A great day trip for strong packrafters, in Mt Aspiring National Park.
Tag: Class III
Karamea River (V with portages)
6-8 days of remote and very advanced whitewater. Great approach & great huts. West coast, Kahurangi National Park.
Takaka River (II or III) powerhouse to the bridge
This is a roadside run, which is dam controlled and very popular with all paddlers. Access Leave a car (or bikes) at the new road bridge on the Cobb valley road and drive up to the power station. Easiest to get in on the left fork assuming the turbines are all running. View Larger Topographic…
Kaipo River II/III or up to IV
3-4 days side trip to the Hollyford Pyke, to explore a seldom visited valley.
Upper Nevis River (I/III)
Roadside grade III in Otago Highcountry, with two day’s worth of paddling, hiking and biking on offer.
Needs rain to be runnable.
Lower Slate Gorge (IV) from Moonlight Flat
A low-flow daytrip to a steep and beautiful gorge
Golden Bay, Tasman
Waiatoto River (III/IV) via the Wilkin
5 Days | Camping | Wilderness Area
Challenging through trip into the Olivine Wilderness Area
Gillespie Pass circuit: Siberia Stream (I+/III-) & Wilkin River (I+)
Aspiring NP, Otago
3-5 day options
Lower Harrison (III/IV) via Milford Sound
Day trip to quality III paddling with two IV drops.
Fiordland National Park
Jollie River (II+/III) from above Littles Hut
Overnighter or day trip, out and back. Needs spring flows or rain.
Lake Pukaki/MacKenzie/Canterbury
Gorge River (III/IV)
7 day loop in South Westland
Gorgeous gorges, up to IV
Broken River (II/III) with portages
Curious geology is the highlight of this run: that and the caves, gorges and fence hazards. Information on the Porter River (II with mandatory portage) is included at the end of this page as it looks like an enticing ‘no walk’ option. However, there are fences, nasty sieves and a mandatory portage. View Larger Topographic…
Paringa River (II/III+)
Overnight out and return with route finding and a great hut. Put in where it suits your skills and the flows.
South Westland
Motu (III+/ IV)
This wild and remote epic through East Cape country is one of the top multi-day Packrafting trips in the North Island. It flows through spectacular dense forest and gorgy scenery. It is a popular rafting trip particularly with hunters who also utilise jet boats for access. The Motu River is the premier whitewater wilderness trip in…
Middle Hurunui River: Maori Gully (III)
Hurunui River overview The Hurunui is the most important River in Canterbury for paddlers. It has navigable flows all year round and offers a good variety of whitewater runs. From Lake Sumner down, there are a variety of runs, catering for all types of paddlers. Upper Hurunui (described as one run) Lake to Sisters (I/II)…
Thomas River (III & IV/V P) via Mataketake tops
Haast area, West Coast
3 day through trip with good huts, tops, bush bashing and challenging paddling.
Mohaka TeHoe (III)
This is a half day run through a scenic gorge. The Te Hoe can hit Class III+ in higher flows. At low flows it’s technical boulder gardens with all harder rapids being portageable. By Road To get to the put-in drive down Waitara road about 8km to Glenfalls. From Glenfalls continue 5km to Auroa Road…
Okarito River (II/III)
West coast.
A car to car trip with a variety of paddling, from lake, to easy river to class III rapids to esturary!
Very scenic paddle.
Windley River (III)
A classic packrafting trip; an excellent approach over the tops, followed by clean, challenging paddling through bedrock gorges.
Dingle Burn (III+)
2 day through trip with a crux gorge in the middle.
Long car shuttle, and tricky to get the right flow.