Photo Fun

While we had loads of fun on the water, and learned heaps, we had just as much fun off the water. And of course, while we came to teach the Nepali girls, thats not to say we weren't just as excited to meet up with older western friends and make some new ones!

Here are a few favorite photos of our on and off river antics- after all, all work and no play is no fun for anyone!Kiwis and Americans snuggle up on a lazy morning Photo from Hayley Segal


Kelly, Hayley, Emi and Anna take a turn on the raft so the Nepali girls can learn kayaking. Photo from Hayley Segal
Kamala shows some attitude photo from Hayley Segal

Off the river Games are also tons of fun! Photos from Whitney Hansen
Who says bonding has to happen in daylight? Photo from Hayley Segal
Namaste! Photo from Anna White

Some of the Kiwis trying out new forms of transportation photo from Anna White

Hester demonstrates proper She-wee technique. Photo from Hayley Segal

Mina, Liev and Becky share a good laugh Photo from Whitney Hansen

Anna and Whitney show off their ninja skills playing crouching tiger, hidden dragon Photo from Whitney Hansen
Kiwis and Swedes share some off river Dal Bhat Photo from Anna White


Flying Kiwis. Photos from Whitney Hansen

Not quite Charlies Angels are we? Whitney, Emi, Laura, and Soph strike a pose
A local lady sneaks a peak while Josh Neilson shoots away
ITs always sunny in the land of cool! Emi, Hester and Malaika smile for the camera. Photo from Malaika Davies

Sun Koshi Continued

Where did we leave off...

Day 5: Hukapoa falls was our first major rapid of the Sun Koshi. We all jumped out to scout, chossing lines for the kayakers and rafts.The girls discuss the line Photo from Hayley Segal
Georgia shows the girls the line down Hukapoa photo by Hayley Segal

The Nepali girls were in the paddle and oar rafts- fair enough- this was the biggest rapid they had seen yet. About half of the kayakers decided to portage, saving up for some of the big wave trains to follow downstream. There were a few close calls with the rafts, but everyone made it through safely.
One of our loaded gear rafts drifts dangerously close to the pourover! photo by Hayley Segal


Hukapoa 2 followed just around the corner, with some big, messy waves. There were a few swims later in the day, and everyone was getting a bit tired by the half way point of the trip. Fortunatley, the waves got smaller and smaller as the river flattened out after lunch, though we knew it wasnt going to last long.

Mina, Nepals first female raft guide who had been rowing one of the oarboats for the trip had been having problems with her shoulder. As a result, I got my first go on an oarframe- and Mina got her first real go at instructing! Oar frames are hard work, and heavy with lots of extra gear, people and kayaks on them. Ours had been acting as infirmary rafts as well for the girls not feeling well, and i gave them some quality entertainment as i struggled to man the oars, with Mina shouting instructions at me. "Right Back! Left Back! Together! Why right back? Left, LefT!!!" We finally figured out that Minas right was my left, and things went a little smoother.
Me struggling to row the heavy oarframe under Minas watchful eye. Photo by Hayley Segal

The next day started out slow, but we knew we would have one major rapid, Rhino Rock, at the end of the day. The locals would stop and stare at us as we passed- i dont think they have ever seen so many kayakers in one group, and certainly never so many females. Some of our group milling on the flat water. Photo by Whitney Hansen

They werent the only ones to stare however... As we paddled through some of the smaller rapids, we got a shock seeing how some of the locals use the river. Small boys on inner tubes paddled up to us to show off their rolls and locals proved that rafts arent just for entertainment!
Photo from Hayley Segal
photo by Anna White

photo by Anna White

Rhino rock crept up on us unexpected, and After a few swimmers, we made our camp just around the corner. It was a late camp that nite as we waited for one of the rafts to arrive with our groceries from the local village- Fresh chickens for Dal Bhat! Ever resourceful, the kiwis found plenty to entertain themselves with until dinner. We went to bed in anticipation of "the jungle corridor"- the most continuous and largest section on the Sun Khosi which was to come the following morning.
Emi, Soph, Hes, Malaika and Laura entertain the girls and themselves

Morning dawned bright and early as we headed off into the Jungle corridor. Noted not only for its rapids, but for its beauty, this section of the river was nonstop fun! Even with the Nepali girls in rafts, we had our work cut out for us and our rescue skills tested with several swims. There was lots of carnage and lots of rafts as we hit wavetrain after wavetrain. The waves were big and bouncy, interspaced with large (generally) flushy holes and boils. I got to paddle Inka's tiny Jackson sidekick, and felt like i was home again on the Nile.

