After leaving Costa Rica, I spent 70 hours in Planes, airports and buses to get to Rotorua, New Zealand. It felt soooo good to be back! I arrived the day after Christmas and stayed for just under 4 months, living in the town of Okere Falls home of the best back yard run ever .... the Kaituna River. Over those 4 months myself and Lu had too many great times to share them all with you, so here are just a few of our highlights. The Terawera River is one of the weirdest rivers I’ve ever paddled. The upper section has 3 great drops, the last one being a 7 m waterfall. After running the drop you are forced to get out and walk a mandatory portage, where the entire river flows into an underwater cave and disappears for a kilometer. After traveling underground the river erupts out of the side of a 100 m cliff face and then carries on down stream. The crack that the water spits out of acts like a natural control gate, always letting the same amount of water come out, therefore the lower section never changes levels. This allows these huge grass islands to grow everywhere, which sometimes conceals the rapids below. Aratiatia Rapids release 4 times a day for tourist viewing, meaning 4 times a day these massive rapids are there for paddlers to awe at, and if feeling up to it take the plunge. It is a huge amount of water pushing through a relatively small and steep gorge, making it one of NZ’s hardest rapids. If you opt out of Aratiatia you can always step up and go huck yourself off Huka Falls, only 5 mins away, and if you did run Aratiatia its a great way to unwind. All located just outside the town of Taupo it is a hot spot for big Park ‘ n Hucks. New Zealand it definitely not known for its great play boating spots, however it does have a bunch of great ocean surf, and if your lucky enough to hit them at a good swell it all adds up to an amazing day on the water. The Ohineponga and Waihohonu River is another one of those unique rivers that will stick in your memories. Just getting to the put-in is amazing as you are dwarfed by 2 huge volcanoes. Once on the river it is 1 m wide and non-stop water slide in the purest spring water. There is one tight gorge containing 3 drops before it spills out and joins the Waihohonu River. The banks are polished smooth gray rock and the deep pools are glowing aqua blue. The rapids aren’t that difficult but you will be too busy checking out the setting to notice. I am not a religious man but I found myself going to ‘church’ every sunday. “Church” as it is called would be the Wairoa River, which releases every sunday, and every sunday kayakers flock to its shores religiously. This is just one of those classic rivers that no matter how many times you have run it, you can always find something to entertain yourself with, and if not just hang out at Roller coaster for a while and you will see some great action. As I mentioned before the Kaituna is the greatest back yard run ever, and I was lucky enough to be within a 2 min walk to the put-in. This meant I ran the river an average of about 2-3 times a day. After a while we started getting creative, like paddling to the bottom with no skirt on and no sponging allowed or paddling the entire river backwards. One highlight on the river would have to be the Andy Duff Memorial Race, a mass start race from top to bottom. Lu took first place in the play boat and 2nd in the creek boat races for the women and Sam Sutton took both races down for the Men. I think I finished around 6th or 7th out of 30+ in both. With the lower water levels we were also able to get in and paddle the lower gorges of the kaituna, which was amazing. There is another 3 gorges, 8-10 km of whitewater, down stream of the regular take-out, however the river is extremely tight (1 m wide in spots) and very committing (few eddies in certain stretches) down there so I would recommend going with someone who knows the run. Unfortunately these gorges are slated for damning and will be lost if the power companies get there way (visit Kaitunariver.com to see how you can help). The tight gorges of the Kaituna river are home to millions of amazing little creatures called Glow Worms. The only time to see them is at night and the best way is from your boat.... Night Paddle! **(Paddling from top to bottom in complete darkness is something I wouldn’t recommend to just anyone, however paddling the river as much as we have, we felt pretty comfortable with our group)** It was one of my most surreal moments, the only thing I could see was the whitewater and the millions of glow worms on the banks, it was like looking into space and see stars everywhere. At the water fall the only way to tell where the lip was was to look at where the glow worms stopped, meaning the walls ended and the river plunged off the 7 m drop. No trip to NZ would be complete without spending some time on the South Island... but thats another story all together (see New Zealand’s South Island) In the end it is the People just as much as it is the amazing whitewater that makes we want to return again and again to New Zealand. Kiwi’s have this amazing outlook on life and are constantly seeking adventure & entertainment, which reminds me a little of home. I have met many good friends and ‘family’ on this trip and want to thank them all for the good times. Until next time... Tyler Fox Photos: Louise Urwin, Tyler Fox, Shep New Zealand’s North Island
Where’d the Water Go
Tyler - Upper Terawera
There it is!
Tyler - Lower Terawera
Ready for it
Lu - Aratiatia
Big girls don’t cry
Lu - Aratiatia
Dropping into the Meat
Tyler - Aratiatia
Coming out clean
Tyler - Aratiatia
At the lip
Shep - Aratiatia
 
Tyler - HukaFalls
Down the Pipe
Lu - Huka Falls
Spreading his Wings
Shep - Huka Falls
Danger Rips?
Tyler - the Mount
Party Surf
Tyler & Sam- the Mount
Airing it out
Sam - the Mount
At the Trail Head
Ohineponga River
At the Trail Head
Ohineponga River
The Hike In
Tyler - Ohineponga
Hydro Slide
Shep - Ohineponga
Boof’O’Rama
Tyler - Ohineponga
Tight...like a Tiger
Shep - Ohineponga
Exit Rapid
Shep - Ohineponga
Scenic Float
Tyler - Waihohonu
Mini Canyon
Shep - Waihohonu
Mothers Nightmare
Wairoa
Break on thru
Wairoa
You Stay Classy
Wairoa
1 heck of a roller coaster ride
Josh - Wairoa
Pulling it thru
Wairoa
Sweet 360
Kaituna
Jungly Perfection
Kaituna
The Reverse Human Salmon
Kaituna
The Water Fall
Kaituna
Play Time in the Bottom Hole
Kaituna
Going BIG
Lu - Kaituna
Snoop a Loop
Kaituna
Absolutely Beautiful
Lower Kaituna
a Flower
Who Turned Out the Lights
 Kaituna
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