposite to them. The restriction for this game is that the lines of catchers must be longer than the person's height who is falling. The person doing the trust fall stands on a table with their back to the group, closes their eyes and crosses their arms on their chest. Keeping their body stiff they fall backwards to the group who should safely catch them.

This game has different analagies to it as it shows that "if a person falls, the group can be there to catch them if trust and respect are in place."

Please remember that there is a high level of risk to this challenge and leaders must be confident that the group is up to this challenge. Leaders would do well to have all of the safety precautions on hand for any of the risk trust activities.

All of these trust games will eventually lead to or build up to common teamwork ideals. The formulation of the team through Forming, Storming, Norming , and Performing rituals will enhance the team and enable it to get through the rough times as well as outshine others when the calm times are there.

Look forward to the next installment where we will explore Team Initiative Games.

Kayaking the (Swollen) Mulgrave - Aussie Day Paddle 2010

Kayaking the Swollen Mulgrave - Australia Day 2010

As Cyclone Olga fizzled out and travelled westward over the Cape, and Cyclone Neville made the outstanding manouvre of a Statue of Liberty Play to head towards Mackay, the decision was made to continue with a planned paddle of the Little Mulgrave River on Australia Day 2010.

However, the heavens opened up and gave the Cairns Area a drenching to change plans of many a family. But the kayaking crew of Flounder, TimMe, Tarzan, Adro, Bonnet Boy, and the irrepressible Freckles made the plan to press on but change it to the lower Mulgrave River.

The height of the water was a telling factor being 1.25m above the telltale Fisheries Bridge. It was planned to enter at Roos Road near the Little Mulgrave Pub and extract at Greenpatch at Gordonvale (a distance of 10-11 kms).

Once unloaded it was time to check the river from the familiar Roos Road bridge . Familiar in the fact that we usually see the underside of this bridge. It was planned to enter with a seal launch.

The intrepid crew of Adro, Freckles, Flounder, TimMe, and Bonnet Boy....with Tarzan taking the photo snap

The photo looks good but Flounder, unsure of where the water was going (possibly back under the bridge), decided to launch closer to River Right and taking Freckles with him for a safer launch.

Once in the main channel, the intrepid crew found the going easy as to sit back and enjoy the ride as not much paddling was required.

We passed the Little Mulgrave exit into the Mulgrave and found that the Little Mulgrave width was also swollen 6 fold.

The first portage was over the upriver Ross and Locke Rail Bridge. We found that we really only needed just 30cm more of water, where we could have easily floated over the bridge.

It was a different story at the Ross and Locke Picnic Area. Here you can see the faint ripple line just behind TimMe's RPM. The crew were in some indecision prior to this as to what entry we would need to make. The water was flowing, and a choice of paddling down through the riverside carpark was not decided upon, and the correct decision of the main channel was chosen.

The river made it very easy on the Flatwater as the crew had just to float with the river debris. This gave Freckles her chance to remind everyone of her patriotism and her tatoo on her cheek. Of course , we all had tatoos generously supplied by Freckles and wore them in various places....on the faces....or on the helmets (to stay with us for a little while at least).



Since the catchment had received enormous amounts of rainwater, it made the trip fairly hard to recognise familiar features that we have come to love through this part of the river. Fallen trees that appear in normal levels now sit below us by 1 or 2 metres. Of course, on a safety note, it is better to stay in the boat than explore any depths in a swollen river.

The time had quickly passed and the intrepid crew had found themselves at the Peetes Bridge Portage. Peetes Bridge, we learned later, had gone underwater later in the day by only about 10cm. At this stage, there was no other option other than portaging.





The Peetes portage gave us another different experience of launching in an actual carpark and picnic area.

Just downriver from the Peetes Bridge area, the river pans out into a couple of large flatwater areas. There were rumours that horses had been spooked by the riverside, so the crew was thus placed on guard for any seemingly unshapely logs.

