Te Wheke waka ama challenge returns to Taupō as 500 paddlers descend on lake

About 500 paddlers will be out on Lake Taupō this weekend for the Te Wheke Challenge.

Waka would line the shore of Lake Taupō this Saturday as the waka ama Te Wheke Challenge returns to town.

The event for waka ama clubs was expected to involve about 500 North Island paddlers competing in events from solo races to paddles for teams of six.

The distances would vary from 10km upwards, with the longest team race covering 21km to the Māori rock carvings at Mine Bay and back.

The event organisers, of Taupō Waka Ama Club, have been very pleased with the response to the 2024 event.

Taupō Waka Ama Club member Janet Bishop said: “We have clubs from Auckland and Wellington who will come for it, which is pretty cool.

“Some are coming from Hawke’s Bay and the Bay of Plenty, too.

“We’re really impressed with our entries, actually.”

About 50 teams were participating in the Mine Bay race alone, she said.

“In total we’re expecting 500 paddlers, from juniors to some aged 75-plus.”

She said the club has been pleased to see the entries reflecting a range of people from different backgrounds who want to paddle on Lake Taupō.

“We’ve got a good balance of male and female paddlers.

“Waka has historically been male-dominated, but we actually have more female than male entrants [this year].”

Younger paddlers were also more keen than ever to get involved, she said.

Taupō Waka Ama’s schools’ programme has been successful this year, and local secondary students who went to the recent national championships are eager to get out on the water again.

Normally, college students’ participation drops off after the championships, Bishop said, but many have stayed on to compete in the novice category this time around, which will see them race a 7.5km course.

The club had also encouraged novice adults to compete this year, including some who got started as part of their 2023 corporate challenge for local businesses.

“We’ve got some new adult paddlers who will be doing their first [race].

“We picked up people last year who wanted to carry on.”

The Te Wheke Challenge had been running for many years on the lake, but the Covid-19 pandemic halted it until 2023.

It was good to see that there was still a lot of enthusiasm for the event, both within the club and across the North Island, Bishop said.

The main logistical challenge this year was biosecurity, with the threat of golden clams looming large after their recent discovery at several sites along the Waikato River, including Taupō Aqua Park.

The club took biosecurity seriously, with protocols in place throughout the planning process.

This included paperwork for all clubs involved and waka checks on the day for cleanliness.

“We have quite a big biosecurity programme.

“If we’re at all concerned about their boats then they won’t go into the water.”

The waka will make for an impressive sight, said Bishop, and the public were welcome to come and watch the races, which start from 8am.

“There’ll be lots of people there and it’ll be good fun.”

Milly Fullick is a journalist based in Taupō. She joined the Taupō & Tūrangi Herald team in 2022.