Tag Archives: Whanganui River Journey

New Zealand, Travel Planning

56. Auckland – Kuala Lumpur

Tuesday, April 7: Auckland: Sunny & warm
Kuala Lumpur: Showers & warm

Couldn’t sleep much past 7:30 but by around 8:00 all five human inhabitants were up and about and I had my vitamin tablet, the last muesli bars and some coffee for breakfast, sorted out the last rubbish and the last stuff to leave behind (which would have been: Salt, sugar, rice, margarine, milk & bread for food, and the bed roll and tent in equipment) and surprisingly by not much later than 9:00 the suitcase had everything else I wanted & needed to take back in it and could be closed without any major compression. Read more…

New Zealand, Photography

54. Mangawhai

Sunday, April 5: Sunny throughout & warm

Beki’s

The eclipse last night went off perfectly well, except for a bit of cloud in the run up. By the time the penumbral eclipse was well into happening the skies were clear and then, of course, as the light of the moon dimmed the stars became much brighter and there was a grand view of the Milky Way from the south side of the house which rivalled that on the Whanganui River Journey. I was occupied with my two cameras and a number of sequences were achieved. Set up the A470 to do a last hour of the moon reappearing and then shut down when the batteries ran out while I had a beer. Beki’s house alarm went off at some point and then became silent but she had been awoken by it, and got up and asked me to go to bed. Read more…

GPS Tracks, Kayaking, New Zealand

10. Tieke Kainga – Pipiriki: Whanganui River Journey 5

Friday, February 20: Sunny, warm, with a few clouds

Kayaking: 22.1 km

Sue & Simon’s

GPS Tour

The rooster crowed at about 7:30, and I got up to boil some water for what pitiful drowned remains of the coffee were left. Not much else left for breakfast, a couple of muesli bars and an egg. Got Rebecca to give us her email address and everyone was off before we had finished packing, all except for Andrea, who didn’t want to be left to leave last, but then a couple of canoeists turned up who were leaving later from the lodge (Bridge to Nowhere Lodge). We were underway and soon overtaking the others.

We passed the Ngaporo Campsite at about the halfway point at around 11:00; Pea wanted to get a bit further before descending on the last remaining food. I spotted a shingle bank not very far past the campsite and we decided to finish off as much as we could there. Read more…

GPS Tracks, Kayaking, New Zealand, Photography

9. John Coull – Tieke Kainga: Whanganui River Journey 4

Thursday, February 19: Fog in the morning, still warm, sunny after the fog had lifted, with increasing cloud cover during the day

Kayaking: 32.5 km

Tieke Kainga Marae (DOC, $32)

GPS Tour

Most of the partying crowd were up very early and gone correspondingly quickly. We waved goodbye to them from the hut, as it overlooks the river. We were among the last to leave just after 9:30. I made sure the camera was pointed in the right direction before loading the front dry bag onto the boat, and set it going. Roger & Jackie turned up and made a stop at the hut, and they gave us a push off.

We made pretty good progress throughout the morning, missing one stop that we just wanted to have a short break at (Mangawaiiti Campsite, damned river maps, damned signs) and continued on to the landing where the track to the Bridge to Nowhere starts from (Mangapurua). Lots of boats tied up at a very slippery limestone outcrop, which normally would have required some kayaking practice to get off and on at. Landing in the sheltered covelet, Pea tried to get out, couldn’t hold the boat with her left leg, and promptly the whole caboodle capsized. Managed to get Pea to hang onto the boat while others pulled us ashore. Got out myself, had the boat tied up by a helpful gent, then started on the process of baling the boat out. Read more…

GPS Tracks, Kayaking, New Zealand

8. Whakahoro – John Coull: Whanganui River Journey 3

Wednesday, February 18: Some fog at dawn, clearing to fine and sunny

Kayaking: 35.2 km

John Coull Hut (DOC, $32)

GPS Tour

Whakahoro dawn
Dawn over the Whanganui River at Whakahoro, with fog

Snoozed until about 7:30, then I had to get up to take the sunrise time lapse in the valley. A bit of low cloud or fog about, but the river was mostly free, so I set the camera going and returned for breakfast. Had the water boiling as Pea was getting up, then it was the favourites of egg, muesli bar, the remains of the crackers and coffee.

