Practical river skills for safe decision making and confident crossings

This one-day course gives trampers, hunters, and backcountry explorers the skills and confidence to assess rivers and decide when and when not to cross. You’ll learn how to identify river hazards, understand flow and terrain features, and apply sound decision-making to manage risk. Through hands-on practice, you’ll develop safe crossing techniques, learn how to choose entry and exit points, use poles for support, and back out when conditions change. The course also covers recovery swims, pack floating, and basic rescue methods including how to deal with cold injuries.

By the end of the day, you’ll have the practical knowledge and judgement to make safe, informed choices around rivers whether that means crossing with confidence, waiting it out, or turning back.

Programme

During the day we will cover:

Understanding river hydraulics: flow, width, depth, and hazards
Identifying safe crossing sites and exit points
Proper equipment: footwear, poles, and pack adjustments
Techniques for wading solo and with mutual support
Recovery swimming and pack floats
Group crossing dynamics and communication
Rescue strategies: self-rescue and helping others
Decision-making: when not to cross and alternative route planning
Environmental awareness: minimising impact and respecting waterways

Itinerary

Meet at venue (Aniseed Valley, Tasman)
(we can arrange pick up in Mapua and Richmond areas if you prefer)
Course starts at 9am and finishes at 3pm
We will be covering theory in the morning and having fun getting wet in the afternoon.

Fitness and Swimming Level

The wading depth will be no more than thigh height. Recovery swims are optional. Weak or non-swimmers are welcome and a buoyancy aid will be provided if preferred. You should be comfortable walking on rocky and uneven terrain with a small pack, entering and exiting water safely, and being in a river environment.

What you will need

Lightweight waterproof/windproof jacket
Polypro top
Warm mid-layer
Hiking trousers or shorts
Sturdy footwear suitable for wet rocks (e.g. walking boots or trainers)
Sun protection including hat
Wading poles or trekking poles (if you have them — otherwise we can lend)
Backpack with approx 5kg of weight and pack liner/dustbin liner
Lunch and snacks
At least 1 litre of drinking water
Personal medications and small first aid kit
Towel and dry full change of clothes and footwear for after the session
(Please don’t bring cotton clothing as it is not suitable)

Please note: this is a practical, hands-on course, and we want to create a good learning environment where students can get the most out of the course content. For that reason, we may suggest rescheduling the course if the weather conditions are forecast to be adverse or if the river levels are too high or too low.