Whanganui Journey – 5 days River Canoe

One of the highlights of Te Araroa North Island was the 5 days of canoeing down Whanganui River. For the Great Walk, you have an option of 3 – 5 days of canoeing, either starting from Taumaranui or Whakahoro, all finishing at Pipiriki. For TA hikers, the canoe journey starts from Whakahoro down to Whanganui City. The last 2 days of our journey weren’t included in the Great Walk.

You cannot canoe solo – it’s a rule that you must have a canoe partner. Luckily, I had Rick, my hiking buddy on TA. The heavier person sits at the back and does the steering while the front person acts as the constant engine.

Day 1 – John Coull Hut

We completed our water safety training before setting off on the river. Since we knew we didn’t have to carry food in our packs, we went a little crazy in the grocery store and bought all the heavy fresh veggies and fruits.

As for the river situation on Whanganui River, it hadn’t rained for about 3 weeks so the level of water was very low, resulting in bigger rapids. We were told that with a flood, you can finish a 5-day journey in 2 days. It was a Friday, and there were about 25 other canoes with us. We were at the back.

It didn’t take long for us to realise our lack of skill in steering the canoe. I don’t have much experience in canoeing, and neither did Rick. We came across a small log within the first 30 minutes of setting off. It was easily avoidable, but we managed to head straight towards it, and doink, we capsized in the first hour. The canoes behind us with chilly bins full of beers for their stag-do, laughed with us and kindly told us it takes skill to capsize this early on a tiny log everyone has managed to dodge. It felt funny but it also took about 15 minutes to get back paddling again after floating to the nearest shore and flipping the canoe back over. I had lost my hat here as we dunked under, I was gutted most about that.

The scenery was absolutely stunning, we glided past steep verdant cliffs, and cascading waterfalls and saw many goats crying out loud on the side of the bank.

After 8 hours of total paddling, we arrived at John Coull Hut. There are DOC signs about 300m before you reach a hut, but their signature green and yellow colour camouflages with the surrounding gorge, so it is extremely easy to miss your turn-off point on this journey. I would have chosen a different colour, DOC…

Not my photo: John Coull Hut above

There were about 50 people at this hut & campsite. I may have taken the role of being the paddle engine at the front too hard and noticed a horrible tingling pain in my arms. I stretched all night, which may have also aggravated it because by bedtime I was unable to lift my arm up. I took some Panadol and attempted to sleep, but the pain was so intense that I got up at midnight to throw up in the long drop. Luckily for me, all the huts on the river had been deep-cleaned just a day prior due to a COVID scare. Long drops were scrubbed to the core and smelt like fresh lemons, much better than some bathrooms I’ve seen in student flats.

Day 2 – Tīeke Kāinga Hut

I took it easy with the paddling this time round, though I was in much better shape when I woke up in the morning. It makes sense I guess, we don’t work out our arms during hiking. Another 8 hours today.

The only “walking” you do on this Great Walk is the walkway to “Bridge to Nowhere” which takes 1h30mins round trip.

The history of this concrete bridge dates back to 1919, settlers first built a wooden swing bridge to connect the isolated valley with the riverboats that brought goods along the Whanganui River. In 1936 the new steel-reinforced concrete bridge was finally opened. By the time construction was finished, most of the settlers had abandoned the valley due to economic hardship. By 1942 only three of the farmers remained in the valley. By 1944, everyone had gone. The concrete bridge – now known as the Bridge to Nowhere – is the symbol of that ill-fated settlement in an area known as the “valley of abandoned dreams”.

It was nice to change things up and rest my feet from walking on TA. We arrived at Tieke Kainga Hut at 4 pm. There are also other privately-operated huts and campsites along the river. They were more luxurious than DOC huts and offered meals and drinks.

Not my photo: Tieke Kainga Hut

Day 3 – Flying Fox Lodge

It was a misty cold morning. Today we paddle down a rapid called 50/50. 50% chance of capsizing or not. Unfortunately for us, the river was so low that it had become 70/30. 70% of capsizing. The morning wading through the river in the fog was so beautiful. I always say this but it really felt like we were in Jurrasic Park.

Now and again there were hidden waterfalls to our left and right as we meandered through thick luscious gorges.

