Wet & wild – river rafting New Zealand!
Sunday, Feb. 24, 17:20 (our itinerary)
The storm intensified overnight, and waking up in Mt. Maunganui was not a particularly pleasant experience. There were still lots of joggers on the boardwalk in front of us, though – the locals seemed to be little bothered by a tropical storm. Although it didn’t cause us to miss any activities, by 09:00 we were on our way a half-hour west to the pick-up point for rafting the world-famous, Class 5, Kairoa River.
The Kairoa was an incredible experience, as much for the spectacular beauty as for the world-class whitewater. Not having a camera at the put-in location at the foot of McLaren Falls (a Class 6) made me a little nuts – it was a slot canyon drenched in rain and full of very colourful rafts, kayaks and people. The river can only be run for a few hours on 26 days each year when water is released from a power dam. The river is very different from others I’ve run, in that you have relatively calm pools below each set of rapids or waterfall. The photo below was shot by James of Adrenalin Shotz – a CD of 40 high-quality photos was $60 NZ, pricey but a must-have (I’m in the front of the raft on the left, our guide Dan on the right).
We’re now at the Top 10 Holiday Park in Rotorua ($38 per night), killing a bit of time before getting picked up for the Mitai Maori cultural show and hangi ($92 pp).
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