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Published: January 5th 2011
Loading Up in The Rain
We started our 5 day, 145km (90mile) journey in the wind and heavy rain. Starting point Cherry Grove Park in Taumaranui.Hi All,
Donavin reporting in after a fantastic canoe trip along the Whanganui River over the Christmas/New Year’s holiday break.
Question: When is a Great Walk not a walk?
Answer:-. When it is a canoe trip down the Whanganui River.
Don't ask me why, but the Whanganui River Journey is designated as one of the nine Great Walks of New Zealand. For the last three years, since Marcos made the suggestion, I’ve been fixed with the idea of canoeing slowly down one of New Zealands most beautiful and pristine rivers – that idea became reality this year.
To travel down the Whanganui is also to experience in part the history of New Zealand; the river was an important travel route for hundreds of years for the Maori who lived along its shores and, in the early days of European settlement, served a similar role for the Pakeha who tried to carve out a living in its alien and unforgiving environment. The Maori waka (canoes) and 19th century steamboats are long gone and the Whanganui is now the domain of the jetboat and the canoe. The latter seemed the more appropriate way for us to complete our New
Night 1 Take Out Point
After paddling 6 hours in the rain we pulled off the river at our first camping spot along the river. We got lucky in that the rain stopped just before we started setting up the tents. I also got to hang up all my wet clothing and sleeping bag - which was fortuntly nearly dry by the time we went to bed. Note the water level in comparison to where we placed our canoes 8 feet above the water level. Zealand Great Walk adventure.
Day1 Cherry Grove (Taumarunui) to Poukaria
We opted to do a five-day, 145km (90mile) trip from Cherry Grove to Pipiriki, down a section of river that passes through the wilderness of Whanganui National Park. We (Lisette and I) met the canoe rental people at their base in Taumarunui along my friend Jan and his girlfriend Shelly. After packing up our camping equipment, cloths and food into “waterproof” drums and dry bags. A 15min drive brought us to Cherry Grove park – the starting point of the journey. We unloaded the large open Canadian canoes from the boat trailer and lashed the 5 drums and 2 bags to the canoe. This was all done in a heavy rain (sometimes coming at right angles in the gusting rain) that had been pouring down through the night and continued on through the day. With our gear loaded up we set off from the bank of the Whanganui River, which at this time could easily be waded across if one so desired - our journey was underway.
There are more than 200 named rapids between Taumarunui and Pipiriki and we had barely turned the corner when we
Flooding
This photo was taken about three hours after arriving at camp. Those that had arrived before us had left their canoes down by the water's edge on the gravel bank, we thought that we should pull our canoes up higher as we were worried that the river might raise due to the rain. We were proven right - in the matter of an hour we watched the water raise about 4 feet. passed through the first. Fortunately, no rapid is greater than level 2, giving a fun ride and an occasional bath from the wash of a standing wave. Only a handful have the potential to capsize a canoe and these would be waiting for us on the fifth day when we had honed our rapid-running skills – but with the added complexity of navigating in rain we got to experience the water early on in the trip.
Halfway through the day Lisette and I swapped positions in the canoe– with me now positioned in the front and her in the back, as she felt more comfortable knowing that she could have more control over the direction of the canoe. Soon after the swap we found ourselves swimming and I discovered that “waterproof” doesn’t always mean something is waterproof – as my barrel with clothing and sleeping bag was flooded; I should clarify that in no way us ending up in the water had anything to do with Lisette’s steering – it was bound to happen with the perfect trifecta of wind, rain and quickly rising water.
Once we got the canoe righted we continued down the river, occasionally taking
Post Flood
This phot was taken the next morning, as you can see the water dropped by about 2 feet over night, but was still very high and running faster than normal. The water was also silty and debris filled. in a glance at the surrounding farmland – cows, sheep, hay and corn fields. Eventually we reached Poukaria where we pitched our tents and pulled the canoes far up onto the river bank.
It was fortunate that we had pulled up the canoes as far as we did, because within a window of less than four hours the water level in the river raised by more than 4 feet – the other canoeists that had stopped here for the night had to rush down to the river and pull their canoes up much higher. (as we continued our trip we spotted at least 10 boats that got away from their crews – apparently not everyone realized how high the river could rise!)