We’ve been warned about a specific rock in the river that has snapped 3 canoes in half only just this summer. The grey colour of the rock camouflages with the boulder in the background and paddlers can only spot it a few meters before. Once spotting, they quickly attempt to change course, resulting in the canoe hitting the iceberg directly in the middle, snapping it in half. We somehow failed to stay on the left and the current also made it extremely difficult to steer to the right, so now our canoe was headed directly towards it. Lovely. Once we came face to face, I pushed it away with my hands. I fell off the canoe but Rick stayed on. We managed to avoid the rock but we ended up hitting the wall behind it instead, cracking the tip of the canoe. Oops.

Soon after that, we were on to the next challenge – 70/30. At this point, I already knew our outcome. I can see all the canoes in front flip one by one. It felt both exhilarating and chilling going through these rapids. It was our turn and you guessed it, we flippity flopped upside down. There were about 20 people on the shore helping each other out. A handful helped us retreat the flipped canoe on the riverbed and tip all the water out.

Another 45 minutes down the river was the end of Great Walk, Pipiriki, where the canoe hire company awaited us. I told them about the crack on the canoe and they didn’t seem to mind. We said goodbye to our fellow paddlers with whom we’ve been sharing time for the last 3 days. We continued down the river on our own. The rest of the journey to Flying Fox consisted of many rapids but we managed to stay on. The landscape had changed to a flatter valley on farmland. I understood why the Great Walk ended at Pipiriki.

The final push to our campsite was rough. We had a headwind against us and even after paddling hard, our canoe was stagnant. We eventually arrived at Flying Fox Lodge. It looked like a nature paradise there.

Not my photo: Flying Fox Lodge

Day 4 – Hipango Park (planned)

Today was another 8 hours to Hipango Park. The river has become wide and slow, it was more like canoeing on a lake. The landscape was still pretty but mostly of farmland. By 5 pm we were meant to be coming across a three-tiered wooden ramp for Hipango Park campsite. We came across something similar, but nothing compared to the photo we’ve been shown. Regardless, checked out the ground above. We saw no signs of a hut with a water tank, instead it looked like someone’s abandoned backyard. We made the difficult decision to say this is not it and continue down the river. Another hour had passed and we came across no wooden ramp and the worry started to kick in as it was nearly 6.30 pm. We did not want to be paddling in the dark. We then saw a small war monument on the side and we quickly checked the map. It had turned out we were well past Hipango Park and had flowed down the river. We felt annoyed but mostly confused, how did we miss this campsite? Where was this wooden ramp?? 

We decided to paddle until we saw flat ground to pitch our tent. Then, to our luck, we spotted a house on the right and I proposed we knock on their door and ask for help. Rick preferred not to bother anyone and silently camp on some random land. I didn’t like the idea of camping in a prohibited area, and what if someone was hunting around here with no knowledge of two campers sleeping in tents?? I didn’t want to get shot and I ended up winning the argument, so we parked our canoe and walked up to the house through their backyard. Rick was scared the resident of the house was an angry farmer who’d answer the door with a gun ready to shoot at us, so I went ahead. This is not America, Rick.

It had turned out they were a lovely old couple who offered us to camp on their lawn and use their water and toilet. They even invited us to have breakfast in the morning. They said a couple of German TA walkers knocked on their door a few years back with the same story. So we’re not the only ones! 

By the time we pitched our tent, it was dark. We had dinner close to 9 p.m. and laughed about today’s experience. Though we weren’t laughing a few hours back when we were lost.

Day 5 – Whanganui

Last day on the canoe! Closer to Whanganui, the tide from the Tasman sea affects the river. If we wanted to paddle out WITH the tide, we needed to wait until 2 p.m. We were in someone’s random backyard so we didn’t have a choice but to start at 7 am as usual. We didn’t feel the outgoing tide as much, but the headwind was strong. I also weirdly got motion sickness from sitting on a canoe…! Rick and I had become silent. After being together 247 on the canoe, we had turned into a bickering old married couple and we were ready to give each other some space. To top it off, I had a migraine from being exposed to the sun without a hat for the last 5 days. I still remember the overwhelming joy and relief I felt seeing the ramp that indicated the end of this canoe. I wanted to kiss the ground like you do after a flight.

Overall I loved this journey and all the challenges that came with it. The river and the surrounding gorge were beautiful. I kept on thinking how this would be such a special bonding experience to share with your friends, family or your partner.