A lot of these flatwater paddles were conducted in the middle of the flotsam and debris travelling down the main river flow. This made it easy for us to identify so as to reduce our paddling, and to still sit back and enjoy the ride. However, when paddling amongst the debris, please be aware that the area could be a haven of any unsightly creatures such as snakes.

On travelling down this part of the river, there is a rail bridge further down, which is located just downriver of a junction of two branches. The unwary paddler choosing the right branches of the river, will find that the situation may turn dangerous as the two branches joining create a turbulent mass of water ready to unseat the kayaker. Hence the decision was made to always travel close to the Northern Bank (or on Extreme River Left), and paddle through a part of the National Park. This gives a safety pillow if anyone does come adrift of their kayak, they can easily get to the bank and sort out their boat and gear. At this stage , the river now flows through a lot of foliage and was estimated at probably about 500 metres wide.

This part of the paddle laced the kayaker with a ghostly feel and always be on the lookout for any hidden tree branches ready to flip the unwary kayaker.

After an unestimated amount of paddling time, the adventurous crew broke clear of the vegetation and once again found the main channel. It was surprising to note, that where the crew broke from the treeline, was the location of the Blackwells Swimming Hole. Of course, due to the current weather conditions, there was no serene sandbank to be had. It was just another sea of water.

At this point , travelling through the main channel and dodging the edges of the canopy, Freckles had unwarily seemed to have wanted to go for a swim. I'd say with the aid of a tree branch....but the story has not yet come to light. Being the gentleman that he was, Tarzan quickly lept to the rescue, and the rest of the group soon were aiding Freckles to finally get to some stable ground and jump back into the cockpit of the diesel. Unfortunately, having done the initial rescue, Tarzan waiting downriver seemed to have a mixup with a tree and headed for a swim himself. Unfortunately, Tarzan's paddle seemed to have broken free of his grasp, and is most probably currently bypassing the Frankland Islands by now, and heading to Sydney with that lovable little Clownfish, Nemo !

The crew now faced a decision of how to aid Tarzan to paddle the distance to the extraction point. The hardship of navigating a flooded river established the fact that we could not exactly determine our location on the river. We estimated that we had about 15-20 minutes of paddling left.

The decision was made to closely shadow Tarzan to aid him in any required turns that he would need to make. Teamwork is alive and well in the group.

It was lucky however, when we had broken out of the treeline, that the adventurous crew had found themselves only about 500 metres to the Bruce Highway Bridge at Greenpatch, our extraction point.

Also unfortunately, Tarzan has now found that the crew, no matter how polite they are....are very adept at the art of sledging . Thus, photos and videos of the yellow helmeted legend had been taken of Tarzan's damaged pride,where he had actually hand paddled the last 500m of river to the extraction point.

Good Natured Sledging is alive and well within the group.

The extraction point was a welcome sight for the crew and made for an easy exit. The shuttle car was only at the other side of the bridge and contained our desired lunch and dry clothes.

Any kayaking trip in this part of the river, at this time of the year, is not to go without the obligatory photo opportunity with the sign for a most dangerous hazard.

Although none were seen, these hazards should command a healthy respect and a determination in keeping a keen eye on the lookout for moving objects in the water.

Pic : from left - Tarzan, Adro, Flounder, Bonnet Boy, Freckles , and TimMe (kneeling).

Once the shuttle crew was organised with Bonnet Boy and Freckles left to guard our most precious transport vehicles, it was time to head back to Roos Road Bridge.

What we found was that the river had indeed risen most probably about 50cm, and the seal launch that was to be had earlier in the day....would no longer be an option. Lucky for us.

Thus ends the patriotic paddle, and the journey to have a cold ale at a nearby Gordonvale Watering hole was underway. Happy Australia Day 2010.

