Thirty people have completed a gruelling three-day paddle covering 100 kilometres through north coast communities still recovering from the 2022 flooding disaster.
They called themselves the "boaty boys", and many of them were involved in the civilian-led "tinny army" rescues in February 2022 in Lismore and the downstream communities of Coraki, Woodburn, and Wardell.
The Lennox Head-based group organised the three-day paddle on the Wilsons and Richmond rivers.
Organiser Taama Jones said the paddle provided a reason to return to the river since helping out in Lismore during the disaster.
"100 per cent it has helped me make peace," he said.
"It is nice to paddle the river in its glory now and see how beautiful it can be rather than a torrent, raging mess that we were all subject to last year.
"From horror to beauty; it was amazing."
Mr Jones assisted with a number of rescues during the disaster, using a jetski to help ferry people stranded in homes or their rooftops.
"It is a day I will never forget, for good and bad reasons," he said.
"This [paddle] is a way to close some of those not-so-nice memories."
Months in the planning
Carlo Maestri was a driving force for the fundraiser, which had been many months in the making.
The event was run on a shoestring budget and paddlers used whatever watercraft they could source, from old plastic canoes, to surf skis, and row boats.
The paddlers slept in swags by the river and were accompanied by a small support crew on a houseboat.
"I reckon it would be easier to organise Charlie's coronation than this," Mr Maestri said.
He said it was demoralising at times when meeting a headwind on the water.
"It was like a marathon; it was not a sprint," he said.
"You had to pick your pace and make sure your arms didn't fall off getting there."
Various local charities will benefit from the fundraiser.
