Canoe Life - The Whanganui Journey
- Natty Knees
- May 4
- 12 min read
Updated: May 14
A Great Walk that is not a walk. The crew canoes down the mighty Whanganui River over 3 days, with the gods throwing all weather conditions our way, including winds that require us to paddle in beast mode. The trip is fun as we paddle through mountains, rainforest, and lush gorges. As the trip progresses the rapids get bigger and bigger. Read on to see if make it through the notorious 50/50 rapid where 50% of canoeists meet a watery demise.
Track: The Whanganui Journey
Time of Year: March 2024
Day 0 - Drive to Ohakune
Everyone drives their own cars from their respective North Island cities to Ohakune arriving early afternoon. Ohakune is a ski town at the base of Turoa ski field and is a bustling wee town during winter. Although it is much quieter during the summer months, it still has plenty of tourists around and amenities to get last minute supplies
We have arranged to pick up our barrels that will store our gear and food in the canoes, so we can pack overnight and avoid an early start.
The Whanganui Journey, although a Great Walk is not actually a walk but a canoe trip down the Whanganui River. Some companies allow you to kayak but you need to be experienced and paddling with another group. The journey can be completed in 3 or 5 days, and we have opted to canoe only the most scenic part of the river over 3 days from Whakahoro to Pipiriki. The canoes fit 2 people, 5 barrels, and a chilly bin each, but since we are not camping decide to take only 4 barrels instead. The canoe company is based just out of Ohakune and when we pull up at the address the building looks derelict, but after some investigation find we are indeed at the right place. The building has canoe gear strewn everywhere and the place is a hot mess. The weather looks great for the first and third day, but we should encounter rain on the second day with heavy rain expected overnight. Apparently, there has not been much rain recently so the river is quite low, and any rain will be welcome.
We start to label and gather 24 barrels and are grateful we have a van and ute for transportation. Although the barrels are said to be waterproof, we take no chances and ensure our gear is packed in dry bags and the barrels lined with heavy duty rubbish bags, just in case we meet a watery fate. We have accidentally taken 2 more barrels than needed and decide to use one barrel as a 'beer barrel' loaded with ice and the other as a communal 'rubbish barrel'. Everyone tries to avoid taking the heavy beer barrel in their canoe.
Day 1 - Whakahoro to John Coull Hut
We arrive at the canoe company at 7:30am and the canoes are still being loaded up. We stack the barrels into the trailer and meet two other friendly travelers from the UK that will join us down the river. The drive to Whakahoro landing is 1hr 30mins away and we split ourselves between two vans. Part of the drive is on unsealed gravel road and as we speed our way into farmland, the ride is outrageously bumpy. The van we are in is held together with a hope and a prayer and as we shudder over rocks, the van convulses violently, and the windows threaten to fall out. After a late start and a coffee stop, we arrive at Whakahoro about 10.30am and are eternally grateful to have made the drive intact.
We unload the gear, set up the canoes, and tie down the barrels as instructed with clips. Each canoe should have 4 barrels, 2 paddles, a pelican case for smaller items (phones/cameras), chilly bin, 2 life jackets, a personal locator beacon, and a bailer. The canoe company then gives a safety briefing where we are informed about the hazards we will encounter on the river each day and things to look out for. A few horror stories are relayed about canoes ending up on rocks or under trees never to be recovered again and we are reminded of the $500 fee for any damage. We are told the paddler at the back is responsible for steering and to paddle fast into the V when we approach the rapids. We are then wished good luck.
By 12pm we are pushed into the river. It's expected to be a 7 to 9-hour paddle from Whakahoro to John Coull Hut where we will be staying the night. There are 2 campsites (Mangapapa & Ohauora) we can stop at along the way for a rest and food. Each campsite is approx 2 hours apart and has basic pit toilets and a picnic table. The sun is shining, and we are stoked to finally be on the river. The river is running slowly, and we are happy to encounter a few rapids to push us forward and get a break from the constant paddling. The scenery is primordial, and it is easy to imagine that not much has changed since the Maori first paddled down this river hundreds of years ago.
The greenery is lush which contrasts against the slightly muddy waters of the river. There are trees and rocks below the surface and the front paddler is the look out to help avoid these obstacles as we float past. Many of us run into rocks or trees as we discover how to steer the vessels, and it is very easy to spin around in whirlpools and end up hurtling backwards. We stop at Mangapapa campsite for a toilet break, lunch, and snacks and it would be a really nice place to camp. The rest of the day is bliss on the river as we paddle away under the sun and slowly improve our rapid navigation skills. Rumour has it that particularly in the shoulder season, when the river is higher, less paddling is required.
