We caught up with Axel and Josefa to learn how years of guiding, paddling across borders, and a shared respect for rivers led them to create Chile Kayak Adventures. What started as a love for mentoring paddlers and exploring new places has grown into a thoughtfully run guiding operation rooted in community, authenticity, and deep local knowledge. Together, they’re offering guests an experience that goes beyond a typical guided trip, one that connects people to Chile’s rivers, landscapes, and culture in a meaningful way.
Josefa Sepúlveda Fernández and Axel Hovorka first crossed paths while kayaking the Tomatita waterfall on the Río Captren in Chile’s Araucanía Region, a fitting meeting point for two paddlers whose lives have been shaped by whitewater, persistence, and a deep respect for the river. Coming from vastly different backgrounds, they share a commitment to mentorship, safety, and authentic adventure. Through their journey together, Axel and Josefa founded Chile Kayak Adventures, a guide-led company built to share Chile’s rivers, landscapes, and culture with paddlers from around the world.
Originally from Padre Las Casas, just outside Temuco in southern Chile, Josefa’s kayaking journey began not with formal coaching or easy access, but with determination.
While studying at the Universidad de la Frontera in Pucón, Josefa discovered kayaking and taught herself to roll by carrying her boat on foot to Lago Villarrica.
“Not having the resources made it difficult, trying to learn on my own made it even harder,” she shared.
“But even so, I always told myself, ‘One day you’ll understand it…just keep going.”
That mindset carried her far. Josefa became Chile’s top female slalom kayaker, representing her country internationally before shifting her focus fully to whitewater. She later made history as the first woman from Latin America to paddle the canyons of the Río Baker, one of the most powerful river systems in Patagonia. She has since paddled elite rivers across southern Chile and internationally, including the Little White Salmon, Toketee Falls, and California’s Sierra Nevada. Today, Josefa is recognized as one of the top women paddlers not only in Chile, but across the Americas, and is proudly supported by Pyranha Kayaks and Level Six.
“For me, being able to paddle and be on the river was something crazy and transformative,” Josefa said.
“It was a way of finding myself…simply being, without judgment, without excuses.”
Axel’s roots are in the Pacific Northwest, but his relationship with whitewater has always pulled him outward. What began as a childhood passion evolved into years of travel, learning, and connection, on rivers where language and community matter just as much as the lines themselves.
Originally from Bend, Oregon, Axel began paddling at just eight years old and has spent his life chasing rivers across the globe. He has paddled in ten countries, running some of the most demanding whitewater in the world, including the Grand Canyon of the Stikine, Cataracts of the Kern, and many first descents throughout Chile’s Los Ríos region including his highest waterfall decent, the 115-foot Salto Puma.
Axel has also built a reputation as a mentor, guiding and supporting paddlers on iconic runs like the Little White Salmon River and Fantasy Falls.
“My goal is to be the best possible river companion for any paddler,” Axel explained. “Helping people experience new places and challenges for the first time has always been what I love most.”
Fluent in Spanish and deeply familiar with Chilean rivers, Axel’s relationship with Chile grew through slow travel and community immersion.
“My first time in Chile, I was here without a car for most of the time. It allowed me to make really close friendships and get to know the place, the language, and the rivers in a really unique way.”
Josefa and Axel’s connection began, fittingly, on the water, specifically kayaking the Tomatita waterfall on the Río Captren.
Despite their different paths to the river, Josefa and Axel found immediate alignment in how they approached paddling, teaching, and sharing culture.
“With Josefa, it finally felt like I had the backing and experience to take that leap forward and start something of our own,” Axel said.
“Trusting ourselves felt like the natural next step—and one that would ultimately create a better experience for our guests.”
Together, their combined skills, logistics, safety, teaching, competition, and expedition experience, created something stronger than either could build alone.
The idea of Chile Kayak Adventures came together naturally. It started as a shared belief that guiding could be done better, more intentionally, and more authentically.
“It’s easy to get trapped in a bubble or miss the full picture when traveling,” Axel explained.
“Our goal is for guests to feel both supported and cared for, to get an unfiltered perspective of the unique landscapes and rivers here in southern Chile.”
Rather than offering transactional trips, Josefa and Axel envisioned experiences that feel like expeditions among friends, grounded in professionalism, safety, and genuine cultural exchange.
Chile’s rivers are as diverse as its geography, from clean, powerful big water to technical canyon runs and remote wilderness.
“The water here is clean and plentiful,” Axel said.
“Even in the lowest of low-water years (like this one), there is always something to paddle.”
For Josefa, Chile’s rivers are inseparable from identity.
“I chose it every day, and it became a way of life,” Josefa says.
“The river became a mirror.”
This deep relationship with the rivers of Chile and its culture is central to Chile Kayak Adventures, inviting guests to experience the country not as tourists, but as temporary members of the river community…as friends.
Chile Kayak Adventures meets paddlers where they are. Whether guests want to paddle hard every day or seek a more balanced, holistic experience, trips are tailored with care and intention. While some baseline experience is required, the focus is always on growth, confidence, and connection.
“I want our guests to feel like they are part of something more than just a transactional, guided trip,” Axel says.
“I want them to feel like they are part of an expedition with friends, but with the support, safety, and knowledge of professionals.”
Josefa added:
“What seems impossible can always become possible if you do it with love.”
The future is flowing fast. Axel and Josefa are heading south on their first Patagonia road trip, with multiple back-to-back trips planned. After the season wraps up, they’ll continue following the water, exploring new expeditions and pushing their own paddling forward.
“I am super excited and grateful for the two back-to-back trips coming up—spending a full month traveling, paddling, sharing the rivers with our guests, and learning so much myself along the way.”
By early March, Chile Kayak Adventures will release their next season calendar, including their first all-women’s trip, a milestone inspired by Josefa’s journey and the growing women’s paddling community in Chile.
“One of my greatest motivations,” Josefa says, “was making a promise to a friend. I am sure that wherever she is, she feels very proud that the women’s kayaking community in Chile continues to grow, come together, and become stronger.”
As Axel and Josefa continue their journey, Chile Kayak Adventures remains rooted in the same values that brought them together: respect for the river, care for place, and meaningful connection with the people who come to paddle alongside them.
