Whakahoro - Whanganui river

Dag 1: Whakahoro – John Coull Campsite (32 km)

Dem, vi havde lejet kanuerne af, var punkteret på vejen, og vi måtte derfor vente et par ekstra timer på at komme afsted. Så snart folk havde pakket deres kanu, tog de afsted, og jeg tog afsted med de to, jeg havde vandret med de seneste dage, med forventning om nogle sjove dage. Vi ville ikke sidde tre i en kanu, så planen var skiftevis at sejle i kajak.

Inden for 2 min. sejlede vi ind i den eneste sten, der var, og et par sekunder senere sejlede vi baglæns ind i en busk, og min kaptajn fik et mentalt sammenbrud, som ikke kunne reddes. Vi skiftede derfor placeringer, så jeg nu styrede båden, og foran mig havde jeg én, der havde en rigtig dårlig mental dag, og som græd de efterfølgende 1,5 time. Det var op ad bakke!!
Vi skiftede derfor senere, så hun i stedet kunne sejle kajak. Men eftersom dette heller ikke lykkedes specielt godt, endte vi med at bytte endnu en gang, og jeg endte i kajakken med over 20 km igen. Gennemblødt af vand, der ramte kajakken, gjorde det ikke den store forskel, da jeg et kort øjeblik faldt i vandet. Jeg fik vendt kajakken og padlede videre.

En time før vi ankom til vores campsted, begyndte det at regne, hvilket gjorde dagen endnu mere træls. Vi ankom og konstaterede, at vi ikke ville fortsætte på denne måde, og sagde, at de andre måtte tage vores ikke så paddlende person med de resterende dage, da vi var fuldstændig tømt for kræfter og ikke havde haft en specielt god dag. Vi havde ikke fået spist meget i løbet af dagen, og det kunne bestemt mærkes, samtidig med, at vi var gennemblødte.

Dag 2: John Coull Campsite – Ngaporo Campsite (45 km)

Efter et mindre krisemøde aftenen forinden kunne vi se frem til en bedre dag uden at skulle slæbe en tredje person med igennem dagen, da hun nu skulle sejle med nogle andre. Om morgenen regnede det stadig ret meget, og der var en del tordenvejr, så alt var efterhånden ved at være godt vådt, hvilket vi fik tørret senere, da solen endelig kom frem. Vi var begge ret trætte efter dagen i går samt den megen regn, som bankede på vores telte i løbet af natten.

Vi så på et tidspunkt et skilt, hvor der stod lodge and bar, hvilket lød meget lokkende! Desværre viste det sig at være et sted, som ikke havde været i brug i mange år. Skuffede sejlede vi videre.

Vi besluttede os for at slå lejr 10 km før den campsite, som vi oprindeligt havde booket, og som ellers bød på varmt bad, men vi mistede fuldstændig koncentrationen og var ved at kæntre flere gange i de rapids (strømfald), vi skulle igennem. Det viste sig at være et skønt sted, udover en død ged, som lå og lugtede i vandkanten.

Her var der også to andre personer, som var på roadtrip med et lille afbræk af en kanotur. Eftersom jeg ikke havde mere toiletpapir, blev jeg meget glad, da de tilbød mig en hel rulle, som de havde til overs! Solen skinnede, alt blev tørt, og vi mærkede en lille feriestemning et øjeblik.

Dag 3: Ngaporo Campsite – Otumaire Campsite (48 km)

Efter en rigtig god, lang søvn padlede vi videre og havde hørt fra de andre, at der skulle komme en café 28 km længere nede ad floden, hvilket vi så enormt meget frem til. Eftersom der ikke var et skilt nede ved floden, missede de andre caféen, som skulle ligge længere oppe gennem noget buskads. For ikke at misse den stoppede vi ved hver mulighed og tjekkede, om det kunne være her, hvilket vi gjorde i omkring fem kilometer.

Vi fandt den, og ejeren var meget begejstret for at se os og spurgte, hvor mange der kom. Til hendes ærgrelse måtte vi sige, at de andre havde misset den, og at det kun var os. Vi fik en salat samt gratis limonade ad libitum og fik gratis suppe, som vi kunne spise om aftenen.

Da de andre hørte, at vi havde været på caféen, var de en smule misundelige!

Vi skulle igennem mange store rapids, som vi på magisk vis kom igennem uden at kæntre. Vi var blevet advaret om, at det var 50/50, om man kæntrede eller ej.

Dag 4: Otumaire – Hiponga Park (25 km)

Endelig en kortere dag, men dagen føltes lang, da meget af den var i modvind, og der ikke var så mange rapids, så det hele gik langsommere i dag.