Flounder

Teamwork, Team Games - Initiative Group Games

Teamwork

Great teamwork makes things happen more than anything else in organisations. McGregors X-Y Theory illustrates how and why empowered teams get the best results. Empowering people is more about attitude and behaviour towards staff than processes and tools. Teamwork is fostered by respecting, encouraging enthusing, caring for people, and not exploiting or dictating to them.

At the heart of this approach is love and spirituality, which helps bring mutual respect, compassion, and humanity to work. People working for each other in teams is powerful force , more than skills, processes, policies, annual appraisals, management-by-objectives, more than anything.



Teams usually become great teams when they decide to do it for themselves - not because someone says so !



Something inspires them possibly, but ultimately, the team decides. This is usually after the team goes through the Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing process. Some teams can do it quicker than others....and usually find greater rewards for themselves earlier.

How is this achieved ? Through good communication with each other...that's how... Communication is vital for teamwork to occur and to have everyone thinking and working towards the same goal. Consider a Hockey Team..... they all have the same goal...by scoring the ball into the net to win the game. However, this does not happen unless team members communicate well. This is where the coach comes in....he/she sees it all from the sideline and tells each member what they are doing well, what's not going so good etc.



Some of the games that coaches and instructors from S-Teem Training and Coaching would utilise are shown below :



Blindfold Line Up : This is a great communication tool where the group is blinfolded. The instructor would whispers a different number to each of the participants. The group needs to line themselves up in the correct increasing sequence. Variations can have this game increase in difficulty by -

• the group not being able to talk
• the group needs to make a perfect square with a long piece of rope they are holding
• the group needs to line up in height, shortest to tallest, or youngest to eldest.

It is advantageous for the instructor to run through the game without blindfolds first to highlight the advantage that communication by spoken word has on ourselves. The participants would then find it slightly hardedr to complete the task when blindfolded, and no one is able to speak.



Giants, Wizards, and Elves : Purely a communication Game similar to paper, rock, and scissors. The team as one, has to decide as to whether they are to be Giants, Wizards, or Elves....and must do the accompanying action along with each of the choices. Giants are to raise their arms high and scary over the head whilst roaring in a deep grumbling throaty yell. Wizards are to crouch and place their hands out as if they were projecting a spell and make an electrical buzzing noise with their mouth. Elves are to crouch even lower and wiggle their fingers towards the other group whilst whimpering. The two teams line up facing each other about 10 metres apart when they have decided as to their choice. At the call of 1,2,3, they are to action out their selected choice. Now the fact that remains is that Giants scare Wizards, Wizards scare Elves, and Elves scare Giants (sound familiar ?). The losing team then runs for a safe area about 10 metres behind them while the winning team chases them to tag as many people of the team that they can. This can be done on a timeframe, or when one team runs out of participants. If both teams choose the same choice, then they go back to their safe area to choose again. This then becomes the strange strategy of people thinking about what the other team is thinking.
Sociogram : With communication, comes awareness and familiarity. In this game, the group needs to organise itself with the people who know each other the closest by standing closest to them, and the people that they do not know or are the lease known, are to stand furtherest away. The group will start off confidantly, but it will take extra shuffling around as the exactness of familiarity is questioned, or the people who know someone well, may not necessarily know someone else who is standing close to that person well.

This is a great before and after game as to let each participant realise in graphic form as to how the team has bonded.

Human Knots : This game gets the participant up right and the personal space is definately invaded. The group stands in a tight circle places both hands into the middle of the circle, and grabs the right hand of someone else. They then do the same with theoir left hand grabbing the left hand of someone totally different. The group is then to untangle themselves and make a circle without letting go. The grip however can be adjusted accordingly.

Remember : When considering organising games of a nature where there is body contact or an injury can occur, please ensure that all safety precautions are in place before you start.

Teamwork, Team Games - Tag Games and Personal Space Games

Tag Games


Consider when you were a child....


Playing tag was very simple when someone was "in" and if you weren't....you tried your best not to be. Simple rules to simple games....make life simple. You can possibly then make the assumption that simple rules of your life....make simple life direction, morals, behaviour etc.