Showing off rescue skills, Malaika Davies tows a swimmer to shore. Photo by Hayley Segal

Fortunatley, it all calmed down again after lunch. Lunch was on one of the most beautiful beaches we had yet to come across, with an amazing waterfall about 10 feet away. It was the perfect spot for a photo shoot, so clearly we had to take advantage. It was one of the first times we got all the girls together, and they were more than happy to show off their new keen shoes, as well as other gear. It quickly turned from photo shoot to splash fest at the bottom of the waterfall as the girls left off some tension towards the end of the trip.
Josh Neilson gets some loving and a big thank you for the keen shoes from the girls.

The river calmed down enough after the jungle corridor to let the girls get some time back in the kayaks, and they were off with kiwi and swedish support, charging down some of the smaller rapids, looking more and more comfortable in the boats.
Inka and Malin flank Radha providing support and laughs. Photo by Hayley Segal

The girls werent the only ones getting some more time in boats. Yvonne and a few of the other swedish girls were pretty new to the water themselves, and they got to hone their skills- getting more time in the boats as they learned together with the Nepali girls.

That last half morning i got to go in a raft with Sita and some of the other girls, giving a little bit of raft guide coaching. Sita did an awesome job on the river, and the other girls got their first go on the stick, trying out the basic draw and pry strokes to turn the boats. It was my first time getting to really instruct the girls, and we had a lot of fun. We paddled on, to have a suprise rest day on day 9, giving us all a chance to clean up and relax before heading out to the Trisuli for a few days rest and of course some training before the festival.
Me, Hayley and Soph showing off some off river fashion and enjoying the sunshine.

Our last morning on the river provided one more excellent opportunity for some good laughs and of course, a photo shoot. I don't think the Nepali girls knew what to do with us...
Team Kiwi looking hot... photo by Whitney Hansen

Malaika Davies and Emi Earle model some of the gear donated for the trip. Photo by Whitney Hansen

After the ten days the girls were stoked to get off the river, though not so excited for our 20 hour busride back to the trisuli. Even so, the girls left feeling accomplished and excited about both kayaking and rafting, and our little group was starting to get closer as we headed into the festival.
Sun Koshi female kayakers- Kiwis, Swedes, Americans. WOW! photo by Whitney Hansen
Rama and Anita celebrate their first river trip. Photo by Hayley Segal

Bus heading off into the sunset Photo by Anna White

Quick update

Now that i am back in Pokhara, i have way too much time to spend on the internet as we wait to join the girls on the last part of their rafting training on the Lower Seti River...

Havent put together the rest of the trip yet, but i will sometime this week, so heads up.. here is just a quick update on some news we got from Inka..

After the trip we left the girls to go and begin the rest of their 5 week training, starting with 5 days on the Trisuli river, then going into a first aid training course, and then ending with a 4 day trip on the Lower Seti, where we will join them. It sounds like the girls have been doing awesome, and i know we are all excited to see how much they have progressed.

Soph talked to Inka on the phone the other night to find out that one of the girls, Radha, is apparently married! She ran away from her husband to do the training, and it sounds like she has been excelling on this last part of the training. When the girls spent a night in Kathmandu, she didn't show up the next morning for the rest of the training. Hence, Inka discovered she was married, and that her husband didn't want her to do the training.

