PRANZ is lead by a dedicated team of volunteers, who are committed to supporting NZ’s Packrafting Community.
The committee is made up of a Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, and general committee members.
Interim Chair: Megan Sety
I grew up swimming, fishing, tubing and rafting the rivers in Idaho. After moving to New Zealand, the local tramping club introduced me to tramping in and through rivers, along with bushbashing, mountaineering and canyoning. Packrafting is the perfect opportunity to blend exploration through rivers and the backcountry. It is a never-ending learning journey. I’m looking forward to the opportunities that we can create through PRANZ to further build and grow the packrafting community on that journey.
Treasurer: David Stephenson
Originally from Yorkshire, I arrived in Wanaka with my girlfriend in 2017 and it was such an awesome place we never left. My background is in data analytics, and after a stint of purchasing at Cardrona Ski Resort I now work for Mons Royale doing data-ry stuff. I was first introduced to packrafting when a friend took me down the West Matukituki. It was so good, within a week I was demonstrating my excellent budgeting skills by spending my whole winters savings on an inflatable boat. To reassure you, I do have a masters in Maths and Physics, so I’m usually pretty good with numbers. Now, packrafting is my go-to summer sport (ski touring in winter) so I’m keen to get involved, learn heaps and offer what I can!
Secretary: Sarah Ellmer
That moment you get to inflate and paddle as part of your journey, gives an ultimate freedom and access to adventure that has many of us hooked. PRANZ’s mission and objectives are no-brainers; to advocate for packrafting, to protect our access and environment, and to promote safety and development. We should all care about these things and they’re the responsibility of us all.
General Committee: Stu Bilby
Stu is into exploring wild remote places and wondering what lies up remote valleys. He loves long-distance packrafting trips that take several months – walking the passes between catchments. He paddled and walked from Lewis Pass to the South Coast with his packraft. He may be obsessed with maps and detailed gear lists. He is keen to see packrafters of all levels improve their skills and be able to access New Zealand’s amazing rivers. Stu is based in Auckland and when not packrafting can be found solving water engineering problems or wandering the Himalayas.
General Committee: Brendon Nevin
I grew up in Wellington so my first river trips were on the Hutt River, mostly in tyre tubes. I progressed to the other rivers around the Lower North Island. Packrafting seemed synonymous with adventure. Made for linking routes, sports, land and water without being tied to any one. I wanted to open up the map to new missions… and then proceeded to spend way more time than I thought on roadside rivers!
General Committee: Shayne Galloway
My first experience in a packraft was with Huw Miles on the Rees. Not a bad spot. My first river trip was on the sarcastically named Whitewater River in Indiana. We used tractor tire innertubes and chilly bins. The most exciting bit was stealing the inner tubes.
I was drawn to Packrafting for the journey – I love the multimodal expedition quality that packrafting brings to the party. Usually a line on a map determines where people go, but packrafting opens that up to a heap of creative space for exploration. The combinations that folks are doing is really inspirational. Also – my days of portaging canoes and lugging kayaks are behind me…I hope.