frank way's Fundraising Page

Mum and Dad at the Finish

Last day 10mtrs to go!!!

Lake Waipapa - Back kicking with trolling rod

Max, Mike and me between Karapiro and Cambridge

Well I have done it Knocked the bugger off!! I finished the expedition on Sunday at 12pm after 3 days of hard paddling on the Surfboard, since i was not allowed to kick.
This is how the last part of the Journey went,

22nd December
I felt like I was in limbo and I was itching to get back into the river and finish it off, Donna my good friend is a sales rep for Smith and Nephew. Donna put on a fancy Silver dressing that started healing up my knee really quickly but then..
In between Christmas and New years I went back to Doctor because I could not bend my right foot down, which is a bit of a problem if you need to kick the last 130 or so kilometres.
It was going to take 12 weeks to fully recover my tendonitis and a pinched nerve in my right foot, I was up in Auckland at the time after having a meeting with my support crew.
When Sandra heard the verdict she suggested I finish it on a surfboard, so that was going to be way I was going to finish this.
31st December
Rob Turner and me launched is boat at Pukete ramp and headed down towards the Horotiu Bridge and spent New Year s Eve parked up next to the river!
After a couple of beers and a great feed of steak, mashed backcountry spuds, and coleslaw, before we knew it was New Years ! Happy New Year!!! And just for the record there was no New Years kisses either.
Day 10, 1st January 2010
I was up at 6am and into the water by 7am after the first 5 minutes I knew this was going to be very hard.
On the plus side my speed when I was paddling on the water was very good and we got to Ngaruawahia at 9am which was great because I had heard storeys that the locals like throwing rocks at boats and trains around this part, so I was very happy to sneak under bridge earlyish in the morning.
We were making good progress and passed through Taupiri and well on our way to Huntly.
Rob was by me in his boat Matador, we have good maps of the river area but one thing they dont show is sandbars and channels, this was the start of the sandbar country and boy are there some beauties. About 2 ks before Huntly Rob and me both found a huge sand bar that was less than a foot deep, fine for me but a bit harder for Rob as the river pushes you onto them with all its flow and there is only one way to go and thats forward, lucky Robs a strong guy because he had to push the boat off this sandbar and various others as I had already passed them and couldnt get back up river.
We made it to Huntly at about 12 and had a quick lunch with Sandra on the river bank.
What surprised me was how nice and pretty the river was north of Huntly and even around parts of Huntly they have some really nice beaches and the bottom of the river is made up of small stones and is reasonably solid to stand up on.
By the time we had got to Rangiriri Bridge a head wind had picked up and had made a nasty 1 1/2ft slop on, which I had to keep adjusting myself on the board otherwise I would get pushed off the back of it.
Also G Spot with Dan and Beth had put their boat in the water with us too so we had the start of the flotilla.
This made for slow going but we were way ahead of my planned stops, we ended up heading about 11ks past Rangiriri Bridge and found a nice spot sheltered from the wind, finish time 8pm.
Lucky Beth is a massage therapist and she worked here magic on my back and shoulders which were a total mess according to Beth.

