Don't Mess with the Mohaka

The Mohaka River is no river to be messed with, especially after three days of rain. Arriving at the brown, flooded river on Easter Friday was an eye opener. The muddy torrent owes it's source to high in the Kaweka Ranges, the full length winding its way through 140km of stunning and often very remote mountain country. Hawkes Bay's finest. And the only way to get there? On the water...

Don't Mess with the Mohaka

Over three days of the Easter weekend, I joined AUCC for a deluxe sequence of rafting and kayaking of the grade II and grade III sections of the mid-Mohaka. Our campsite was established at Willow Flat in the slushy riverside paddock. Over the following days we would learn to be satisfied living in the wet. That's what kayaking is about right? Three days of rain suited us fine, and could not stop us from setting alight a flaming bonfire every evening without fail.

Sam Manson in the thick of it

As the precautious club we were, we treated the first grade II section as an unknown river, confused by the turbulence and potentially blockaged by fallen trees in the past storm. So for the debut run, we took to the rafts to scope out the first 8km of white-water goodness.

No problems on the raft, we cruised down easily taking in the vistas for the first time, and enjoying being back on the water. The more experienced paddlers amongst us kayaked alongside also finding the river easy going despite the high flow.

Having graduated from the grade II, a night of fire food and folly rested us for the 'big day': it was time to tackle the grade III. Tight gorges, steep cliff faces, intense and extended rapids, small drop offs and more difficult route choice made this more challenging and more exciting than the grade II.. But again, this was an unknown river, still raging in flood - the nerves and apprehension showed on our instructors faces as they warned us of the dangers and tried to convince the weaker of us to drop out for another day...

Rip-roaring torrents did their best to flip us into the cold river.

The strong arm of hypothermia often punched through the river surface, licking our faces and trying to drag others down with her. One unlucky raft ahead of us plunged into a hole at an angle and were all ejected into the rapids - even with multiple thermals, a wetsuit and dry top, this meant a cold swim to shore. Out of the river to the stony bank, they needed to keep moving lest they make themselves a liability.

Precipitous eroded hillsides characterised the upper Mohaka section, and matched the greyish floodwater

A gourmet selection cooked over the Primus

Jenny showcasing her skills in the Grade III section, she was a fantastic instructor

Sigh of relief and a swig of satisfaction

A victory beer after surviving the Mohaka grade II sealed the deal. A huge buzz, and a fantastic Easter weekend.

Finally, read about a group of three adventure racers who decided to go 'Source to Sea' - kayaking the entire 140km of the Mohaka River. From the source located upstream of Tui's famous Mangatainoka Springs, winding through sections of up to grade IV rapids and waterfalls, the trio emerged at Mohaka township on the east coast in the winter of 2009.

Aniwhenua

This weekend I learnt several important things about rivers and life. Life is more enjoyable above the river than hanging upside down beneath it!

I decided to join the Auckland Uni Canoe Club (AUCC) this year to get on some wild rivers and experience the thrill of white water kayaking for myself. It has been too long thinking about it, and now after jumping into the Aniwhenua River and letting the current take me away, I'm looking forward to the new adventure. I had an interest in Dragon-boating for a time, but never pursued it. Until now.

Rafting the Rangitaiki

Beyond Rotorua you venture into thick country. Classic North Island outback where the most popular past time is heading out to the bush to hunt wild pigs. As our van and trailer-load of kayaking gear bustled into the bush just out of Murupara I half expected to bump into Sjors Corporaal running along the forest road with a boar carcass on his back.

Instead, a massive windfall from last week's storm had plummeted exactly twenty-six thick pine trees across the entrance road to the Rangitaiki River. Our plan to raft down the grade 2-3 mid-section of the rampant Rangi was now foiled, no-one was game enough to try carrying the 40kg plastic inflatables down the mile-long obstacle course. We retreated to the Aniwhenua to salvage the day.

Aniwhenua Falls

Aniwhenua Falls is spectacular in full flow. A tumultuous accelerates from the still canal in a moment, exploding into the get-in hole. The more experienced kayakers were having a crack at paddling off the falls, nothing to it right? Nothing but a rocky ledge to the left side, its all about the line. The rest of us were launched off the power station walls...

Thrown into the deep end

Reacquainted mate after 6 years, Scott Osborne was one of the first in, fortune had it that he flipped over as soon as his kayak plunged into the boils. The stage was his as he busted out a clean roll to show its done.

Rafting up before hitting the first rapids

The Aniwhenua river run is 8km in length, with about 8 sections of rapids separated by longer stretches of calm flow. Getting the rapids was a simple case of leaning forward and powering straight into the wave trains, each stroke keeping my unstable Bandit stable.

A river rat infiltrates Richard's kayak!

Out of the red zone, relaxing, right way up

Bernoulli's equation now gained new meaning as we emerged from the narrowest section of gorge, the river valley really widened out just and as sun finally broke through. Stiff and cramping up as we limped up the bank carrying our kayaks, what a relief it was to be back on dry land!

I revelled in the new experiences that I'd had on the Aniwhenua. The moments that follow overcoming personal boundaries are always the best. It was awesome to get to know a whole new club - AUCC are a great lot and I'll be back for more white-water this easter for their most remote trip to the Mohaka River near Napier. Four days away camping in real North Island wilderness, I can hardly wait.

A taste of the Mohaka...