Whanganui River Trip

I spent 3 days kayaking the Whanganui River http://doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/tracks-and-walks/manawatu-whanganui/whanganui/whanganui-journey/
I wish I could simply post photos for this blog.
I rented a kayak from Blazing Paddles http://blazingpaddles.co.nz/ possibly the coolest business name ever.

Beginning of the trip

Launch site at Whakahoro

The dropped me and a few other clients off at the river in Whakahoro.

Day 1

Snack break

That day I paddled 37.5k to the John Coull hut, where  I stayed the night .

So green and gorgeous

The first day it rained most of the day but there was no wind , so it wasn't cold.

And I thought it was raining in this pic.....

Now that's a rain!

The river is completely breathtaking. For the most part it's in a gorge and the walls are covers with green ferns, palms and moss. There were waterfalls everywhere.

I paddled through some small rapids and had a chance to stop at Te Arewa cave. Where I met some incredibly friendly guides and their clients who were all on a canoe trip.

Paddling up to the cave in the middle of  a downpour. Inside are the friendliest canoeist ever 

View from inside Te Arewa cave

It rained pretty hard throughout the night. I was so happy to walk into the John Coull hut and eat some warm food by a fire. I crashed hard and was up early, ready to paddle away.

John Coull hut

Giant spider on the sleeping pad next to my stuff, ugh

The second day, it rained a little less. 

The start of day 2

Nice weather , and a little company on day 2

Narrow canyon at the entrance to a campground

I paddled 18.5k and took a break to hike up to the Bridge to Nowhere.

On the trail

Along the trail

A settlers plow, along the hike

A bridge on the trail to the bridge to nowhere

The old suspension bridge

The Bridge to Nowhere

Then it was just another 10k to the hut and marae at Tieke Kainga. There I was able to participate in my first ceremonial maori welcome. A very cool experience.
That night we all hung out in the kitchen and the canoe group shared their dinner with me.
There was a lot of interesting and fun conversations.

Me at Tieke Kainga

The marae

 I met Will from Ohio who had followed the Whanganui river from its source on the top of Mt Tongariro and was taking it all the way to the ocean. Very cool.

Brett, the camp host, and Will from Ohio before Will sets out to finish his source to sea journey. This was a big deal to the maori hosts at the  marae. As no one had done this  in their lifetime.

The next morning, it was back on the river.

Launching from the beach, day 3

Starting out on day 3

Beautiful clear weather

The third day was clear and a short 18.5k with 3 big rapids and a stop at a cave with an underground waterfall.

Cave waterfall

Cave waterfall

 The last 5k was a grueling paddle through headwinds and choppy water. So I was actually happy to arrive at my final destination of Pipiriki. Even though it meant I had to leave the river.

The landing at Pipiriki

One of the best trips of my life. It was so scenic and peaceful. It was hard to remember that there was a crazy, busy world waiting outside of the river canyon.
I really enjoyed every single moment.