Whanganui Journey

“OK, you guys have everything you need, and you saw the safety video earlier, so you’re all set” said Mike from the canoe rental company.

“Huh, what safety video?!” we replied.

“Oh shoot, you didn't see that? OK, give me five minutes.”

It’s fair to say it was an ominous start to our Whanganui Journey; a 3-day 89km self-guided canoe trip in New Zealand’s north island.

The safety briefing ended up being little more than ‘if you see a ‘V’ shape facing away from you then that’s the centre of the rapids, aim straight for it’.

“Rapids?!” we replied, “how many rapids are there?”

“Oh one or two every kilometre” said Mike.

“But we’re doing around 90kms! That’s over 100 rapids!”

“Yep! Have fun!”

And that was the last we saw of Mike.

We gingerly set off with me as ‘Skipper’ and therefore responsible for steering us safely through each of the rapids. After the first hour, in which I had spun us through the first couple and caused us to slam straight into a tree on the third, I was swiftly relegated to the ‘Navigator’ position at the front.

By now the sun was beating down and that, combined with the searing pain in our shoulders from all the paddling, meant that tempers were a little frayed. Thankfully we weren't the only couple finding it all too much of a challenge.

At one point the peace and tranquillity of the river was broken by a couple coming through the latest set of rapids.

“LEFT! I TOLD YOU TO STEER TO THE LEFT!”

“I AM STEERING FLAMIN’ LEFT!!”.

This raised our spirits a little.

We also passed a young American couple and innocently asked how they were getting on. Her response was “I’m so over this” while he kept his head bowed, not daring to say a word. We later overheard them having a row because he’d forgotten to bring a spoon.

I'm not proud to admit it but this also made us feel a little better.

The next day, fortified by a hearty bowl of porridge, we hit the water with new found enthusiasm. We vowed to work as a team and do our very best to enjoy it because, hey, we were on holiday, the sun was shining and the scenery, when you had time to look around, was absolutely stunning.

And you know what, we got into a rhythm, took each stage of the river at a time and actually found ourselves having a good time.

We even smiled a couple of times.

There’s no question the Whanganui Journey is a huge adventure. You might fall out of your canoe, heck you might even get divorced, but one thing’s for sure; you’ll definitely remember your experience.