Whanganui River 235km paddle in 7 days: Brenden Hawkins reflects on mental health challenge

Brenden 'Tarzan' Hawkins (second from right) with the Whanganui Board Riders who joined him on the final stretch of his 235km paddle of the Whanganui River.

• Brenden Hawkins paddled the Whanganui River on a surfboard to raise awareness for mental health.
• He faced challenges like eel attacks, body sores, and missed food drops during the journey.
• Hawkins’ fundraiser for the I Am Hope Foundation has raised $4600 so far.

Eel attacks, body sores and peanut slabs accompanied Brenden Hawkins on his surfboard paddle down the Whanganui River for mental health awareness.

Hawkins, also known as Tarzan, announced in late January that he would paddle the length of the Whanganui River on a custom-made surfboard to raise money and awareness for the I Am Hope Foundation.

He started his journey from Taumarunui on March 15 and reached the river mouth seven days later, joining the Whanganui Board Riders and catching a wave to complete the feat.

“It definitely had its highs and lows but it was a challenge, for sure,” he said.

Hawkins was able to cover 57km on the first day thanks to the low river rapids.

However, the rocks tore up Hawkins’ hands, making the second half of the day’s paddle excruciating.

“By the end of that I was well poked, the furthest I’d ever paddled before that was 13km so it was definitely a hard day,” he said.

Some slippery locals added to the pain later in the first day.

“Because you pee in your wetsuit, the eels came out in the dark and started attacking me and my board just as I got to Whakahoro, so that was pretty gnarly.”

Over the next five days, Hawkins had to deal with rats eating his food, body sores and missed food drops.

Headwinds and heavy rain also challenged Hawkins.

He split his days into two, stopping for a quick feed with some Kiwi classics.

“I would sit there and have a real quick snack, I’d just have some Jack Links Jerky and a peanut slab - Kiwi as,” he said.

The feeling immediately after finishing was “very strange” and it took the words of those around him to realise what he had achieved, he said.

Hawkins was keen to donate his custom-made surfboard to be displayed in the Whanganui Regional Museum as a constant reminder about mental health.

He said his achievement had only enhanced his passion for mental health and he wanted to pursue a role in that area.

“It has definitely inspired a lot of people and I’ve gotten a lot of feedback about it,” Hawkins said.

“I want to help support companies like I Am Hope [Foundation] and try to be proactive with mental health instead of reactive.

“I want to help the younger generations to be more open and learn younger so they don’t have these issues later on and spend all these years trying to bottle it up.”

Hawkins’ fundraiser for I Am Hope has raised $4600 so far and is still available through his Givealittle page.