Radha learning to kayak in the pool in Kathmandu. Photo from www.nepaligirlskayak.blogspot.com

Fortunatley, Inka is on the case and went to do a rescue mission. Haven't heard the results yet, but will be sure to update as soon as i know. I think that story just shows how important this training is for these girls, and maybe offers and example of the opportunity these skills will provide for them. For Radha to lie, and risk angering her husband seems like a big deal.

Hopefully, if these girls are willing to risk that just for the training, this program will have a good chance of surviving, and these girls will be able to really benefit from the skills they are learning.

Sun Khosi Part 2- the River

The next day dawned bright and early as we tried to sort out how a typical day on the river would go. We started off with hotwater "tatopani" for tea, around 6:30 as the Equator crew and the girls started to get breakfast ready for all of us.


Early morning light on our camp

While some helped out in the Kitchen, more of us opted for a morning Yoga class led by Whitney- one of two yoga instructors we had on the trip. After yoga, brekky, and packing up camp, we were on the water around 10 trying to make up some of the ground we lost from our late start. The rapids started out pretty small, with some good flats in between, giving everyone a nice warm up and a chance to get used to their new equipment. The Nepali Girls were on the paddle raft that day, learning a bit about whitewater and working together as a team.

Having such a large group with such mixed abilities proved challenging on the river- some of the western ladies had only been paddling for a few months, while others had been paddling for more than 20 years! We teamed up in pairs to help everyone make it down the rapids safely, and did our best to figure out a system that first day to work together using everyone skills, making sure people were comfortable. We definitely had a few swims as we attempted to work out some kinks, hitting our first grade 3 rapid No Exit that afternoon. At camp that night, we were all exhausted, but excited as we split up into teams to try and camp set up before dark- putting up tarps, toilet tents, and cooking for 40 people is no easy task, let me tell you!

Day 3 was the first day we got to get the Nepali ladies on the river with us. Because most of these girls had only learned to swim a few weeks ago, we made sure that each Nepali lady had at least two western girls that felt comfortable spotting them, to help them get down the rapids safely.

Sophie Hoskins watching as Sita makes her way down the river


I think it was a bit intimidating at first for the girls, to have so much attention on them- but they soon got used to it and we had to chase them down the rapids!

Hester Hilbank and Malaika Davies offer support to Sambohvi as she charges it

Two of the Nepali ladies- Sita and Sussmita had been learning to paddle for the last 8 months, so they were on hand to offer the girls some encouragement and show them how it was done as well.

Sussmita charging through one of the bigger wavetrains

The day moved slowly with lots of stops for practice eddyhopping and T-rescues. By the end of the day, the girls were looking way more comfortable with the boats, the river and us. There were a few swims, but huge smiles all around.
Hasila loving the Pyranha Ammo

The girls made it through some pretty impressive wave trains- the sun khosi is a big volume, pool drop style river, making it easy to collect the pieces after a swim, and making most of the swims, while still intimidating, relativly low risk. Even with some swims, the girls were more than ready to hit the water again the next day.

Day 4 dawned with two members of team Kiwi feeling sick. Traveling to anther country, long days, changes in diet and living togther in close quarters would take its toll on the trip, with some girls feeling poorly almost everyday, forcing us to change up who was in what raft and which kayak on an almost daily basis. Some Nepalis and Kiwis team up to get the paddle raft down the river

Even two members of team Kiwi down, the girls got some good boating practice in before taking a rest from kayaking the next couple of days. Fortunatley, we had plenty of chocolate and catching up to keep us in good spirits as the sand from the beaches began to creep into everything we owned.

We knew days 5, 6 and 7 would bring some bigger rapids- starting with Huckapoa and heading into the Jungle Corridor, the most continuous section on the Sun Khosi. We all just tried to hone our skills and get to know our group as we got ready for what was to come.

