An article from the Kapiti News follows. The Spring rains which have yet to stop have swollen the flow of the river above normal — and quite a lot of branches have followed. (VUWTC pic)
Gliding down the steady flow of the Waikanae River, Amanda Gibbons watched from her raft as her son followed closely behind on an inflatable donut ring, the branches of nearby trees brushing them as they passed.
Moments later, however, the pair were thrown into sudden and fast-flowing rapids.
Unable to stop, Gibbons was pushed towards a fallen tree spanning the width of the stream, opposite the Greenaway Rd entrance to the Waikanae River.