we love 'walk backs' ...

First training today with the full team although Jess is not paddling till tomorrow to give her poor old arms a decent rest. Training was thirds this morning and this afternoon everyone's favourite training session 'walk backs' which involves working on a certain section of the course, getting out, walking back up, talking to the coach, getting back in and doing it all over again to finally achieve perfection .....
More teams arrived today and the course is pretty busy by the afternoon sessions. Today we trained alongside Japanese, Canadian, Americans, British, Irish, Ukrainian, Polish, Kazakhstan, and Brazilians.

walking the course first thing - whole team U18 and U23

watching the earlier session paddlers before us on the big drop and hole

Malcolm and the hole

talking with the coach during walk backs

boys gathering breath for the big roll they don't realise is about to happen .....

see .... the water actually is BIG - Robin

Deahna down the chute

Anna

Dales photo of a submarine

Ben 

Pavel and his captive audience (not New Zealand girls ......)

Shaun

Quick stop off at the shops for some snack food top ups and then home to chill, watch movies, play UNO, and practice rugby moves in the bedrooms ..... we are getting the food quantities sorted now that we are one big group, the washing is pretty constant with clothes for 21 people every day and the stupid washing machine at this place takes 2 hours for one load .... keeping the healthy snacks up to energy zapped paddlers is a bit of a challenge. Ben saw a snake today go in under the house - Wendy asked if he was sure it wasn't a lizard and he said it was but it had no legs -

boys in the bedroom - not an ideal place to play rugby .... go outside .....

All Blacks training