Next event!
Friday 30th July: After-work drinks at The Dux De Lux. From 5.30pm
We'll probably be inside one of the cubbies, follow the trail of good looking, friendly types and you can't go far wrong.
Then,
One of the best known and most highly respected kayakers in NZ will be entertaining us with an evening of NZ kayak adventures 101 from the sharp end. Free!
More details to follow..
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All welcome, both locals, visitors, immigrants, those with all the gear, those with none of the gear, the quiet, the gregarious, the amusing, the self-deprecating. Simply turn up! Everything not actually involving the getting wet kayaking.
Have your say by completing the aforementioned online survey (takes less than a minute of your life, only four checkbox style questions blah, blah..) and tell us what you want organised. With sufficient support we will make it happen – with some help from you, the members.
Questions, comments, suggestions, invites to openings of crisp packets, film premieres and beer or wine tastings to the below email. Cheers!
DavidB and JohnH(find in the member directory)
social@whitewater.org.nz
'Regular' events:
Last Thursday or Friday of the month - after-work drinks at a nominated brewpub in Christchurch. 5.30-7pm usually, sometimes cheap eats afterwards if people keen.
General info for after-work drinks: People usually rock up from 5.30pm and are ready to head home by about 8pm. It's a great way to start your evening, whether continuing into town and its fleshpots or heading home to wives/ husbands/ partners/ ice cream tubs/ big pants/ kayak piggy banks.
social@whitewater.org.nz
Kayaking most weekends in the summer from September through to May. Legendary socials off the back of those, but you've got to be 'in it to win it'! Sign up for the beginners courses here and be transported to a WhiterWater way of thinking about drinking (and paddling & fraternising).
Previous events:
2010.
Saturday 24th July. Mid-Winter Dinner at Tutto Bene, Merivale. 20 hardy souls and the like attended and quaffed, noshed and variously enjoyed themselves grandly. Some absentees were snowcaving in the hills for kicks, hmm!
Friday 25th June. After-work drinks at The Watershed, Ferrymead. Wasn't the fire great! Conversation not bad either, company fantastic and tales told tall as usual.
Friday 28th May after-work drinks at The Twisted Hop, Christchurch. From 5.30pm.
John H. stood in for absent social types, he's the dashing one dazzling of smile and devastating of wit, humour and friendliness. Kind of like stand up without being stood up. Perhaps the most inclusive and widely suitable venue we frequent with tables, chairs, art on the walls, friendly staff, warmth, good food and a great atmosphere. If there was sawdust on the floor it would be clean and fragrant. You'll be pleased to hear that the Hop is bigger, better and (badder?) warmer than it's summer configuration, with new dining and socialising space inside to accompany the heart-warming brews and conversation that will inevitably flow. You came along, we didn't miss some of you...!
http://thetwistedhop.co.nz/
Friday 30th April: After-work drinks at The Bangalore Polo Club
There was drinkin' and protestin' (same night as the ECan protest at Copthorne), big people, little people, old persons, young personages, beer attending, waitstaff keeping them glasses full-ish. Feature appearances by out of towners, sponsored riders, those heading overseas, those just back - just another day in the life of WWCC - all-inclusive, not too hard drinking, friendly and convivial and plenty'o'larfs to bring smiles to tired or otherwise engaged faces.
Let's do it again soon!
Friday 26th March: After-work drinks at the Monster Bar, Lyttelton. 6pm onwards.
It's the downstairs one from the better-known Wunderbar, they sell beer, good snack food and regularly host jammin' sessions that may well get you in the mood for a groove.
Friday 26th February - incredibly special and flash after-work drinks and movie at Rialto Cinema/ French Film Festival.
There were two films, either 'Every Jack has a Jill - starting at 6.30pm (80mins runtime) or 'Bellamy' starting at 8.30pm (110mins runtime). There were smartly dressed people present, there was a tension that was palpable by it's presence, there were empty stomachs, there were only a couple of empty seats, there was a paucity of blokes. But don't worry, normal beering service will be resumed soon - luddites!
Friday 29th January. After-work drinks at Yellow Cross, (Sol Square, Struthers Lane, 179 Tuam St)..
Yellow Cross is the overwhelming audience choice - variously described as pokey 'dive-bar' or 'best of a bad bunch', but significant saving graces are a massive choice of beers on and off-tap, wine, other liquid preferences. The intangible thing called 'atmosphere' has been promised in buckets, so no need to bring buckets...
From 5.30pm, spot JohnH looking cheeky and you won't go far wrong.
2009.
Xmas paddle and barbeque - 9am Saturday 19th December 2009.