Day 11, 2nd January
Had a nice calm morning so made a good start at 7.30am, both boats found a few sand bars.
Stopped in at Mercer and had a good feed as I was going through the food like a horse.
As I got with 8ks of the Taka bridge the wind had picked up to a 30knot headwind and I was also running against the tide along with a 2foot breaking wave slop that I had to hold on tight to the board otherwise I was going to be pushed off the back of the board yet again.
This was the hardest day and I just had to keep on pushing I was making about 1km an hour and threw my toys out of the cot with the river and the wind!! But like usual no one else was going to paddle/kick for me so I had to battle my demons and harden up and get to the bridge where I could have a good nights sleep.
It turns out that I once again found second gear and pushed past the Taka Bridge and headed for a spot called the Elbow on the Pukekohe side. This was about another 9ks down the river.
I had been joined by Mike and Max in their inflatable and Dave Turner was back in the Yak again.
I was burning through energy and food at a blistering rate and thanks to the support crews who kept me feed on this part (great lamb chops Beth) I made it to the Elbow ski club at 8.30pm that night.
And what a fantastic welcome we had when we arrived they let us in and said help ourselves to the showers and even had heaps of beautiful food left over for us to have a munch on.
They even gave us the Keys to the club if we wanted to stay in it. Cheers Guys.
Day 12 Last Day 15ks to go.
After my experience with the tide yesterday we knew I had to get an early start to beat the tide rush (which apparently kills 2 white baiters a year when they get swept in) so I was up at 5am and on the water by 6am and even had half my breakfast (back country Roast lamb and veges) on my board so I could catch a bit of the drift as I ate!
Rob and Dan had spoken to a commercial mullet fisherman last night and had learnt that the support boats werent able to get past the short way and it was decided I would stick with the boats so that meant and extra 6ks around the islands to miss the sandbars after them.
I got about 1/3 of the way heading across when I hit the incoming tide, there was no way I could go against it so I headed for a angle to a point and I could not even make that as the tide rush was picking up hugely. I ended up about 200mtrs below the point and had to hang right in close to the bank and I mean right in close like 1 mtr or less as the tide was now ripping through.
I made it to the point and I was meet by the two support boats G Spot and Matador, the Elbow ski club river groupies in there rotax ski boat (great people) Mike, Teresa and Max way and Brother Chris who had been mirroring me as I came across.
Mum and dad had spotted me and had met me on the point before I made my final 3k push to the end.
The last 3 ks in true Waikato river styles was hard as the tide was rushing over rocks and I had to paddle and dig deep just get forward.
Finally I came around the wharf and onto the ramp which both was full of family and friends as I paddled the last 20mtrs I couldnt help myself and had a couple tears (bug in my eye) as I thought about my Dad and family and how far I had come on this mad expedition and all the people who believed in me and what I was raising money for and why.
As I walked up the ramp my Dad and Mum where right there to greet me, I was so stoked they had made it, as you might know my Dad is not very well and does not travel much anymore as it takes him so long to recover, but they were there at the start and at the finish.
To say it was emotional was a understatement there was more than a few tears from a few people and I felt overwhelmed as I am just a normal guy who told some people I am going to do this so I had to come through.
I would had not been able to do this without my support crew and helpers they were the glue that held me together and I cant thank them enough.

Cheers, Dave Turner, Steve Knibb, Johnny Knibb, Chris Way, Sandra Turner, Rob Turner, Dan chick, Leon Chick, Graham Chick, Beth Barberree, Mike Way, Teresa Way, Max Way, Peter Toynbee, Nick Goodall

Cheers Frank Way

My facebook page has quite a few photos and more are getting added,

http://www.facebook.com/#/fmway?v=photos






Im Attempting to do some thing that no one has attempted before and that is to "Riverboard the entire length of the Waikato river @ 425kms it is the longest river in New Zealand.

The hardest parts are going to be the lakes as there are over 7 lakes to cross and there will be no or minimal flow, it will be all Kicking and no Play!

The Expedition will start on the 12th of December and i will be leaving Taupo at 7am in the morning on the grass area by the Taupo control gates. (there is a nice bay where i will be entering the water.

The prostate foundation is right behind me and is using there marketing company to promote this expedition.

I believe that the Prostate Cancer Foundation is doing a great job. And there are many New Zealand men that are affected by it including my dear father Frank Way (senior) who i love very much and is very proud of me for giving this crazy venture a go!! ;)

I will be staying on the side of the river (where ever i lay my board on the river bank) and will be pretty much self sufficent, including cooking all my meals, staying in my tent and even purifying my own water from the river!

It is expected to take me between 10-14 days to do. It will be the hardest thing that i will ever do and i will be stepping way out of my comfort zone.

I ask you to come on board and help the prostate cancer foundation while this mad Kiwi gives the great outdoors a go!!

We have a website where there will be updates and a link to my actual position on the river as i go down it.

www.waikatoriverexpedition.co.nz

30/12/2009 update

I am going back in the river on the 1st of Jan to finish off the expedition due to being cut short just before Ngaruawahia by way of doctors orders regardinga infected knee.

Due to another health issue (tendon and nerve damage to my right foot) i am no longer able to kick the river sled so will be doing the rest in true kiwi style on a long surfboard! I have appox 130kms to go and will be hopefully be finished by the 4th of Jan.
All the best and i will see you at Port Waikato!!
Thanks for all your support and sponsorship of the Prosate Foundation NZ.

Frank the Fish