Moving all of the stuff back down again proved to be simpler that moving it up. I seemed to miss just one blue dry bag but while Pea was back at the hut trying to find it I found it in the boat. By the time she was back, nearly everything was in the boat. Roger & Jackie turned up just as we were about to go & they took a couple of pictures of us before they took off up to the Blue Duck for a coffee. Read more…

GPS Tracks, Kayaking, New Zealand

7. Poukaria – Whakahoro: Whanganui River Journey 2

Tuesday, February 17: Very dense fog on the river to begin with, clearing to fine and hot

Kayaking: 23.8 km

Whakahoro Bunkroom (DOC, $10)

GPS Tour

I had gotten the most of a night’s sleep and was awake again by 6:00. The valley was shrouded in very dense fog and I wondered what a time lapse would look like if I could get the camera to focus. It continued to lighten, some voices chirped up and eventually others were awake and up and about. Of course, everything was wet, and my legs were peppered with sandfly bites from the short time between arriving, putting up the tent, and getting the deet and spiderman suit on.

No signs of rat predation so either the rats do not try to get into the dry bags, or they are in insignificant numbers. Read more…

GPS Tracks, Kayaking, New Zealand, Youtube Videos

6. Taumarunui, Cherry Grove – Poukaria: Whanganui River Journey 1

Monday, February 16: Very cloudy to begin with but not as cold, reverting to sunshine with a few clouds

Poukaria Campsite (DOC, $14)

Kayaking: 35.7 km

GPS Tour
YouTube video

I awoke at about 5:30 and could hear Simon baking the ciabatta he had promised us. Was promptly up at 6:00 and had a breakfast of muesli and then scrambled eggs on toast and some coffee. Simon returned back to bed while I threw the rest of my stuff into the rucksack and a couple of shopping bags.

Pea was waiting for me at her place when I went over just before 7:00. Soon Gavin from Yeti Tours was there with his car to take us to the depot, a little scroungy looking, but these kayak people have their own laws. We had been fitted out for life jackets at the briefing yesterday and so only needed the boat, paddles and spray skirts. Then I realised I had forgotten the butter (in the fridge) and as we were leaving I asked Gavin to call past Sue & Simon’s place to pick it up. Read more…

Kayaking, New Zealand, Photography, Travel Planning

Countdown

It’s time for the preparations to draw to a close, after ten months. Of course, there’ll be stuff that still has to be bought because it was forgotten back at the ranch. I’m still wrangling with the car hirer about whether a larger suitcase than the current one will fit into the boot of the car I’m hiring, and that may continue for several days. I’ll at least try to pack the existing case, but I suspect that, with all the camping gear, too much will be left for the pack. Read more…

GPS Tracks, Kayaking, Travel Planning

Ironman II: Kayaking

Get in your waka
Get in your waka. Leaving the university sports jetty. © 2014 by Christoph Tyblewski, used with kind permission

There is historical evidence for the use of kayaks from the tour of 1974/75, although in my naïveté I called them “canoes” or “dinghies” at the time. The diary entry for Tuesday, January 7, 1975 at Blackwood Bay commences:

“I slept in again, and later went out on a canoe.”

Lesser Circuit
Lesser Circuit, September 13
I say this because I had booked myself into the uni sports’ flat water paddling group, turned up on time, was given a boat, and then proceeded to make myself into a best example of the Dunning-Kruger effect. After a little more than 100 m of floundering about, I was ordered into the Canadian canoe that is reserved for the less skilled. But in the second week in the Canadian, I met Conny, so it wasn’t all that bad. She basically gave me a rundown of her life so far, which included a stint at Monash, as well as Russia and Japan, and my diary of the following night only had one topic. Read more…

Photography, Skeptics, Tramping, Travel Planning

Off to New Horizons

Cathedral Rock, Waimangu.
Cathedral Rock, Waimangu. Static. For the last time?

Nau mai, haere mai!

Time to start the blog up again.

Journey to Te Ika-a-Māui is the next project, a trip to the North Island of New Zealand, arriving on February 11 in the wee minutes of the morning and leaving on April 7, 2015. There is still a lot to see and do.

First and foremost on the programme are the remaining Great Walks of the North Island, the Whanganui River Journey and the Tongariro Northern Circuit. Twice on previous visits have I tried to go over the Tongariro Crossing, but to no avail. Having more time this time around and a better season for mountain climbing, this should be doable at some point. Read more…