Sunday 6th November 2022

Today’s distance 41 km

T.A. distance 1326.5 km

Thomas and I were first up in the campsite to repack our equipment and to have breakfast.

There is a convoy of campervans and a group of 16 people all on holiday together. Last night they all squashed into one campervan to watch the NZ vs France women’s Rugby game. Well done NZ.

I had hand washed my clothes yesterday and they were still pretty wet. So it was off to put them through a dryer so I could be warm and dry before getting cold and wet. In order to get the $2 coins I needed to operate the dryer I ended up having to approach a man in his dressing gown on his way back from the shower. He was amused – especially when I said “I don’t suppose you have on you a two dollar coin”.

Thomas treated me to a cheeky coffee before we headed off for the day on the river. Thomas likes coffee at every opportunity.

Theresa, the very cheery and helpful manager of the camp drove our barrels and us back down to the river. I think she is a blessing.

Gwyn would not be talking to me today if he was in the canoe with me. We had a map of the river and specific instructions for each rapid. Thomas and I worked well picking good lines down the river. Until I didn’t listen properly and took us through the biggest wave train. (I am in the back, steering). Half way down this rapid the canoe was swamped. I am very proud of the fact that we didn’t capsize, but managed to wobble our way to an eddy (slack water) where I spent a number of minutes bailing the water out. Sorry Thomas – I gave you another bath. I behaved myself for the rest of the day and followed instructions.

Today we saw a lot of birds. Cormorants, brown teals, geese, swallows. Some kind of tern that I need to identify when I get connectivity. There were also a huge number of goats that were not at all phased by our presence. We also saw six deer. I am pretty certain I heard peacocks too.

We pulled over for a snack break and in the pool of water next to us there was something blowing bubbles as it moved around. In fact several somethings. The water is very brown from soil sediment so you can’t see into it. I wondered if it were eels.

As we canoed down the river Thomas kept track of our position on the map. We passed under a derelict bridge that would fit right into an Indiana Jones movie.

Later, we stopped and broke out the stove to make a hot coffee. This was just outside of a campsite called the Flying Fox. We had thought of staying there but Rhydian the DOC warden at Tīeke thought it wasn’t open yet. We didn’t go up but it looked pretty quiet.

We pushed on to Downes Hut. My shoulders and trapezoid muscles were fairly sore and tired at this point. There was plenty of wriggling in the last kilometer to try and find the least stinging paddling position. Finally we saw a glimpse of the hut, up high on the bank.

Downes hut is a wee cutie. Perched up high on a steep, grassy ledge, above the river. It was built in 1920 by a member of the Whanganui River Trust, Thomas Downes.

Getting to the hut was an adventure with greasy rocks next to where we moored our canoe. Followed by a good work out lugging the barrels up the steep goat track. Where is Theresa from Pipiriki with her van?

It’s a beautiful evening and we are enjoying the river flowing below us. We can hear birds calling, goats bleating and cattle bellowing. The road is on the other side of the river and infrequent traffic passes.