Phew, that was a close one (with the weather..). Dubious clouds giving way to bright and not breezy sunshine which was enjoyed by about 50 men and women good and true. Paddling was enjoyed, weirs were overcome, shallow waters were nudged across. Broad smiles suggest most/ all/ some enjoyed themselves. Peter Timbs provided the bbq meats, AlH and RichardL generously supplied barbeques and tables, GraemeW was spotted flipping burgers and wielding the 'company' cheque book, Kim and Michaela made the food appetising with condiments supply, others beavered away in the background to make the day appear as if it had been organised to within a cm of its life. The salads that arrived were crisp and tasty, the amazing cakes (thanks Maria) were gone in less than sixty seconds and there wasn't a Keanu in sight.
Thanks to everyone who helped in ways big and small, perfectly formed and steamroller-like. Thanks also to the long-suffering WWCC committee for putting up with my ever-changing event budget and who WILL at some point pay for all the food - on members behalf.
Send photos to social@whitewater.org.nz and will chuck a few on the site like.
Thursday 17th December at the Belgian Beer Cafe, from 5.30pm. We were outside, the weather was good, the beer strong. Location here via Google maps.
Friday 27th November - after-work drinks at the Twisted Hop. 5.30-7pm. (Lots of) you arrived, descended and graced the balmy outside tables with your presence, drank suitably responsibly and enjoyed a fine evening of novice/ old hand/ dyed in the wool/ fresh faced keenness conversation and repartee. The Hop staff looked after us brillianty - respect to Jess for holding tables inside and out dependent on what the weather was going to do. The Twisted Hop, Poplar Lane, Christchurch Village.
Friday 30th October. After-work drinks at Dux De Lux, Arts Centre, Christchurch 5.30-7pm.
Full details here . My wasn't there a jolly bunch of die-hards and recent faces, intermingled with conversation and beer and everything in between. Plans were made, drinks were drunk, drunks were ejected - joy resulted.
Friday 25th September. After-work drinks were drunk at the new Macs Brewbar in Poplar Lane. Stylishly dressed female kayakers turned up, male kayakers looked on admiringly, beer was drunk, snacks consumed - nobody got hurt.
Friday 28th August. After-work drinks at the Twisted Hop, Poplar Lane 5.30-7pm. JohnH just about managed to turn up to host, beer, wine and non-alco's featured, people schmoozed. Brass Monkey experiences were compared. Result > happiness!
Thursday 30th July. 'Thirsty Thursday' drinks at the Dux De Lux. Full details here. Arthur headed the Irish grade IV kayak/ enjoying quaffing ale contingent and was delighted to be your co-host for the evening. A small (but perfectly formed) gang attended and enjoyed until 'later than usual' the fine fare on tap and on plates.
14th July from 6.30pm-9pm. Kayak pub quiz at the Thirsty Marriners in
Sumner.
Thirty adventurous souls and partners, hangers on and all-round good eggs enjoyed a night to remember hosted by WWCC social and quiz master extraordinaire HughC. Points made prizes allright with "The really cool people" named team taking overall points honours, closest cumecs Q and some of the spot prizes too. Other winners on the evening took home prizes worth $10,000 including kayaks*, prizes generously donated by Paddlerzone and Canoe and Outdoor World and your very own WWCC. 'An evening with JohnH' was voted as most popular prize...
* Ok, it was kayak hires but the boats were definitely worth plenty moolah.
19th June. After-work drinks at Pomeroys.
Twenty suitably attired (like drinking real beer and wearing clothes) peeps arrived to find their host JohnH deciding between on-tap brews, mulling the meaning of life and showing the rest of us the path to true enlightenment WWCC/ kayak style. He was the perfect host, turner-upee's enjoyed selves immense big, girls were suitably impressed.
22nd May. After-work drinks at The Twisted Hop.
Your co-host for the eve Mr AlH graced us with his presence - after everyone else had already turned up and found their own ways through the menu, then redeemed himself beyond reproach by buying this author a beer. Imbibing continued for some time and cheap eats at a secret local venue kept wolves from stomach doors.
17th April. After-work drinks at Pomeroys.
26th March. After-work drinks at The Dux.
WWCC social: Mission statement:
Facilitating occasional social interaction between WWCC members, their partners and guests.
If you're not a member then drop us a note so we know to look out for you, come along to an event, see if you like what we're up to (and the beer) scribble on one of these, get it back to us. It will magically transport you to a whiter water canoe club way of life.
‘Assumptions’:
Drink beer, eat food, meet interesting people, a diverse range of events, fun, informal networking opportunities, kayak gear advice. Kayak movies.
Bit of advance notice for diary planning, advertised via website announcements, monthly Bobspam emails, other media as appropriate.
Formal – eg. Xmas barbeque, end of season weekend/ dinner @Murchison.
Informal - everything else.
We know you can do it far better than us beginners:
So offer your assistance to be host at an upcoming event. Not nearly as onerous as being a river trip organiser or leader, basically help us out with some of the organising and be at the bar for informals to welcome new and old alike.
We're building it, you have the choice to participate (but we know where you live if you don't)..
DavidB (find in the member directory)
social@whitewater.org.nz