A great day trip for strong packrafters, in Mt Aspiring National Park.
Author: PackraftingTrips.NZ
Karamea River (V with portages)
6-8 days of remote and very advanced whitewater. Great approach & great huts. West coast, Kahurangi National Park.
Poulter River (I/II) via Casey Saddle
An ‘almost-loop’ trip through Arthurs Pass mountains and braided river valleys. There are a few options for paddling the Poulter, including continuing on down the Waimakariri Gorge. Thanks to Michael Batchelor for the information and photos to make up this trip page. Haydn Deane posted a great video of the Poulter-Waimak Gorge option on vimeo…
The Ellery, Jackson & Arawhata Loop (I+)
A longish day trip, with a great variety of terrain and non-technical paddling.
South Westland
Kaipo River II/III or up to IV
3-4 days side trip to the Hollyford Pyke, to explore a seldom visited valley.
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Hollyford-Pyke Loop (I/II)
The most famous packrafting loop in NZ…
5-6 Days | Fiordland | Stay in DOC Huts
Hunter River (II-)
2 days hike, 1-2 days paddle.
Remote and scenic headwaters, in a seldom visited valley | Otago.
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
The Rangitikei Canyon (II/II+) River Valley Lodge to Vinegar Hill
The headwaters of the Rangitikei run through the Kaimanawa Range, offering a classic and challenging wilderness multiday trip. A while after crossing State Highway 5 (The Napier-Taihape road) there is a short, sharp class V gorge that ends at River Valley Lodge. The “Rangitikei Canyon” begins here, and offers a very scenic 2-4 day…
Gillespie Pass circuit: Siberia Stream (I+/III-) & Wilkin River (I+)
Aspiring NP, Otago
3-5 day options
Waingaro River (IV) Forks Hut to Paynes Ford
The Waingaro in Golden bay has been run mostly as a heli- kayak trip from the forks hut but it’s probably only been run 10-15 times in total, it is definitely an exploratory type adventure run. For advanced packrafters, I’d suggest that it is bucket list material: incredibly spectacular country, prolific Whio numbers and over…
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
Dobson River (I/II) via Jamieson Saddle to Lake Ohau
3-4 Day through trip.
MacKenzie Basin/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…
Fox River (II/III)
Day or overnight out and return, through spectacular limestone canyons, with mellow paddling.
Paparoa National Park, Westland