So to add to that simple games were FUN. Doesn't everyone want a FUN life ?


You ask how does this relate to team building strategies ? Well, whenever you are in a performing team, you have to be comfortable with the person next to you, the way they act in certain situations, the way they speak, and the way they think etc. So being comfortable means being comfortable with an impingement upon your personal space, mind, and thoughts.


Tag game represents a simple rule of touching and you the are "in".


S-Teem instructors may spend only a small time on this subject to demonstrate, but how many times do you play tag with your children, and instantly your face breaks out into a smile ?


So here are the games :


Chain Tag : In a small cordoned off area, people are ushered into the area, and one person is "in". That person then tries to tag another person, they then hold hands and try to tag other people. When tagged, the person must join the chain. However the rule is that only the outside people must tag the free runners or otherwise the chain is broken, and thus the tag is ruled invalid. The chain must act as a team to successfully tag all and sundry within the area.


Seem familiar ? The chain is a team of people trying to reach their goal of tagging a person/s to successfully reach their goal.


Smurf Tag : Again, in a small cordoned off area, one person is Gargomoyle (tagger) and walks around with stiff arms and legs. The rest are the Smurfs, and they mustonly skip while singing the smurf tune (la la la lalalah lala lah). When a smurf is tagged, they stand still and call out in a little voice..."help me , help me". Other smurfs can free them by pairing up and holding hands around the tagged smurf whilst jumping up and down three times calling out " be free, be free, be free". However, it is important who you first select as Gargomoyle. If Gargomoyle struggles, you can add another Gargomoyle to the game to help wind it up.


Smiling yet ?


The above may seem childish, but how many times we let our barriers down once we are having fun. These games have a direct feed into teamwork, whether they are acting together to tag the "survivors....or they act as a team to "free" their friends...albiet in an impish sort of way.

Remember : When considering organising games of a nature where there is body contact or an injury can occur, please ensure all safety precautions are in place before you start.

Teamwork , Team Games - Icebreakers and Energisers

IceBreakers and Energisers

Games are an excellent way to understand peoples thinking and feelings. They provide an insight into the personality and even sometime the soul of a person.

The way that the games would draw out these integral facets of the person's being, would be to instigate basic strategies and theories into the mind of the participant.

Consider two people. One who is relaxed and pliable to ways of meeting new people, and flexible enough to accept new ways of learning , as compared to the person with only one line of sight, and socially unaccepting of other people's ideas.

Whom do you think may be the better team player ? Whom do you think would be more able to have their own personal space invaded. Personal space is an issue in everyday life, but when aiding in teamwork, honesty, trust, respect (all important building stones to a great team environment),... personal space issues can be eliminated to form the basis of a successful team.

So in the first of the series, we examine some of the energisers and icebreakers that will be used in the programme.

Icebreaker games have the role of getting people to meet each other for the first time, and also to get each participant to be more relaxed in the company of the others. The target is to enable each participant to provide their own input and personal experiences into the strategies of the team and the task at hand.


Some of the Games that S-Teem can use to get this task underway are :

Toss a Name : The simplist form of learning names of people in the group. Task 1 is where people are to assemble in a large group, and toss a ball to a person across the other side of the group. When the person catches the ball, they say their name and then toss the ball to someone else. A variation to this would be that when catching the ball, the person can indicate something about themself to enable the group to link what they indicate to their name. (eg. the theme may be what country they would like to visit and why).

Task 2 could be an addition to enhance the memory by calling the persons's name, and the n throwing them the ball.

Gotcha : where people are grouped into a large circle and position their left hand palm up and open, and their right index finger pointing and resting in the left palm of the person to their right. On a command each person has to try and grab the finger of the person to their left whilst not trying to get their own finger caught from the person on their right. This shows reactionary cognitive thinking and adds fun as an energiser.