It's around 7:30pm by the time we see the John Coull Hut sign, and 8pm by the time we unload the canoes and carry all the gear 150m up a steep bank to the hut. It takes 3 tiring trips, and we are glad to be carrying everything downhill tomorrow morning.
Unusually, the hut warden is quite unwelcoming and doesn't introduce herself before barking rules at us. No drinking beer in the hut and no noise after 9:30pm. Most of us are sopping wet and dig into the barrels to find some warm dry clothes. We snag whatever bunks are left in the one long bunkroom which houses 24 mattresses. Usually, the crew will tend to have a swim to wash off the day, but this time don't bother as it's late and nice to finally be dry.
As our food was transported by canoe and not on our backs, we are eating well this trip and there is no dehydrated food in sight. The canoe company told us to think 'camping not hiking' when organizing our food and nachos is on the menu. Halfway through cooking the lights in the hut go out making the job significantly more difficult. But dinner is delicious, and everyone chows the food just in time for the hut warden to growl us. It's now 9:40pm and we are unable to make any noise whatsoever including eating and breathing it seems, and we are told to pack up and shut up. It's too early for bed so some of us go back down to the river away from the hut to chill out and relax under the stars. But alas the warden is still unhappy, so we all resign and retire to bed to lay awake for a few hours hoping to nod off eventually.
Day 2 - John Coull Hut to Bridge to Nowhere Lodge
By the morning most of the crew have slept horribly. It's hard to sleep well in DOC huts and there were a lot of snorers in the bunk room last night, which successfully penetrated even the best quality ear plugs. We were instructed to be on the river by 9am and often are the last to leave the huts, letting other punters depart first. Most of us are keen to leave the unfriendly vibe of the hut warden. The weather forecast is for light rain around midday and then to get heavy overnight. It's cloudy and moody on the river and we head off once the barrels are reloaded.
There are 2 campsites (Mangawaiti & Mangapura) along the way and at the midway point a hike to the Bridge to Nowhere can be completed taking approx 45mins each way. There are a few more rapids on this leg of the journey and everyone has finally found their groove, navigating the rapids and having heaps of fun. We are constantly looking for bubbles, which show where the currents are, and try to maneuver our canoes along them to make paddling easier. After a couple of hours, we stop for a break and food at Mangawaiti campsite and hike the very steep and muddy terrain up the bank. Be warned, it would be a tricky site to camp at and lug all your gear up the stairs. The sandflies are also ferocious here.
We don't hang about for too long as we still have a 1hr 30min hike to the Bridge to Nowhere at the next stop. It's another 2hr paddle to Mangapura, and 20 mins before arrival at the landing, the heavens open and the rain absolutely punishes us. Most of us forego putting on a rain jacket as you are constantly wet while paddling anyway and there doesn't seem to be much point. We pull up the canoes as instructed by the canoe company, but 2 massive jet boats and plenty of canoes are docked making it difficult to park up and get to shore. 4 of the crew are still behind us and while we hold onto each other's canoes and wait for them to arrive, we continue to get drenched. Some of the crew have walked the Bridge to Nowhere before and describe it as 'ok' and would be fine on a nice day to stretch the legs. By the time the rest of the crew arrive we unanimously decide to skip the walk and paddle on.
Once the rest of the crew catch up, we push away from the Mangapura landing and see a big rapid in the distance, probably the biggest one we have encountered so far. One by one we head into the V and thankfully our canoe navigates the rapid successfully and we get spat out at speed down the river. The river has started to flow significantly faster, and the level rises quickly with water rushing in from the valleys. It's fun cruising fast compared to the day before and there are lots of waterfalls appearing on the cliffs above.
We hear Lalaa and Loco Boko calling out to us and we wait for them to catch up and realize there is no one else behind us. We are missing 4 canoes and deduce that someone has probably had a mishap on the big rapid. We latch on to each other's canoe and decide to have a picnic in the middle of the river in the pouring rain and wait for our mates. We are having a great time until I hear the roar of a jet boat. We unlatch from each other's canoes quickly and start paddling the boat to the side of the river and out of the way. The jet boat (unlike most of them) doesn't slow down at all and roars past us creating a massive wake. We are hard up against the cliff and we manage to turn the boats into the wake just in time to avoid tipping out.
Soon after, the other 4 canoes appear in the distance, and we find out that Hone and Tano had been the first sacrifice to the river. Their canoe is bigger than everyone else's and although fast on flat water tends to wobble comically through most rapids. We are not surprised they are the first to capsize and the canoe needed to be completely removed of gear before it could be emptied of water.
