We spent the weekend
camping and playing on the Kawarau River in Central Otago.
After a lazy start to our Saturday we packed the car and headed out of Dunedin around 1pm and headed
north. After about three hours in the car
we were at the put in. It was an overcast but very warm afternoon. Grace and John had the shredder inflated in no time and we were off on our first river
trip in New Zealand! The water was the
color of blue PowerAde… That is the best way I can describe it, words don’t do
justice to the beauty so I will leave that to the pictures…
That section of the
Kawarau is called Dogleg, about 7km to the take out. Once we had our campsite set up we decided to
head off to Queenstown for a good bite to eat. Ferg Burgers is a world famous burger joint,
burgers the size of your face. This
place was hoppin, John and Grace found a small place inside to stand while they
waited on our food, I elected to stand outside and watch the world go by. People from all over the world were here, all
types of languages and nationalities passed by, many joined the massive line
for the best burger experience in the world. Once our food was ready we left
the crowded scene and had a picnic in the park.
The scenery was of different quality but no less colorful…
We left Queenstown in
Ferg-comas and headed back to camp to pass out.
After breakfast the next
morning we climbed into our gear and headed off to do another run on the same
section of the Kawarau. The day was
bright and beautiful and it was great to be alive. We made a few friends at the
campsite who were there paddling for the weekend too, so we set shuttle and went
down the river together. A little less
than halfway you pass under two bridges, one of which is famous for bungee
jumping. (Which Grace has recently
decided she HAS to do once she is old enough) Our run the day before was too
late in the day to catch anyone jumping.
However, this time was different.
We eddied out and watched several people take the plunge; Grace loved
it!
There are really only
three large-ish rapids on this section, the biggest being the last, Dogleg, in
between there is a considerable amount of flat water. Grace was able to paddle some, as well as
crack her whip, she loves to sit up front and call out stroke counts, “Come on
you guys! I’m paying you by the minute here! All forward!” With the speed of the
shredder and Grace’s pace, we were back at camp by lunch. After a few quick sandwiches and some serious
snacking we decided to go explore the beach and build a rock tower. In our exploring John found what looked to be a nice spot to squirt and Grace and I discovered a sweet rope swing. So we each grabbed our appropriate gear off
the drying line and went off to play some more.
The day was long and we
were exhausted by the end of it; tucked in bed shortly after dark. The next morning began much like the last,
beautiful, bright and warm. We had
decided to see a different section, a shorter run further down stream
known as Megs' run, about 5km. This bit
goes much faster, no flat water, canyon walls and squirrely water. It was fun, and a good lesson for me, as I am
still learning to read and react to the river.
We were at the take out in just over an hour. John and our new buddies decided to do a second
run, I don’t think these boys had seen a squirt boat in action before… their reactions at
the takeout were priceless, “That’s not kayaking! That’s scuba-diving!” Megs' is quite a narrow section of river, which John swears there is not bottom. The canyon
walls cause the river to crash back on to its self, so most of the run is one
long seam...
We were headed home by
3pm… Made it just in time to catch Grace’s registration for Girl Guiding, the NZ version of Girl Scouts. We ordered take out, sat on the living room
floor chowed down and watch Avatar on TV…
It feels so good to be
worn out from a weekend of playing. I
am positive all three of us fell asleep with smiles on our faces, what a
wonderful weekend of family, fun and adventure…
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