Killer : This game can be played for the entire duration of a required task. At the start of the task (for example hiking the Pyramid), the group forms a circle and each person closes their eyes. The leader then explains rules to them whilst walking around and around the group. The leader then selects the "Killer" by tapping them onto the shoulder. Once all rules are explained and the killer is selected, the group undertakes whatever task that they may be doing.
The rules for this game is that the killer has to try and secretly "kill" all of the group whilst remaining undiscovered. He/She does this in the way that they indicate a sign to the intended victim (such as the fingers forming a circle on the knee). Once the victim receives that sign and no other person sees that happening, they are then "killed" and encouraged to die a rather noisy and dramatic death by acting at a later stage. But they must not give the identity of the killer away.
The surviving group members have to try and solve who is the killer before the group task is completed. The killer is the winner if he/she is able to "kill" all members of the group. The surviving person who solves the case and correctly identifies the killer is the winner.
This games adds the element of intrigue and fun to such outdoor tasks of hiking and bushwalking in groups. It also adds dramatic tales of assination attempts at the feedback sessions after the group task is completed.



Game : Mirror Knock Over













Game : People to People

Other Icebreakers and Energisers that S-Teem staff like to use are :

"HandShake Knockover"

"Mirror Knockover"

"People to People"

"Boffer Name Game"

"Walk this Way"

Ask about these games through the comments.

Remember : When considering organising games of a nature where there is body contact or an injury can occur, please ensure all safety precautions are in place before you start.

Coming Soon in first half of 2010.....

Exciting Adventures to come......



Hiking up to the peak and camping on the plateau of Mt Emerald, Tolga.

Info on where to access and where to camp on the cold mountain and what is needed and what you can find there.

Games that the Team can play....

Support in everything we do is an everyday requirement....from viewing and participating in a few simple team strategies....you will find out how and why you can get support when needed.

Pic : This is the "TP Shuffle"

Geocaching

This is now a recognised "sport" and can be accessed by the everyday person for the sole cost of a GPS, and some faithful hiking boots...

I will explain this exciting new phenomenom

Hiking up to Glacier Rock, Cairns

A step by step account of the tribulations of this day trek. Harder and longer than the Red Arrow.....and thankfully shorter than the Pyramid

Hiking up to the upper Stoney Creek Falls

Yes, the yellow indicates the winding goat track which leads to a fantastic set of waterfalls above the world famous "Stoney Creek Falls". We hike through virgin rainforest and hopefully have an easier track than you might think but receiving some aid from Ghosts of the Past....

Hiking to Peetes Falls , Mulgrave Valley

This out of the way area is not as quite as far as you think....and it can be seen from the Gilles Highway.

You get to cast your vision splendour on a stunning two piece waterfall...that no tourist ever goes to.

Pic : Upper Peetes Falls

Pic : Lower Peetes Falls

The Challenge of the "Cheese Churner"

Yes, our intrepid kayak adventurers return to the gorge to conquer the Grade 3 tumultous "Cheese Churner".

One by one the crew sets out to upgrade their skills.

Rapid Descent

The drop of the "Roosters Tail" epitomises the kayaking everest of the Barron Gorge....eventually our intrepid kayak crew will finally have the sense of giving up portaging their boats on their shoulders around the dreaded "Roosters Tail", and try to conquer their fear.

Pic : Johnno on a WRONG line

Pic : JG splashes through to make a successful run

Stay tuned......

Kayaking the Barron Gorge, Barron River, North Queensland, Australia

Kayaking The Barron Gorge, North Queensland, Australia

White water Rafting is known for the adrenaline rush all over the world. However, kayaking in whitewater provides in my mind a bigger rush....and a more self satisfying one.

The Barron Gorge is noted for the Whitewater Rafting activities done just about 365 days a year. However, most of those days, the Cairns Kayaking fraternity also paddles the gorge at the same amount of paddling time with obviously more fun to be had.

