Wanganui River

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WANGANUI RIVER A river well known, but seldom through. I walked round the next one! visited by most people living outside the The rapids are more frequent and district, was the goal of a two-man shallower higher up the river. The first Tongue and Meat team who, one con- day's trip was the longest, and toughest, fident, the other sceptical, to say the until one gets used to the paddling, so least, of completing the manoeuvre dry, there wasn't much time to admire the set off on Christmas afternoon by ex- scenery. We stopped about 5 p.m., press to Taumarunui to canoe down to having covered about 20 miles, which Wanganui. was an average day's paddle. Geoff. Carr and Merv. Griffiths were The spot chosen was about a quarter involved, Geoff. having been down twice of a mile upstream from the river before. For those who can't be ranger's farm. The ranger, Jock Erceg, bothered reading right through the rest roared up in his jet boat after tea and of this possibly boring description, the had a brew and a yarn with us for a whole trip can be summed up in a few while, where he told us that he had sentences. found Brian Aitken's canoe, lost a year previously in a flood, after Brian had Towering bush-clad gorges, whose lent it to a friend to do the trip. summits seemed to meet hundreds of feet above you; rushing water through A hereditary weakness in the Carr the rapids, just enough to liven up the make-up results in agonisingly early trip; long, mirror-calm stretches where starts as Geoff. never seems to be able one laid flat on one's back, soaked up to sleep later than 5 a.m. As a result the sun and occasionally dipped a lazy we were away for the second day's run paddle to keep direction.; soft still nights to Retaruke landing, a farm, and the last when, after a good meal, we lay in the civilisation and human habitation we tent looking out over a dying campfire would see until Pipiriki, 70 miles further to the river in complete silence, save for on. an occasional splash or rustle in the trees. That last cigarette then in the We lunched at Ohura falls, an impresriver's peace made one completely for- sive sight, and reached Retaruke about 4 get the rush and ulcer-producing noise p.m. after a pleasant and more conand bustle of modern city life. fident day, as the less experienced member of the party was getting more used From Taumarunui, we meant to leave to the rapids by now. about 5.30 a.m. on Boxing Day after At the entrance to the collecting our boats which had been Retaruke trirailed up previously; but when I put butary, we spotted bods on the opposite mine in the water it promptly filled up, bank of the main river who, we thought, much to Geoff.'s disgust, as his was as may have been Hutt Valleys who had dry as the day he built it, a year before. left Wellington on Christmas Eve. We rushed over to see Shirley, and found A friendly hardware store owner they were Kupe Çanoe Club from Welcame down and opened up where I lington, the youngest nine and the oldest bought a fibreglass repair kit, having lost 70! mine somewhere on the train. Repairs wanted completed we got away at 10 a.m. and I to camp out but Geoff. led hit the first of 238 rapids in the next 150 the way up to a Canoe Association hut odd miles. above the Retaruke, where we dossed down, cooked tea of boiled mashed This, a horrifying experience for one potatoes, bacon, dehydrated vegetables, who hadn't been in a canoe since a kid, followed by milky rice pudding and was to become commonplace, and even coffee, and rolled into our pits with a a break in monotony, in a few days. huge fire blazing in the fireplace. Caught in a rush of frothing water I had Then the rain started! It teemed. We to paddle furiously to avoid being swept couldn't sleep worrying that the stream under overhanging willows. Geoff. may be Tararua-bred, and rise and yelled loudly "paddle!", then dissolved wash our boats away, so at 11 p.m. wé into helpless laughter as I floundered donned parkas and staggered out in the storm to pull the boats up to higher which Koinaki (a paramount chief of a ground, getting soaking wet, ears, eyes, local tribe) leapt to his death when purnose, and throat blocked with myriads sued by a victorious enemy. of midges attracted by our torches, only We camped that night a few miles to find next day that the stream hadn't above the Mangawai-iti, which joins the risen an inch. main river through a deep ravine. Another early start, about 7.30 this While lazing around waiting for dinner time, to have a quiet snigger at the bed- to prepare itself I had a good bath in raggled Kupes drying out their gear in the river, lazing in the warm a water, the warm sunny morning, then off we suspended from my lifejacket while using set. We had an uneventful day until, soap vigorously. just as we were deciding to camp, we Next day up and away at a reasonheard a banshee scream from the bank. able hour and a few miles of easy To our delight, we recognised Shirley paddling brought us into the second leaping about like a fly on a hot billy length of gorges. lid. Declining Shirl.'s invitation to stay It is necessary to judge one's speed with the Hutt Valleys, owing to a cer- and time to reach one of the very' few tain class consciousness, we camped a camp sites in the gorges before dusk short distance down, below a lonely each day so we followed the practice of farm at Paranui landing. stopping at the first good site after mid- The owner had, we later learned, gone afternoon, which gave plenty of time for to Wanganui for his holidays, but as relaxation before tea-time. he had shouted Geoff. and Bryan a hot We meal the previous year we headed up to came out of the lower gorge the farm, to be met by a horde of starv- around lunchtime and after a few miles ing cats and a deserted but wide-open paddling, Geoff. said: "There it is", and farmhouse. I looked all around me for the famous "Drop Scene". Geoff. and Brian had I wondered what it would be like liv- missed it completely during the previous ing 40 miles from the nearest human trip, and it is my opinion that there being, with a jet-boat your only means is much more impressive scenery further of communication with the world. up in the gorges. After shaking off most of the cats, we A short stop below the cooked our own tea, and settled down Scene, to explore the just huge cave, Drop for the night. which the Puraroto Stream joins through the Another early start next day, as we river, then the expedition came to grips wanted to keep ahead of the Hutt with Autapu. Valleys, and after a mile or two the This rapid, the 194th on the banks became higher and closed in, and is a short sharp one with journey, waves, we started into the upper of the two which probably swamps more steep canoes gorges, which together last for about than any other on the river. I 38 miles, about two days travel. chickened out on this one and prudently Geoff. The rapids, which further up average gave me some of his to in about one every half mile, now became my boat while he had a gear go. I walked put less frequent and smaller. The cliffs my canoe round the edge. at the water level are covered with moss, which higher up gives way to ferns, then The Carr attempt appeared as though small shrubs, then heavy bush overhang- it was going to be successful until ing the river up to 300 or 400 feet. Geoff's boat sank gracefully just below We saw the cave where Maori legend the rapid and he was compelled to swim has it the evil taniwha lived. This ashore, dragging his canoe behind him. monster was in the habit of upsetting From this rapid on the river alters its travellers' canoes and devouring the character. It is wider, with gentle occupants. To ensure their safety, the grassy slopes on either side, backed by Maoris used to place a green bough on bush-clad hills. At 911 miles we shot the ledge of flat rock in front of his down the twin Paparoa rapids, bumpcave when passing. ing on the bottom here, as the river We was pretty low, and rounded in the saw Koriki-a-Koinaki, the great pool below at the Pipiriki wharf. up cliff, shaped like the bow of a battleship, only many hundreds of feet high, from (To be continued.)