Paddling NZ's Great Walks - Whanganui River

Paddling the Whanganui River, one of New Zealand's Great Walks, was a dream come true. From the put-in at Taumarunui,   hundred and forty five kilometers down the river, to the take-out at Pipiriki, in a canoe through a landscape of lush green hills and bush clad valleys, in Whanganui National Park, South West of the North Island. 

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Click on the map for a bigger view

I jokingly imagined myself as an explorer on an expedition like David Thompson, a fur trader and a map surveyor in the interior of Canada, or Lewis and Clark, the first explorers to cross the North American continent, who used canoes extensively. Then I came to my senses, correcting the strokes of my wife, which she returned with an eye-rolling look.

During calm quiet moments, I imagined how the Maori, indigenous Polynesian people arrived in New Zealand in several waves of a canoe voyage, and how the dug-out canoe traditions are important to the identity of Maori, where they spent an insane amount of time and effort to shape the hull using fire and hand adzes.

In his video, Path Of The Paddle, Bill Mason had an apt description of canoeing:

“The first thing you must learn about canoeing is that the canoe is not a lifeless, inanimate object; it feels very much alive, alive with the life of the river. Life is transmitted to the canoe by the currents of the air and the water upon which it rides. The behavior and temperament of the canoe is dependent upon the elements: from the slightest breeze to a raging storm, from the smallest ripple to a towering wave, or from a meandering stream to a thundering rapid.”

With that in mind, I had an epiphany! I needed to make my own canoe.

After 3 days, we arrived at the take out, I couldn't wait to start my new project.

Click here for more photos in the Albums page under the title "Paddling NZ's Great Walks Paddling NZ's Great Walks - Whanganui River"

A good video to watch to get an idea of the Whanganui River:
http://www.greatwalks.co.nz/whanganui-journey