Whanganui

The Summer Canoe and Rafting  season is now nearing and end and we will be running limited trips over the winter. Trips will be 3 days from Whakahoro to Pipiriki with both nights spent indoors at John Coull Hut and Ramanui Lodge. We will supply wetsuits and booties for these trips.

Please call or email for details

A quick comment"

"Dear Simon  A belated thank you to you and Kelly and Jane for the most superb 5 days on the Whanganui before Christmas.  It was magic; a really special trip for us and the boys.  Some of the things we really appreciated include:

• Kelly was so knowledgable about the river and its Maori and Pakeha history - as well as being totally unflappable and great company
• We really liked the way the trip was planned - eg combining long days with half days as well as interspersing camping with a hot shower and a comparatively luxurious night at the lovely Bridge to Nowhere lodge. (Danny loved all those baby animals!)
• The food was superb - camping food like I've never had before
• The rapids are hard enough to give a thrill but not so hard they are too scary
• The scenery and the peace and tranquility was magnificent

Thanks again - we totally recommend your company! cheersKate"

New Canoes. Summer 2009: We've updated our canoe fleet with 7 new NovaCraft Canoes from Canada, and also two new river kayaks with storage hatches, a few new tents, paddles and rescue equipment including another satellite phone.

Lavender Farm One Day trip.  This is a new trip for this season on the upper section of the Whanganui River. The trip starts at Taumarunui and takes you through the many small bouncy rapids to the finishing point 22km downstream at Ohinepane. There is still plenty of the early riverboat history to be seen with the remains of rock weirs that were made over 100 years ago to keep the channels deep enough. Lunch is on the river or after a short walk to the Lavender Farm where you can enjoy a cold drink, tea or espresso coffee. We use our 6 person Voyageur Canoes for this trip with a guide in the back of each boat. The trip is suitable for the whole family and takes around five hours.

2 Day Whanganui Trip with Jetboat.  This trip covers the scenic 3 day section of the river but with a Jetboat included to make it possible over a weekend. The first night is at John Coull hut and campsite, then on day two we paddle 18km to the start of the Bridge to Nowhere track. After lunch we walk to the Bridge and back to the river. A short paddle and we are met by the jetboat and are whisked the last 21.5km down to Pipiriki and then by bus back to Ohakune.

Thanks to James Morris of Ventureweb.net for the makeover of the website. James worked as a Whanganui river guide for a number of seasons before eventually moving to Canada and setting up Ventureweb. If you are looking for a website or a re-design then contact James at Ventureweb. Please drop us a note if you think there is anything on the site that needs tweaking.

If you are thinking of a trip this summer please drop us an email, or call on 0800 272335

many thanks

The Canoe Safaris Team