Water is released from the Hydro Station at the top of the accessible gorge at various amounts. It is of this intrepid adventurer's experience of only paddling this stretch of river at 15 or 30 megalitres release. The Cairns Kayaking Crew are very, very expert paddlers, and paddle the gorge at 80 to 100 meg sometimes. 30 Meg appears to them as being a low level, and 15 is almost barren ! However, for novice kayakers like myself and the crew that paddle with me, generally 30 meg is more than enough.

Water is generally released at various times but most usually at lunchtime going through to about 5.30pm.

It is a tribute to Blakey, Dom, Riley, Glenn, Kristian, Rod, and the rest that they always lend a helping hand and words of wisdom for paddling the Gorge and I cannot thank them enough.

The "Drop In" point at the hydro station is a very scenic area, and provides the tourist of insight into the Tropical Rainforest in which surrounds the Gorge. It also provides a safe and easy access for the novice paddler to get in and warm up the muscles for the daunting stretch of river that awaits them.

It enables first time paddlers to get used to the kayak and the water flows of the day.

The Barron Gorge is rated at a Grade 3 to 4 Class River. Grade 3 means that there may be some turns required mid-rapid, compared to the Grade 2 of the Mulgrave River in which the rapids flow through fairly evenly.

Generally, it is understood that the more water released could increase the grade of the river. The time taken for the expert kayakers to traverse the gorge would generally be in the whereabouts of about 2 hours. However, in comparison, our novice paddlers would take close to 3 hours due to various portages that need to be undertaken for the level of our skills.

1. "Piece of Nuthin" Rapid (Grade 2) is just a flow through and a slight smooth rapid to allow you to get used to how much positive paddling you will require for the day. Positive Paddling is the amount of forward power paddle strokes and Sweep stroke manouvres that you will need to ascertain the strength of the water flow

2. The "Face Wash" Rapid (grade 3) gives a good account of what can be expected over the afternoon. This gnarly little lead-up requires you to miss a couple of sizeable boulders that peak out of the water, and you are to make a hasty right hand turn when required to land in a nice flush out basin. In 30 meg, there is a small chicken shute that can be undertaken on extreme river left. You would need to bounce over some hidden rocks and keep your balance to enable you to get into the basin below.

3. "Pyramid Pass" (Grade 3) is to me, the epitome of the gorge. This drop of a metre and a half, empties into a sizeable boil, and flushes out into a large and wide basin. In that basin, there is only one large rock under water which is about 30 metres from the drop. This is an ideal rapid to enhance your brace strokes and if you can do it, your roll.

4a. The "Butchers Knife" Rapid (grade 3) rates as my first personal nemesis. This stretch of rapids encompass a few flow throughs at the start which are very enjoyable. This gives you a decent practice of utilising your "break out" or "eddy out" skills.

It also gives you chances to take your time through the rapid and enables you to have a look at the next part of the rapid.



4b. The hole in this photo does give you a bit of a grab once you are most of the way through and I have seen a couple of partial tailstands for this rapid

4c. The final part of the rapid is a challenging decision. On the one hand, depending on the water level, for 15 megs you can take a path to river right in which you have to avoid a dissecting rock which decides the path of the river, you can then take river right and this places you in a path to drop of a metre and a half over a large rock and empties into yet another basin.

For 30 meg however, it is wise to run the small shutes on river left to final empty out into yet another large pool.

5. The "Kitchen Sink" Rapid (Grade 2) proves to be a straight through run with the target being a shute between two large rocks of about a metre and a half wide. It does contain small eddy swirls at the bottom of the rapid to catch you if you are unaware.

At various viewing points, this rapid actually seems harder than what it actually is.

6. The "Maze" Rapid provides the chance for the novice paddler who cannot roll, or does not have the confidence for a following Grade 4 rapid, to portage out on river left. The Maze is a place where, if you actually come out, it can lead to a nasty experience for the lead up to the "Roosters Tail".

