About us
Josefa Sepúlveda Fernández and Axel Hovorka first crossed paths while kayaking the Tomatita waterfall on the Río Captren in the Araucanía Region of Chile. Both are from distinct backgrounds but bring deep experience in mentorship, teaching, competition, logistics, safety, and expeditions. United by their passion for the river, Josefa and Axel started Chile Kayak Adventures to share the magic of Chile’s culture, whitewater, and landscape with the world.
Josefa Sepúlveda Fernández
Originally from Padre Las Casas outside of Temuco in the Araucanía region of Southern Chile, Josefa has become one of the country’s most celebrated paddlers. She began kayaking while studying at the Universidad de la Frontera in Pucón. Without access to formal instruction or transport, Josefa traveled with her kayak by foot to Lago Villarrica to teach herself how to roll her kayak. Josefa became Chile’s top female slalom kayaker and represented her country abroad. After shifting her focus to solely whitewater kayaking, she became the first woman from Latin America to paddle the canyons of the Río Baker. Josefa has paddled some of Southern Chile’s most difficult rivers with remarkable style and also paddled in the United States on the Little White Salmon, Toketee Falls, and in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. Josefa has grown to be one of the top women in the sport not just in Chile but in all of Latin America. Josefa is a team paddler for Pyranha Kayaks and Level Six.
Axel Hovorka
Axel Hovorka is obsessed with two things, Spanish and whitewater. He is from Bend, Oregon in the Pacific Northwest United States. Axel began paddling at 8 years old and has maintained a deep passion for the sport ever since. Axel has led and mentored many paddlers to reach their kayaking goals on sections like the Little White Salmon River in Washington and the Fantasy Falls section of the North Fork Mokelumne River. He has paddled in 9 different countries across the Americas, Europe, and the Pacific on some of the world’s most difficult sections like the Grand Canyon of the Stikine River and Cataracts of the Kern River. Axel is fluent in Spanish and has significant expertise in Chilean rivers having completed descents of 115-foot Salto Puma on the Río Fuy, a no-portage run of the three canyons of the Río Baker, and first descents in the Los Ríos region. Axel’s goal is to be the best possible river companion for any paddler.