Day2: Poukaria to Mangapapa
With the water level starting to drop (it never fully returned to normal levels while we were on the river), clear blue sky overhead (this was to stay with us for the rest of the trip) and my clothes and bedding nearly dry our fortunes were looking up! We shoved off and very quickly we found ourselves transitioning from open farmland to the green-clad Whanganui Gorge, alternating between small rapids and
long reaches of still water. This was to be the pattern for most of the trip, as we glided down the river under the steep papa (mudstone) walls of the gorge, topped with tree-ferns, nikau palms, beech and tall podocarps, their branches laden with epiphytes.
As the first day was a real struggle to stay afloat and heading in the right direction we’d yet had the chance to gently take in the finer points of running the river. Today was for simple enjoyment of the river and for learning how to handle the different types of rapid - broad, shallow ones as wide as the river with many small waves; narrower ones with V-shaped entries and high standing waves, where the current was forced through deeper narrow channels, often by shingle banks blocking the river; fast, curving ones that tried to run you into the shingle bank or cliff wall; and occasional pressure waves caused by hidden boulders and snags.
Finally, the welcome sign for Mangapap camp appeared high on the river bank; we beached our canoe for the night after nearly getting pulled into a rapid that would have meant we’d have to paddle another two hours
On the river day 2.
Progressily the landscape changed from farmland to dense forest on steep slopping river banks. to the next camp. The highlight for the evening was the dead sheep that went floating by (obviously caught in the flood waters upstream) and the bleats of a baby goat that sounded like a child that sent parents scrambling in a moment of panic thinking that their child had fallen into the river.
Day 3: Mangapapa to Mangaiwaiiti
We pushed on around a long horseshoe bend, passing features such as Man O' War Bluff, where once a Maori pa stood in a commanding position high above the river, and Tamatea's Cave, named after a Maori chief. The next place we could get out and stretch legs was on a shingle bank below Ohauora Campsite. Leaving Ohauora, we rounded a bend into the long calm Otaihanga Reach, lined with low papa cliffs. The dense vegetation reflected in the still waters of the reach as we paddled gently down, passing numerous waterfalls, some falling as a fine spray from the high sheer banks, others spilling out into the river from narrow clefts cut deep into the soft papa cliffs.
Passing John Coull Hut, we continued on down the Whanganui Gorge, passing the broad opening of first the Tangarakau
Night 2 Take Out Point.
This shot is looking downstream. Due to the flooding the typical landing point was not available, we had to land our canoe just feet from the fast running rapids that you see on the left side of the river. It was a nerve racking landing in that we knew if we missed the landing we would be pulled down the rapids, likely swamped and forced to continue on another two hours to the next camp site. and then the Whangamoama Rivers. Below these confluences, the river edges were lined in places with snag banks, where large trees that had been washed out of the two side rivers during floods were trapped in tangled heaps by the eddies of the Whanganui. The campsite at Mangawaiiti perched high above the river on a grassy flat at the edge of the papa cliffs was a good spot to stop for a night and watch other canoeists drift by below us. As this was the halfway mark of our trip we busted out the beers to celebrate.
Day 4: Mangaiwaiiti to Tieke Kainga
Pushing on, we soon arrived at at a chance to stretch our legs with a 5km sidetrip up the Mangapurua Gorge to see a monument to failed dreams; "The Bridge to Nowhere". After the First World War, soldier settlers had been given land in the Mangapurua Valley to "develop" into farms. For many years they struggled in the steep unforgiving terrain with the river their only point of access. A strong concrete bridge was finally built in 1935 giving road access to the valley, but it was too late; many had already abandoned their holdings
and a few years later the government bought out the remaining farms and closed off the valley. Nature reclaimed the Mangapurua, leaving the bridge isolated in the middle of the wilderness as a stark reminder that mankind does not always win when he chooses to butt heads with nature.
Back on the river again, we found ourselves gliding down a long steep-walled reach. The river is a strangely quiet place; the soft stone-rumble of the rapids periodically punctuating the silence of the reaches, and the occasional song of a forest bird or bleat of a feral goat on the cliffs above us, a reminder that other creatures call this place home.
It was easy to let the mind drift as we watched the strange patterns of the eddies and uprising columns of water in the river. You can imagine the rhythmic chants of the Maori warriors as they paddled their wakas from one village to the next, or the amazement of the boater- and bonnet-hatted Victorian tourists lining the decks of a paddle steamer pushing upstream through the exotic and feerique landscape of this green-clad gorge.