This portage around Roosters is about 150 metres clambering over rocks and ledges and must be undertaken slowly and safely

7. The "Roosters Tail" rapid (Grade 4) is the flagship rapid for the Barron Gorge. You need to be very certain of your skills and confidence to undertake this rapid.

To paddle this challenge, you need to take a line of extreme right to get into the proper flow and river left lands you onto some very unkind rocks and boulders.

I myself, choose to portage this rapid at the moment...health before valour !

8. The "Rock Garden" Rapid (grade 3) after the portage supplies a cooling down after the heat of the walk with the kayak over the hot gorge rocks. This gnarly piece of river changes it's appearance depending on the river level. It is a pure decision for the paddler to portage past this rapid. However, if you do choose to run it, you need to enter into the water flow and get your paddling up very, very fast. Once you bounce over these rocks, it again flushes out to a small basin and you can eddy out into various amounts of safe spots.


This rapid is starting to more represent another of my nemeses as to my confidence of engaging 30 meg, has presented a rough ride on the posterior....away from the boat.

9. The "S-Bends" Rapid (Grade 3) lightens the challenge a little as to by now, the novice paddler is more adept at selecting possible eddy spots

Of course, just about after each rapid, there is the easy paddle of flatwater....so as you can take a break from the crunching. A lot of photo opportunities can be taken during this time to see the Natural Beauty of the Gorge.

10. The "Tunnell of Love" Rapid (Grade 3) is another rapid where you have to make a definate decision to paddle river left or river right. The river actually pounds into an imposing rock and the flow actually takes you towards this rock. What the crew have found is it depends on the water level as usual. If it is a 30 meg release, the best option is to go river right, if it is a 15 meg release, then river left might be your option. Behind the actual left turn, the river chops and presents a number of standing waves that may catch you unaware. With the right, you would need to catch a couple of quick turns and boof the kayak over a rocky ledge.

11. The "Cheese Churner" Rapid (Grade 3) is another for a portage for our crew to bypass. The Churn has an imposing rock under the first drop on river left which has a small overhang of which you do not want to get caught under. From passing that rock, you need to make a switch to river right to boof over. If you take the left shute, unfortunately you would place a few dents into the bottom of the kayak as there are a few immovable rocks just waiting to catch the unaware. If you have fallen out over this side, you may need a new dental plan.

The gun kayakers absolutely love the churn to play in.

12. The "Mother-inLaw" Rapid (grade 3) so named as that once she gets hold of you....she doesn't let go ! The Mother is a reticulating rapid in which once you go over the small drop with a descending angle, you need to lift the kayak and boof if you can and paddle hard right through the rapid. With a reticulating rapid, the water works back on itself and ensnares you for a small minute of your time. Larger water would represent a danger for novice paddlers. There is a line on the extreme river right for this drop in which you can boof into a small eddy.

The guns use this rapid to practise their playboating skills such as bow and tail stands, spins, and usual kayak surfing.

Nearly home....

13. "Hells Gate" (Grade 3) is a playground of numerous rapids forming into one large train of turns.

This is the place for a novice kayaker to play in as it has different skills to be used for different lines, different breaking out techniques, and practice for your bow draw.

For absolute beginners, this is an ideal place verging on the flatwater of Lake Placid, to enable the kayaker to understand about river flows and river dynamics.

Hells Gate represents the end of the flowing water journey. The avid novice kayaker has made the jump to a level up in completing the new level of kayaking.

Obviously, beginners and novices are relieved to get to the ease of the flatwater, and thus enjoy the pleasurable cruise back up the Lake

Lake Placid is the budding playground of the kayaker offering spectacular views of the gorge. At the end of the day though, a headwind usually ensures you a hard journey back to dry land.

At the end of the journey, Lake Placid usually offers a chance for a cold ale; or a hot coffee; and a laugh to ensure the memories of the trip stays vivid and the humour begins.

Remember , when paddling the fabulous natural watercourses of this great country, please do not leave anything except footprints in the sand, and take nothing away but for photos and memories...