We push on up the river for another hour or so and decide to stop on a beach for a snack and happy hour as the rain eases up. As the crew wander around the beach we find that just past the sand there is the slipperiest of all slippery muds. It's a clay mud mixture and one foot onto it will send you flying onto your backside. 4 of the crew upend ungraciously into the mud in quick succession and are forced into the river for an impromptu swim.
We head off as the rain begins again and are all pumped that we are staying at the Bridge to Nowhere lodge tonight with hot showers, our own bedroom, and cold beer. The lodge is on the opposite side of the river to Tieke Marae where the next DOC hut is. The rest of the paddle is swift and as we close in on the lodge have to pull a sliding backward maneuver and paddle against the strong current to land the canoe. Our canoeing prowess is on full display as we all have fun gliding into position and hope we can ground the canoes on the rocks before drifting away.
There is a short and sharp hill to carry all the gear up, but it is sandy so not as hard as it looks. As we reach the top, Mandy the owner, is waiting for us with an ATV and trailer ready to transport our gear to the lodge. Mandy is so welcoming and a bloody good sort with a quick wit and dry sense of humor. We have to walk a very muddy uphill track to the lodge, and I regret not packing my gumboots, but my multi-purpose Crocs seem to do the trick. The lodge sits up high on the hill and has amazing views of the river in either direction.
Just as we pull the last barrel onto the deck the clouds darken and rain thumps down heavily for the rest of the night. We are glad now we skipped the hike as we would still be on the river. The lodge has shared showers, comfortable bedrooms and a full kitchen where you can cook your own food. We all take much needed hot showers, whip up a cheese board, order some cold beers, and enjoy the view. We have burgers on the menu tonight and at this moment I'm really happy with our life choice to stay at this sweet lodge rather than the DOC hut.
Day 3 - Bridge to Nowhere Lodge to Pipiriki
Its spitting a little as we start to pack the canoes up for the final day from the Bridge to Nowhere Lodge to Pipiriki. It's expected to be a short day, and we need to arrive at the Pipiriki between 2pm-3pm for the transport home. The biggest rapids are on this section of the river including the 50/50 rapid named because 50% of all people capsize here.
We launch the canoes with the river flowing fast due to all the rain last night. We are stoked as we preemptively think we will need to paddle less today but are oh so very mistaken. After an hour or so we are hit will the full force of the wind blowing directly at us. The river is now flowing towards us creating waves that slam the bow of the canoes. The paddling is brutal and at times we feel like we are not moving and often get pushed horizontally. Everyone digs in for a tough 2 hours and keeps to the side of the river to avoid as much as the wind as possible. A couple on a guided canoe trip ahead gets pushed by a big wind gust into the cliff and overturns unceremoniously into the river. We are all thankful that we have not experienced headwind like this for most of the trip, as 3 days of this wind would be a tough and exhausting journey.
Finally, up ahead we start to see some big rapids and it's time for the 50/50 (as we find out later). It's hard to figure out where you are on the river, and it is not till we reach Pipiriki we identify which rapids are which. With all the strength we can muster we slide the canoe into position and paddle as hard as we can into the V. Two of the canoes slide sideways and collide but somehow manage to stay afloat as they fight to straighten up. Our canoe manages to shimmy around the collision and slip between them and an enormous rock, protruding ominously ahead.
The next big rapid approaches soon after and we follow 2 canoes at a distance into the V. As the first crew disappears into the rapid, we notice a few moments later that the canoe is suspiciously missing some paddlers. The second crew are sucked into the rapid at speed and it's not long till we realize this canoe is also now missing paddlers. Oh shit.
We gulp, Julz yells some hurried instructions to the back of the boat, and we paddle like our lives depended on it. I steer us in, and we get tossed and banged around the canoe. Once we are through the worst of the waves, I make a tight handbrake turn towards the bank to help the crew who capsized and are swimming with their canoes. Some items are lost from the boats, but we pick them up floating further down the river. The crew behind us did not see the rapid and choose a different and very bumpy route down to the bank to join us.
We think about stopping until we overhear a guide in another company say it's only 30 mins to Pipiriki. So, we jump in the canoes and storm the rest of the river. We catch the last of the rapids and dock the canoes like pros at the landing. We are so ready to get dry. Eventually the canoe company arrives to transport us the 30mins back to Ohakune. Unfortunately (but maybe not unsurprisingly) one of the vans breaks down along the way, so we need to grab our cars and go back to retrieve the rest of the crew.
The Whanganui River Journey was so much fun and such a different experience coasting down this beautiful mighty awa (river). It's easy to see why this journey has made Great Walk status and we all feel so blessed to experience another epic adventure together.
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