Record number of travellers bound to Waitangi, Treaty Principles Bill described as the tip of the iceburg and expectations that unemployment will rise. Video / NZ Herald
An attempt to be the first person to paddle a surfboard along 235km of the Whanganui River aims to raise mental health awareness.
Brenden Hawkins will try to paddle from Taumarunui to Whanganui on a custom-made surfboard to raise money for the I am Hope Foundation.
Taupō resident Hawkins, known as “Tarzan” because of his long hair, forestry background and bush lifestyle, will start his attempt on March 15 and estimates the journey to be 10-14 days.
“The goal is to get all the way down to the river mouth, go around and try and catch a wave on the beach if I have got enough energy - that would be ideal,” Hawkins said.
Brenden Hawkins will attempt to paddle the Whanganui River on a surfboard to raise funds for mental health support.
“Recently a good friend of mine, his younger brother who was 32 took his life and it really hit the family hard - it was very unexpected,” Hawkins said.
“He was a guy that seemed to have everything put together. He had two young kids and doing well so that was the last push, I was just like, ‘bugger it, I should just do this and paddle for charity’.”
Hawkins said he had gone through a lot emotionally in his life with the deaths of friends and family, which led him to adopt the motto, ‘you only live once’ and made him determined to complete the paddling feat.
“You see the effects like that and people just don’t know how to deal with it that well, everyone has their own way but it is about putting yourself in their shoes,” he said.
“I’ve always liked doing a lot of mental health stuff. I’ve been pushing it quite hard with the forestry, just trying to be open and talk about stuff if it is bothering you.
“It is a matter of being proactive, not reactive.”
Hawkins is a keen surfer and his central location in Taupō allows him to travel to surf spots such as Raglan, Gisborne, Whanganui and Napier.
He has been given a custom-made surfboard, courtesy of Takahiro Shirai, which is about 2.9m long for maximum buoyancy and displays baby Dory from the movie Finding Dory, with the slogan, ‘just keep swimming’.
“When you are surfing and getting beaten, you start panicking. I literally tell myself in a little Dory voice, ‘just keep swimming, just keep swimming’, it relaxes me and calms me down,” he said.
“When life is hard, you have got to just keep on swimming.”
Hawkins' estimation of 10-14 days for the surfboard trip is based on his knowledge of canoeing which takes eight days. However, it is easier because paddlers have an oar and are not in the water.
“I’ve allowed 14 days because that is all I’m allowed off work and my boss will start to get a bit stroppy, so it will give me a good reason to push harder,” he said.
Brenden Hawkins says he has been trying to push the mental health message in the forestry industry.
Hawkins has thought out his game plan and necessary safety steps to give him the best chance of success.
He will organise a rotation of people to kayak alongside him with food, camping gear and other survival items. He has been provided gear by his supporters Skins, Push Gummies and Backdoor.
Hawkins will camp on the riverbank each evening to maximise time spent on the river.
“It gives me the freedom to go as far as I can. If I get a hut, I have to book with DoC [Department of Conservation] and I don’t know when I am going to be there half the time,” Hawkins said.
“I don’t want to stop at a spot with four hours left of daylight, I’d rather keep going.”
Tour Aotearoa will place a tracker on Hawkins so people can see his progress online and for safety reasons.
He said his progress would depend on the flow of the river and he would have to account for cramps, no flow and the frequency and power of his strokes.
He was concerned about the amount of time his feet and hands would be in the water, but had factored this into his plans.
“One of the biggest things I was worried about is my hands being in the water for so long - it is not good for them,” Hawkins said.
“I may have to try vaseline up my feet and hands to counter.”
Hawkins has been training by visiting the Waikato River on his board and paddling “decent chunks”, as well as spending the summer surfing, running, mountain biking and doing motocross to keep fit.
He wants to cover a minimum of 20km a day; 23.5km a day would result in him finishing in 10 days.
Despite receiving pessimistic words from a few friends and family members, Hawkins was relishing the challenge.
“I’m confident I’ll do it,” he said.
“I think waking up the second day will be the best indicator to see how the body is handling it.
“I’m hoping to get it in 12 days, that is my goal.”
He said the importance of mental health awareness could not be understated.
“I’ve been through a hell of a lot of stuff in my life and when you have to pull yourself through those tough times, you don’t want anyone else to go through that alone,” he said.
“It’s not really about the money, it is just about that awareness, that is worth more.
“We’ve got to keep bringing it up and putting it in front of people, it’s all right to go through troubles and not be all good - you don’t have to hide it, it doesn’t make you stronger or better.”
Feilding-born Hawkins said attempting the feat of being the first person to paddle on a surfboard down the Whanganui River was nerve-racking.
“People always tell you ‘don’t be afraid of failure', and with this paddle I’m worried that I won’t do it but having that fear of not finishing is the whole reason you do it,” he said.
