Towards the end of Term 1, the Specialist Outdoor Education classes went to the Whanganui River for their annual 4 day canoe trip.
We started on the Whakahoro campsite where we put our tents up and made dinner together. The first day of canoeing was our biggest day - 38kms!!! We packed all of our gear into barrels and drybags, tied them to the canoes and started paddling. It took us six hours to paddle to the John Coull campsite. On the way we went through rapids and lots of moving water, which was challenging but also really fun. After this long day we did the same again: put the tents up together and cooked dinner. We were tired!!
The second day was marginally shorter, 29 km to Tīeke Kāinga campsite. On the way we stopped and walked to the Bridge to Nowhere, a 1936 built steel-reinforced concrete bridge in the Whanganui National Park, built by WWI veterans.
The last day was the shortest day with 21.5 km but also a really challenging one with a rapid named “50/50” - the reason behind this name is that generally people tend to capsize their canoe and tip out As soon as we arrived in Pīpīriki we received a karanga from local Iwi - this was a really special occasion and was a great way to end the trip.
We were really lucky to have Simon, our experienced guide, on the river with us. He accompanied us for the entire trip and taught us how to safely navigate this journey.
It was really fun to prepare for the trip together, practice canoeing and plan all the meals. It was a really cool experience to canoe on the Whanganui River through the untouched nature and the beautiful gorges.
Emma Seufert, Year 12
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