Blazing paddles
We arrived in the cute town of Ohakune on Tuesday afternoon, giving us enough time to figure out the logistics of how, exactly, we were going to canoe 90kms down the Whanganui River from Whakahoro to Pipiriki. Known as the Whanganui Journey, this is one of the 9 Great Walks of New Zealand; each of them being a multi-day hike (other than this one) for which the Dept of Conservation camping grounds and hut spaces along the route are very limited and have to be booked way in advance. I'd booked 3 of the Great Walks back in June: 2 on the South Island and this one, on the North Island. We would be staying in 2 huts along the way, which provide bed, kitchen gas stoves and toilet. Anything else, you have to bring yourself. So, we had our sleeping bags, tin mugs, head torches and toilet paper. We just didn't have a canoe, or any way of getting to the start and back from the finish. Luckily the Kiwis are very organised when it comes to The Great Ou...