This is starting to be a family tradition, where Mama and I go and do something together, while Mulan and Miya stay with the grandparents. Last year Mama and I walked the Tongariro Alpine Crossing.
This year, Mama researched and then signed us up for a guided 3-day canoe trip down the Whanganui River with Canoe Safaris.
So, Laolao's flight back to China was on Thursday the 23rd of January. That gave us one whole day to get ready for our canoe trip.
On Friday morning, after Mulan and Miya's swimming lesson at 8:30am, we dropped the girls off at the grandparents' (Nainai and Yeye). Then it was time to start packing.
With no idea how much clothing we needed, we piled heaps of the old tramping gear in the car -- better too much than not enough. The list of suggested gear seemed to say it could be cold and wet, so in went plenty of thermals and gore-tex.
Then we had the long drive down to Ohakune, the home of Canoe Safaris, where we had booked accommodation for the night. Getting there around 8pm we had a quick dinner before crashing into bed; we needed to be up before dawn for an early start to the river.
We had a nice view of Ruapehu from our room, which we only got to appreciate on our return after we'd survived the canoe trip.
Before leaving the lodge we had to squash all our gear into one watertight barrel each. Back in the car went all the gore-tex and most of the thermals. And I still didn't need a lot of the stuff I packed in my barrel, as the weather was perfect the entire time.
Next morning, we met the rest of our paddling group. Besides Mama and me, the only other paying customers were a father and his two teenage children. To help us along we had a super-experienced guide, Erin, and a new guide doing a training run, Simon -- both were brilliant.
Piling into the van with the canoes on the trailer behind us, we drove to the starting point at Whakahoro.
After securing our barrels inside our canoes we had a quick river-side theory lesson on how to paddle and how to read the river. Then we jumped in and started paddling. Mama and I shared one canoe (Mama was the engine at the front while I was in control of our direction at the back). Our two guides controlled the other two canoes, with the teens at the front. The dad was in a one-person kayak.
Within minutes Mama and I were stuck on a partly submerged log. I'd steered us directly onto it! A bit of wriggling around and we were back moving again. But it was a great learning experience, and we didn't make the same mistake twice.
Over the three days we had 90km to paddle. The steady paddling, hour after hour, was tiring but enjoyable. The first day was the hardest, and the next morning the old body was stiff, but by the end of day three I felt like I could keep going forever. Just getting back to the basics of physical activity, eating and sleeping was very satisfying. On the afternoon of the third day it was something of a disappointment to see power lines in the distance.
The Whanganui river is popular for canoeing and kayaking, and often we'd pass or get passed by other groups. Mama and I had a bit of a middle-aged moment when we quietly grumbled together about a group of too-loud youngsters, yahooing their way down river with beers and loud rock music.
The occasional rapids were a lot of fun. On the first day the dad in the kayak tipped over going through one of the rapids, and lost his sunhat forever. Mama and I managed to stay (mostly) dry the entire time.
On the third day we encountered the biggest bit of white water. Our plan was to hurry there in the morning, get through safely and then set up for lunch to watch the other groups have a go. Our guides knew exactly what they were doing and had trained us well. We all got through safely without capsizing. But most of the other paddlers were wobbling and tipping out all over the place.
This was a good lesson in the importance of choosing the right guide. Another good lesson was seeing two canoes stuck wrapped around rocks. They'd been abandoned there until a change in water level might push them on their way.
On the second day we stopped off for a walk up to the Bridge to Nowhere. This was a nice change of muscle use, and the upper body enjoyed the rest.
After long days of paddling, our two camp nights were a welcome pleasure. We set up our tents while our guides prepared dinner.
All our meals were provided and prepared by our guides. As they wisely pointed out, even if everything else were to go wrong during the holiday, if the food is good then everyone is happy. And our food was excellent! Breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks were all delicious, nutritious, filling and well-timed. They even satisfied my vegetarian requirements.
It wasn't the sort of holiday where we took many photos. It was only at the very end that Mama and I took a photo of each other sitting in "our" canoe.
Back in Ohakune on Monday afternoon, the other family had to immediately drive home. We were more relaxed and stayed there one more night before heading back to Auckland on Tuesday. Of course we wandered around the town and checked out the giant carrot.
Mama made another excellent choice for our couple-holiday. I wonder what she has planned for us for next year.
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