Deceased kayaker's husband: 'I know she had no regrets'

BRYSON CITY — It is a love story that spans the rivers of the globe.

It was 1994. Nick Williams was a kayaker, leading outdoor adventure trips for the Nantahala Outdoor Center in Nepal. More breathtaking than the Himalayas or the Sun Koshi River was the young Kiwi kayaker he met there – she was bold, beautiful and "spunky."

Her name was Maria Noakes. And Williams’ life would never be the same.

The two married in 2001 in New Zealand and raised their sons, Dominique, 14, and Matteo, 12, in Bryson City, as a mountain whitewater paddling family.

Noakes lost her life last Saturday, March 3, while kayaking on the Cheoah River in the Nantahala National Forest. Williams said she was serving as the sweep – the last boat, to make sure everyone else got down the river safely – on the outing with her sons and other friends. Her body was found separated from her boat.

“If anybody lived life to the fullest to it was Maria,” Williams said. “She loved every sport. We both really understood the risks we were taking. It was never about her. She was worried about the people around her and making sure they were safe and making good decisions. I know she has no regrets.”

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Noakes grew up on the beach in Northland, New Zealand, with her parents, John and Sue, two brothers and a sister. At age 13 she attended boarding school at Saint Cuthbert School for Girls in Auckland. She later earned a degree in occupational therapy from the Central Institute of Technology.

“She worked as an occupational therapist in London. She hated it,” Williams said.

He said Noakes always had the adventure gene. She worked selling medical devices to gather enough money to travel. When she was 24, Williams said, Noakes hitchhiked from Egypt to South Africa.

She loved to bike and to ski. She worked for a company that ran chalets in Chamonix, France. She cooked and cleaned in the mornings, spent the day skiing, then came back to serve dinner, Williams said.

The same company led river trips in Nepal and in 1994 Noakes – who had never kayaked before - went with friends on a 10-day trip down the 172-mile, Class V Sun Koshi River.

“She fell in love and never looked back,” Williams said. “She did that without any instruction. She said, ‘This is fantastic,' and went and got a job Ultimate Descents in Nepal.”

He said she quickly became part of the kayaking world’s elite. Williams said the Bhutanese government asked the couple to develop their whitewater industry. He said the hardest river Maria ever paddled was the Mangde Chu in Bhutan. 

Noakes went on to become one of the top freestyle kayakers in the world, competing on the New Zealand National Team. She also continued to lead adventure trips around the globe. Off the top of his head, Williams named some of the places she had paddled: India, Bhutan, Nepal, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Turkey, France, Italy, Switzerland, Canada, Mexico, Peru, Zambia, Zimbabwe ...

He said her next guiding trip was to be in Georgia – the country - this summer.

The family took many international trips together, Williams said, even when their sons were babies. Nothing was impossible for her, he said. She had a kid-like energy throughout her life. She was the most positive person he had ever known. She was never not smiling.

For example:

“Last year she was in France with Matteo running a commercial private kayaking trip and then went to numerous competitions and she competed in one of the big festivals called the Natural Games,” Williams said.

“She just got back from visiting her parents in January in New Zealand and it was ski season so she joined the Asheville Ski Club and helped coach the boys racing team on Monday and Wednesday nights. She went on Tuesday nights as well and then took Thursday off and then Friday she would ski and then Saturday we would do something.”

The “something” included working at the family’s Smoky Mountain Jetboat business, teaching kayaking for the NOC, organizing kids’ freestyle events for the Nantahala Racing Club, helping out at her sons’ two different schools in Asheville, competing in local races, and doing anything for a friend, at any time.

Noakes’ infectious love of life, kayaking and people spread so far, her death has made national headlines around the world. A memorial service on the Nantahala River on Saturday is expected to draw hundreds.

Williams said he doesn’t think there is anything that could have been done differently on the Cheoah last weekend.

“That’s where she was happiest, paddling. She was always on one adventure to the next. She was full of life. She was living life to its fullest and doing it well.”

More:Public memorial, fund set for kayaker Maria Noakes, who died in Cheoah River

Remembering Maria

Friends and family are holding a public memorial for Noakes at 2 p.m. March 10 on the banks of the Nantahala at the NOC. They will also paddle the Nantahala in her honor.

Through the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina, they have set up the Live Like Maria Memorial Fund. Donations will be directed into causes that were close to Maria’s heart, including paddling instruction and outdoor experiences for youth, river conservation and access, and empowering women in outdoor adventure pursuits. Visit www.cfwnc.org.