Returning to the Adventurer II after visiting the Puraroto Caves
I recently had a wonderful four-day trip on a riverboat up the Whanganui River to Whakahoro - 175km upstream from Wanganui - and back.
The weather was good, the scenery superb and there were about 15 others with me on the boat, the Adventurer II, to enjoy the trip.
It was after dark when we arrived at Pipiriki, some 11 hours after leaving Whanganui. Our last hour was spent travelling by the light of our spotlights to pick out our way through the rapids. We split for various overnight destinations around Pipiriki before reassembling at the riverboat the next morning to continue our journey. More passengers joined us at Pipiriki, effectively doubling our numbers.
A few kilometres upstream, we pulled into the bank and had a look at the Puraroto Cave. In this unusual cave, there is an interior waterfall.
Due to recent rain, it was gushing out in a cascade - a great spectacle.
Next place to visit was the Department of Conservation's campsite at Mangawai-iti. Here, a settler had tried and failed to wrest a living from a farm he created on the riverbank. It is now a delightful campsite.
Back on the boat, we ploughed our way up the river, and every corner that we turned gave us a wonderful view of primeval forest on hills on the top of high cliffs, untouched since they were first created. Before long, we arrived at Tieke, an important marae on the river.
The next day we stopped at the Otumangu Landing. This is just a small shelf on the side of the river with a steel bar embedded in it for tying up to, and an overgrown track leading up to the heights above. This landing served a small returned soldier settlement. We clambered up the track until we reached the remains of a tea house, comprising just three pungas forming part of a wall. These relics were all that was left of a settler's forlorn effort to eke a precarious existence from his farm. It was an unhappy sight.
Nearing our destination, we were welcomed by a couple of jet boats, one being driven by our host for the night, Richard Steele, who farms at the mouth of the Retaruke River.
The next day we stopped at the Mangapurua Landing and followed the track to that icon of the river: The Bridge to Nowhere.
It is hard to describe one's feelings on first seeing this bridge - a concrete bridge located in the middle of nowhere, with no possibility of getting a vehicle to it. It looks totally out of place surrounded, as it is, by native bush. But when it was constructed, it was part of a country road leading from the landing up the Mangapurua Valley, and connecting with other roads leading to Raetihi.
When it was constructed in 1936, it was to have been part of a road system that extended from the east to west of the country. A change of government in 1935 shelved the concept, but it came too late to stop work on the bridge. It was completed but seldom used until now, as it has become part of the popular Mountains to the Sea cycleway.
At our overnight stop at the Bridge to Nowhere Lodge and a splendid meal, we toasted the riverboat owner, Robert (Baldy) Baldwin, for his vision of building a riverboat that could provide tourists with easy access to the most scenic parts of the river.
On the last day of our trip, we pulled in at the Kawana flour mill just above Matahiwi to inspect the place and then carried on. We cruised into Wanganui with a tail of skiffs and canoes trying unsuccessfully to match our speed.
The jewel in Wanganui's crown must surely be its river, particularly the upper reaches above Pipiriki. Unfortunately, few get to see it due to the river channel having deteriorated since the days of the riverboats.
Each year, thousands canoe the upper reaches of the Whanganui, and jet boats give tourists a fleeting but noisy view of the beautiful scenery.
But for maximum appreciation of the scenery, it has to be a leisurely experience. Unfortunately, the Adventurer II can only make the trip when the river is high, like it was when we made the trip. It would be impossible to make the trip when the river is at its scenic best in the summer months unless the channel was to be made deeper. It would then be a huge tourist asset to the city.
Jim Parnell is a retired engineer with an interest in the history of the Whanganui River, who has published two books on riverboats and canoes.