Vi ville på et tidspunkt åbne en af vores tønder for at spise nogle snacks, men låget til tønden blev i et hurtigt øjeblik taget af vinden, og det fløj i vandet. Da vi havde ret meget modvind, drev låget ikke ned ad floden, men opad. Vi brugte noget tid på at finde det igen, men det lykkedes!

Da vi ankom til vores campsted, nåede vi netop at sætte vores telt op, inden det begyndte at regne igen.

Dag 5: Hiponga Park – Whanganui (20 km)

Vi tog afsted ved 9-tiden, så det passede med tidevandet, der kom ind fra Whanganui. Det var en kort dag, men en meget kedelig dag, da der ikke var en eneste rapid, og udover den første time var der overskyet og meget modvind. Vi endte med at padle længere end planlagt, da vinden tog os og drev os bagud.

Det var derfor meget tiltrængt efter nogle til dels hårde dage at ankomme til Whanganui og afslutte kanueventyret.

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Day 1: Whakahoro – John Coull Campsite (32 km)

The people we had rented the canoes from had gotten a flat tire on the way, so we had to wait a couple of extra hours before setting off. As soon as everyone had packed their canoe, they left, and I set off with the two people I had been hiking with for the past days, expecting some fun days ahead. We didn’t want three people in one canoe, so the plan was to take turns using the kayak.

Within 2 minutes we hit the only rock in the river, and a few seconds later we drifted backwards into a bush, and my captain had a mental breakdown that couldn’t be saved. So we switched places, meaning I was now steering the boat, with someone in front of me who was having a really bad mental day and cried for the next 1.5 hours. It was rough!!
Later we switched again so she could paddle the kayak instead. But since that didn’t work very well either, we ended up switching once more, and I ended up in the kayak with more than 20 km to go. Soaked from all the water splashing onto the kayak, it didn’t make much difference when I briefly fell into the river as well. I righted the kayak and kept paddling.

About an hour before reaching our campsite, it started raining, making the day even more miserable. When we arrived, we decided we couldn’t continue like this and told the others they would need to take our non-paddling person for the remaining days, as we were completely drained and had not had a good day at all. We hadn’t eaten much throughout the day, which we really felt – especially being soaked to the skin.

Day 2: John Coull Campsite – Ngaporo Campsite (45 km)

After a small crisis meeting the night before, we could look forward to a better day without dragging a third person along, as she would now paddle with others. In the morning, it was still raining heavily, with thunderstorms as well, so everything was soaked, but we managed to dry it later when the sun finally came out. We were both exhausted from the previous day and the rain that had hammered on our tents all night.

At one point we saw a sign saying lodge and bar, which sounded very tempting! Sadly, it turned out to be a place that hadn’t been used in many years. Disappointed, we paddled on.

We decided to camp 10 km before the site we had originally booked, which would have had hot showers, but we completely lost concentration and almost capsized several times in the rapids. The place we stopped, however, turned out to be lovely – aside from a dead goat lying and smelling on the riverbank.

There were also two other people there on a road trip with a short canoe break. Since I had run out of toilet paper, I was very happy when they offered me a full roll they didn’t need! The sun came out, everything dried, and for a moment it almost felt like a holiday.

Day 3: Ngaporo Campsite – Otumaire Campsite (48 km)

After a really good, long sleep, we continued paddling and had heard from the others that there would be a café 28 km further down the river, something we were really looking forward to. Since there was no sign by the river, the others missed it, as it was hidden further up through some bushes. To avoid missing it, we stopped at every possible opening, checking if it might be there, doing this for about five kilometres.

We found it, and the owner was thrilled to see us. She asked how many were coming, and to her disappointment we had to tell her that the others had missed it and it was only us. We were given a salad and unlimited lemonade and she even gave us free soup for dinner.

When the others found out we’d been to the café, they were a bit jealous!

We passed several big rapids, which we magically managed to navigate without capsizing. We’d been warned that it was 50/50 whether you would capsize or not.

Day 4: Otumaire – Hiponga Park (25 km)

Finally a shorter day, but it still felt long because much of it was against the wind, and there weren’t many rapids, so everything went slower.

At one point we wanted to open one of our barrels for snacks, but the lid was caught by the wind in a split second and flew into the water. Because of the strong headwind, the lid didn’t drift downstream but upstream. It took us a while to find it again, but we managed!

When we arrived at our campsite, we had just enough time to set up our tent before it started raining again.

Day 5: Hiponga Park – Whanganui (20 km)

We left around 9, so it would match the incoming tide from Whanganui. It was a short day, but a very boring one, as there wasn’t a single rapid, and after the first hour it was overcast and very windy. We ended up paddling farther than planned because the wind kept pushing us backwards.

So after several tough days, it was very welcome to finally arrive in Whanganui and finish the canoe adventure.Read more