My Account
Mahurangi Matters editor James Addis concludes his exploration of the north, south, east and west of Mahurangi by foot, bicycle and kayak.
A young man taking a girl out on a first date could do worse than suggest a kayak trip down the Puhoi River. I’d even suggest individual kayaks rather than the two-person version. That way the couple could draw alongside one another for an intimate tête-à-tête as they slowly edge downstream. And, should things go pear-shaped, they could get away from each other, rather than being trapped in the same craft, bickering about whose lousy steering ran them aground on a sandbank.
Having said that, it’s hard to imagine much going wrong on this leisurely 8km trip through rolling green hills, which starts at the Puhoi historic village and ends at the Wenderholm Regional Park.
If you book through Puhoi River Canoe Hire, in addition to the kayaks and lifejackets, you will also get a map and a briefing on what to expect downriver.
There’s not a huge amount to remember. Cody Makelow, who will likely give the briefing, will tell you to avoid a left turn into Hungry Creek and keep right of the sandbank as you near the regional park. He’ll also show you a picture of the steel jetty at the end of the trip, so you know where the Puhoi River Hire crew member will be waiting to take you back to your vehicle in Puhoi.
The one thing that might cause a bit of a hiccup is if you encounter a stiff easterly breeze further downriver. This can make even paddling downstream quite a challenge. The odd kayaker gets too tired to paddle, but it’s easy enough to walk along the riverbank.
In addition to young lovers, the trip makes for a perfect family outing. Children get the thrill of managing their own little boat and going pretty much where they want. Just make sure they have their lifejackets and sunscreen on and preferably a bottle of water on board.
Push off from the bank and the immediate impression is how peaceful everything is. If the pace of life has been rather chaotic of late, this is the way to relax. There are no rapids or waterfalls to negotiate, thrilling though such obstacles are, this is not that sort of ride.
Instead, look out for the shags and white herons showing off. They fly daringly low – perhaps just a foot or two above the water, level with your eye-line for about 50 yards, before making a perfect landing or soaring off elsewhere.
For a fair bit of the way, the river snakes close to and occasionally under State Highway 1. Lorries roar past and you hear the regular hum of road noise. This proved no distraction for me. Just a reminder that there were suckers out there battling traffic in stuffy cars, while I floated on without a care in the world.
Don’t get complacent, though. It’s easy to lose track of where you are heading, and it’s impossible to swerve out of trouble if you get yourself in a pickle.
At one point I found myself too close to the river’s edge and desperately trying to negotiate my way around some low hanging tree branches. I had to duck under the biggest branch and endured a prickly gauntlet of smaller branches as I forced my way through. I was lucky to remain in the kayak and was more careful after that.
All too soon, the jetty came in view marking the end of our journey. Cody picked me up to take me back to our car. He’s been running Puhoi River Hire for more than 25 years and on the way back I asked him if anyone had ever got into serious trouble. Hardly ever. But he did mention an 11-year-old girl who got separated from a larger party. She made the wrong turn up Hungry Creek. Eventually she realised her error and paddled back. Inexplicably, she then turned upstream before turning around again and heading in the right direction. Meanwhile, her father ended up at Wenderholm, realised his daughter was missing and became distraught. Cody was contacted and picked the girl up in a rescue boat. The girl was distressed and exhausted. It turned out she had not had breakfast that morning and was carrying no water in her kayak. Even on genteel adventures, it pays to do a little thinking and planning.
