Traversing New Zealand on Foot and Packraft, with Florian Guillier
7-minute read
When Florian Guillier reached out to us in 2024 to tell us about his planned hike and packraft trip in New Zealand’s South Island, we knew we had to be part of it.
Florian Guillier, a French native, in the South Island of New Zealand
“This journey will take me through some of the most breathtaking wilderness areas on the planet,” he wrote. “My goal is to document the expedition in a film that captures the spirit of adventure and the beauty of the wilderness, aiming to inspire audiences across various platforms and a national festival tour.”
Florian, a native of France, has since completed his trip and the film. We’re excited to introduce him to you as well, to learn about his experience and see a handful of his many wonderful photos of those breathtaking areas.
Here’s our interview with Florian:
AQUA BOUND: Tell us about your paddling background?
FLORIAN: My introduction to the world of paddling was in 2018, when I went to guide a season of sea kayaking in Canada, in the Gaspésie region of Québec. It was an incredible experience, surrounded by a colony of around 400 seals and whales.
The following year, I completed a Master's internship with an expedition company, where I developed their packrafting offering—something that barely existed in France at the time—and created trips in Slovenia, Patagonia, Northern India and Greenland.
Then in the summer of 2019, I went to paddle one of the last wild rivers in Europe, the Vjosa in Albania, along with several other rivers. I immediately saw its enormous potential and the vast field of possibilities it opened up for adventure and exploration.
The year after, I spent a season as a rafting guide in Canada, where I was able to fully immerse myself in the world of whitewater and refine my technique.
AQUA BOUND: What made you decide on New Zealand for a packrafting expedition?
FLORIAN: In 2024, I spent an entire year working in Australia. Living in France, I was about as far from home as you can get. It felt like the perfect opportunity to discover New Zealand, given its geographical proximity to Australia.
I had also done quite a bit of research in the past on which countries would be ideal for a packrafting adventure, and New Zealand kept coming up as a true paradise for it—something the trip confirmed beyond any doubt. I had read trip reports and seen plenty of photos that convinced me straight away. I had to go. It was obvious.
AQUA BOUND: What route did you choose?
FLORIAN: The plan was to cross the South Island of New Zealand from north to south, on foot and by packraft. I started by planning the route using satellite imagery and whatever information I could find online—a 1,500-kilometre itinerary to be covered in two months, mostly through the Southern Alps.
Since there weren't enough rivers flowing in a north-to-south direction at the start, I left the packraft behind for the first section to keep my pack light and followed the famous Te Araroa Trail on foot for the first three weeks. It felt like an approach march, a way to ease into what was coming.
The packraft came in handy to cross rivers that were too dangerous to ford on foot—the Rakaia River being a good example. It was at Lake Tekapo that I left the Te Araroa behind and started forging my own way. From that point on, the expedition shifted up a gear—wilder, more committing, more exhilarating, no more marked trails to follow. From there, it was almost entirely off-track.
The idea was to paddle a series of stunning rivers, linking them together by mountain passes crossed on foot, moving from valley to valley. I also added the famous Hollyford/Pyke loop, which I had heard great things about, before finishing at the Tasman Sea in the far south. I managed to complete the full itinerary as planned, even if the reality on the ground was sometimes more complex than I had anticipated.
Of the 1,500 kilometres, around 1,000 were covered on foot and 500 by packraft, spread across about ten sections.
AQUA BOUND: Tell us about your gear.
FLORIAN: I paddled a Blue Duck Packraft (Mokihi)—ideal for expeditions thanks to its internal storage compartment—paired with an Aqua Bound Whiskey Carbon paddle, which is ultralight and breaks down into four pieces. For buoyancy, an Astral EV-Eight PFD, also very light, and Bedrock sandals on my feet. I also carried dry bags to protect electronics—camera, phones, drone and so on.
As for unexpected gear issues, there were quite a few, and not minor ones. The frame of my 65L pack eventually gave out under 33 kilos of resupply weight, both of my trekking poles snapped (the same poles I used to pitch my Kiwi ultralight tarp), and my brand-new Thermarest sleeping pad gave up within days.
The cherry on top: I lost my drone right at the very end of the trip, just days from the finish line.
AQUA BOUND: Other than your gear issues, what was more challenging than you anticipated?
FLORIAN: On this crossing, I completely underestimated the sandflies. These tiny insects are New Zealand's own brand of hell. Far worse than mosquitoes, they don't just bite—they gnaw at the skin and always find a gap, an exposed patch. Even fully covered, even while moving.
The moment you stop, clouds of them appear, relentless. In the evening at camp, everything becomes a race against them. Pitching the tarp, getting changed, eating—every pause turns into a test of patience. A small but constant daily torture, invisible yet wearing on the nerves.
But sandflies weren't the only thing pushing me to my limits. The terrain itself had surprises that the map gave no warning of. Some of the off-track sections were brutally hard. On paper, they looked straightforward, but the reality was something else entirely.
I think back to one moment where I had to push through an incredibly dense stretch of bush, constantly blocked, unable to move forward. A wall of vegetation barely 100 metres wide that took me four hours to get through. Then there were imposing canyons to scramble up.
AQUA BOUND: What were the highlights of your expedition?
FLORIAN: Honestly, it was those moments coming down the rivers after a hard approach when the effort gave way to wonder. And the rivers themselves were breathtakingly beautiful.
The descent becomes almost a well-earned reward, something you wouldn't have experienced the same way if the journey had been easy. That contrast is what stays with you—the pain of the effort and the beauty of the moment layered on top of each other, making the memory so much stronger.
AQUA BOUND: Tell us about the film you produced about your trip.
FLORIAN: Out of this adventure came a documentary film called Paddle The Silence, a 52-minute ode to freedom and the poetry of wild spaces.
You can watch it on my website: https://florianguillier.com/en/film-paddle-the-silence-new-zealand/
Here’s the trailer:
Our thanks to Florian for taking the time for this interview! For more, you can follow him on Instagram and explore his website.
All photos courtesy of Florian Guillier.
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