Our reverie snapped as we turned the bend at the end
Night 2 Take Out Point..
Looking up stream and the steep/muddy trail that we had to pack all our gear up. of the reach. The gorge opened out and feral goats were replaced by grazing cattle on the river banks as we passed through a section surrounded by private landholdings. On our left, on a high sandy bank lay the site of Tieke Kainga, once a Maori Village, now a hut for canoeists, but one set in the grounds of a rebuilt marae. As there were Maori staying at the marae, we were given the experience of Maori protocol; a powhiri or welcome ceremony followed by communal meal.
We were very lucky in our timing as we got to experience this Maori cultural tradition as well as celebrate our own cultural celebration of New Year ’s Eve. There was much merrymaking, singing and drinking this evening well past midnight for some.
Day 5: Tieke Kainga to Pipiriki
We started the New Year with one last day on the river, it was an early start as we had at least four hours of paddling ahead of us and we had to reach our destination by 1pm to meet the canoe rental operator . Leaving the marae at Tieke at 8am (no simple feat on New Year’s morning), we quickly
Night 2 Take Out Point..
Looking up stream at the national park scenery. re-entered the deepest part of the Whanganui Gorge and drifted down a long reach, the stillness disturbed only by the sound of the occasional waterfalls cascading out of their narrow clefts in the papa cliffs lining the gorge and numerous bird calls – today we heard more birds than any time on the trip.
Our small group of four canoes (our two and two other couples that we’d bumped into at various times on the trip) paddled slower this morning than any other day. While everyone said they were taking in the beauty of the last day I know for a fact that we were all silently dreading the famous three “big” rapids that we had to face on our journey to dry land and everyday life – we didn’t want to rush to these challenges and none of us wanted to be the first canoe (guinea pig) down the chute.
Eventually we reach the confluence of the Manganuioteao river and not long after we heard the sound of Ngaporo, the first of the three big rapids on the river. Soon the current was drawing us into the V of the rapid that led us into a long
Night 2 Camp site
The camping spots we stayed at for each of the 4 nights was very similar. None of the sites were accessible by car, they were typiclly cramped for space, had a composting toilet, covered picnic/food prep area and rainwater storage. plume of standing waves and before we knew it, it had spat us we out the other side, none the worse for wear than a couple of buckets worth of water to bail out from the wash of the waves. The nagging fear that we might capsize at least once before the trip was over began to evaporate with Ngaporo behind us.
A little later on, we passed the Puraroto Caves, before heading on to the last leg of our trip, first bouncing and splashing our way through the metre-high waves of Autapu rapid, then cruising down a long broad reach with the sun and a northerly wind at our backs.
The gorge had opened out again and farmland and the odd building replaced the forest on the river's edge. A final bend in the river and our destination of Pipiriki appeared.
Only Paparoa, the longest rapid of all lay between, but our 5 days of practice had put us in good stead and riding its long, narrow band of waves through in style was a perfect way to finish our Whanganui River journey. There was the added ego boost of passing four groups that were washed
Night 2 take out Point Morning
Day three saw the morning start with the river valley filled with mist that burned off later that morning. out on the right bank bailing out water from their canoes and a fifth canoe at the end of the rapids that had been upturned in the large whirlpool – leaving it’s occupants clinging to the Willow trees.
It was here that we departed from our great travel companions Jan and Shelly and after an unplanned detour (2 hours each way) back to the tour operator to collect our car we left Pipirik for Wanganui (town) – to complete the river’s journey to the Tasman Sea.
It was a bittersweet trip along the 80km winding River road from Pipiriki to Wanganui; there was sense of satisfaction and enjoyment from our five days in this superb wilderness and river environment, a feeling of elation that we now done all of the Great Walks in New Zealand, and a strange melancholy and emptiness that this meant that our trip would soon be over. To end an adventure is never as easy as to start one – the two days we ended up spending in historic Wanganui was a gentle reintroduction to speed of modern life.
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Marcos
non-member comment
Amazing!
Hey Donavin, Great photos and fantastic story - so happy to hear that you and Lisette had a great time enjoying one of New Zealand's finest 'walks'. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to be there with you guys, but my thoughts definitely were. Great update and all the best this New Year. ~M