We had a great few days paddling down the Whanganui River over Easter in canadian canoes. We paddled the 88km stretch between Whakahoro and Pirikiri. It was a really amazing river with some nice rapids and great scenery.
Setting Up
After arriving at Ruapehu too late to make the summit we walked out to Taranaki falls.
After the walk we headed to Taumaranui to get sorted for our big trip
Day 1 - Whakahoro to Ohauora 27km
This was the official start of our trip. We had a great day learning how to paddle our canadians and enjoying this unique river.
Early wake up to get all our gear sorted into waterproof bins.
Last nights campsite beside the river at the Taumaranui Canoe hire base in Taumaranui.
It was a long drive out to Whakahoro so we were edging to get on the river when we finally got there
Surrounded by thick native bush it was a magical area, really peaceful and beautiful with native birds singing and the gental flow of the river. With the river being very low there was a lot of paddling involved but be still came across some nice wave chains and rapids
The others Ben, Sarah, Mike, and Stephie cruising.
Going gondula styles.
Swim break
Tamatea Cave
Campsite for the night.
Another great shot showing the tranquility of this place.
Day 2 - Ohauora to Tieke Kainga 39.5km
Nice day of paddling with a detour walk to the brigde to nowhere. It rained a bit and there were lots of baby waterfalls.
Early morning paddling. Karen didnt like steering so I was in the back and she was in the front.
The rain finally caught up with us where we had a few showers but Karen was all prepared.
By stopped at the Mangapurua landing to walk to the 'bridge to nowhere'. We had some torrential downpours so it was nice to go walking and warm up. The bridge itself was built to provide access to the Mangapurua valley as there were many farms and settlements after the land was given to soldiers after world war 1, however when the bridge was completed in 1936 the valley had been left abandoned (hense the name).
At 6pm after our walk we thought our camp was 100m down the river but a closer look showed we had another 2 hours to go. We got into turbo mode and paddled no stop reaching Tieke Kainga arriving just on dark.
Day 3 - Tieke Kainga to Pipiriki 21.5km
Nice relaxing day of paddling to Pipiriki and then drive back to Taumaranui. The river changed a lot today as we came across sections of farmland amongst the native forest. We paddled through the biggest rapid of the trip which gave us some entertainment.
We had a good look at the marae and the Maori lady told us all about the area.
Taking off in the morning
A couple of kilometres from the end we came across the biggest rapid on the trip. We had caught up with a tour group just before the rapid so had fun watching 70% of the group capsize and take a swim. The boys gave us some entertainment when they filled up with water going through the big waves and sunk.
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