Nepali Girls Trip part 1

So i came to Nepal to work with Inka Trollas of Far Away Adventures on the Nepali Girls Project- also known as the Himalayan River Girls here in Nepal. This trip has been so big, and had so much going on, i'm going to do my best to give a worthy writeup- but be forewarned, its coming your way in stages. With so m any girls on the trip, there are going to be lots of opinions and perspectives, the only ones i'm offering here are my own: for other write ups and more photos, be sure to check out Josh Neilsons blog www.whitewater-koa.blogspot.com
and the kiwis site www.nepaligirlskayak.blogspot.com


I was first contacted about Inka's project by Sophie Hoskins and Laura Clayton, 2 kiwi ladies i had met in Uganda. The trip sounded like an awesome project and i was stoked to get involved. After working as a kayak instructor on the Nile for the past several months, i was even more excited because i felt like i had a lot to offer- if i could figure out how to apply to a different country with a completely different style of river.

From talking to Soph and Inka i came into the Nepali girls trip with high expectations of what was going to happen, and what i would be able to contribute. Not all of those expectations were met, some were exceeded, and others still remain to be seen as the girls complete their training.
Inka and Soph chilling at the Himalayan River Festival

Arriving in Kathmandu, I knew to expect a big group of kiwi girls, most of which i knew and a couple that i didn't. I was unprepared for the large group of Swedes that came out to lend their skills, and show their support and encouragement for what the girls and Inka are trying to accomplish. In all we had over 30 female kayakers and rafters- the largest number of girls i think ive ever hung out with- on and off the river!

Heres a quick breakdown of everyone on the trip:
Inka Trollas

Equator Rafting Staff: Georgia, Maila, Danesh, Meena, Jeff

Nepali Ladies: Anita, Rama, Rada, Sambohvi, Sita, Sussmita, Khola/Kamala, Hasila, Passang.

Swedish Ladies: Liev,, Lena, Maria, Leana, Malin S, Malin B, ute, Kiki, Kiki, Ida, Yvonne

Kiwi Ladies: Sophie Hoskins, Kelley Blayney, Hester Hilbank, Malaika Davies, Emi Earle, Laura Clayton, Anna White, Hayley Segal

then we had Whitney Hansen, another american, myself, a girl named Becky from the UK, as well as our Camera crew: Josh Neilson from NZ and Stefan from Sweden.

It was a full crew, with mixed whitewater and or coaching experience, so Inka ended up running the trip as a commercial rafting trip down the Sun Kosi through Equator expeditions, meaning we didn't have to worry about sorting or looking after rafts, kit or food. Our final Entourage on the river included 23 kayakers, 1 paddle raft and 3 gear rafts to carry all of our equipment and food.

The ten days on the river got off to a slow start. The kiwi girls and Josh and had taken the Nepali ladies up to Secudi beach a few days earlier to start working on some basic whitewater skills while the rest of us assembled in Kathmandu. It was tough work getting 30 girls stuff out of Thamels narrow streets down to the bus station and onto the buses. We used at least 10 rickshaws, and had a few boats take a brief tumble.
Loading up Rickshaws
One of our Rickshaw drivers
Laura loading up one of the barrels used to carry food and tarps. Trust me, those barrels got a lot heavier about two hours later.

After a short bus ride to the beach, everyone met for the first time and spent a few frantic hours packing up rafts, and sorting kit: making sure all the girls had a full set of gear, and that everyone who needed a kayak had one that fit. The girls were stoked to get all the donated gear: protec helmet, IR drytops, assorted thermal baselayers and PFDs, not to mention snazzy new Keen shoes courtesy of Keen and Josh Neilson.
Sophie helping fit life jackets
Rada and Anita showing off their new paddle kit
Knola modeling one of the IR drytops i helped bring over thanks to Monica Gokey, Whitney Hansen and of course, IR.

After sorting out kit, loading rafts and a quick lunch, we all met up on the beach for some speaches from the owner of Ultimate Descents, and Inka. There is a huge amount of support and publicity for this trip- between all of our own cameras, Josh and Stefan are each making a film about the project, and we had a large number of well wishers and even a local Nepali radio station there to document our take off! We finally got on the water around 330 to paddle for an hour or two to our first nights camp on one of the Sun Khosis beautiful, very sandy beaches.

Finally setting off on the river

That's about all for now- ill follow up with an account of our first few days on the river soon!