Kayak slalom caught everyone's attention when Finn Butcher won gold at the 2024 Olympics - but before Paris, Butcher spent most of his time training at the Vector Wero Park in Manukau.
The park is not just for professional athletes, but is also home to the largest school and community programme for white water experience in the world.
On a drizzly weekday morning, students from Dawson Primary School in south Auckland sang waiata while they waited patiently for their turn on the water.
Out across the $40 million water park facility, Manurewa East School students were already getting stuck into their hour-long session, which involved crossing a river on foot, white water rafting, and floating down the rapids on their backs.
Watching on was Edna Ngere, the curriculum coordinator at Manurewa East.
"I think we've brought through about 100 kids so far. We've still got a few more sessions to go and a few more children to experience such an awesome facility like this, especially in Manukau.
"Our kids are not exposed to things like this, so this opportunity just broadens their horizon about what's available to them."
Ngere said the water safety programme could be transformational for the children.
"It just reinforces the value of pushing boundaries for their personal development. I hope that this experience inspires our children to embrace new challenges and curiosity, but also fosters a growth in themselves and also resilience as well, which is a big thing both on and on the water.
"I hope they end up just like Finn Butcher, and become the next Finn Butcher from Manurewa East School."
The children take to the water in a raft. Photo: Nick Monro
Jesse Dowd, the operations manager at Wero, said things had ramped up since Paris
"It's put it on the map, the kayak cross especially. Kids coming in asking, 'can we have a go? Can we try this?'" he told First Up.
"Even kayakers that came in, they were already using this facility. [but] almost didn't know that [kayak cross] was a thing. So they are even coming and asking how they get into kayak cross.
"It's added a new element definitely to the slalom scene, which is cool."
The park, which opened in 2016, holds 20 million litres of water, and has two rivers, a lake, and a 4.5 metre waterfall.
About 20,000 students complete the water safety programme there every year.
The children learn how to safely float down river. Photo: Nick Monro
"Pretty standard through these winter months - we're running three groups, 20 to 30 kids, Tuesday to Friday," Dowd said.
"Then obviously weekends slides a bit more into the tourism game and you get your families coming through, birthday parties, things like that."
Dowd said the programme, which many schools got funding to take part in, was vital for the safety of future generations.
"We're a country surrounded in water and we have a massive number of drownings.
"And a lot of it is just lack of education, lack of exposure. And doing this gives everyone the opportunity to get out and be exposed to it, and experience what it is like to end up in that river."
Leonard Powell joined the students out on the water. Photo: Nick Monro
First Up reporter Leonard Powell joined the students - wearing wetsuits, booties, spray jackets and helmets - out on the water.
At the rapids section, the first exercise was a river crossing.
Students were shown how to cross the rapid on foot, firstly by themselves, then in pairs, and eventually groups of eight.
Communication was key, as was banding together to combat the strength of the river, which was controlled to run at different strengths depending on the group.
After several crosses, excited students had a turn paddling the rapids in a white water raft. Dowd was the guide, coaching the kids to paddle in time.
After two laps in the raft, it was time for students to float down the rapid on their backs, with an emphasis on their feet facing down river.
The kids then lined up patiently, and when the instructor gave them the all-clear, they popped a manu.
