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Otago, 1 Day, 2 Day, Roadside.
Fickle flows and lots of willows The Lindis River is hidden in plain sight close to SH8, and drains the desert-like high country around the Lindis Pass. Too low to paddle most of the time, just after rain, the Lindis provides a delightful car-to-car day trip or an overnight paddle. The river snakes through farmland,…
Canterbury, 2 Day, Through trip.
A great overnight through trip, with continuous wave trains and fun paddling.
West Coast, 2 Day, 3 Day, Out and back.
Two to three days round trip to a classic hard west coast creek run.
Otago, 1 Day, 2 Day, Roadside, Through trip.
1-3 day options, scenic gorges and mostly easy paddling.
Hawkes Bay, 2 Day.
Scenic wilderness overnighter, with some challenging paddling. The Ngaruroro Lower Gorge, from Kuripapango to Whanawhana, has a long history as an overnight kayaking run. (See the Riverguide.co.nz kayaking writeup) This 39km section includes a rocky gorge containing more challenging whitewater than in the upper river. The gorge provides just enough excitement for advanced paddlers at…
West Coast, 2 Day, Out and back.
A spectacular half to full day side-trip from Mikonui Hut on the West Coast.
Marlborough, 1 Day, 2 Day, Roadside.
Running parallel to the mighty Waiau-Toa / Clarence River, the Awatere River gives you some of same classic feel of big views, dry country and moderate whitewater in a smaller package The Awatere drains the western side of the Inland Kaikoura Range and a variety of smaller ranges on the north side of the river….
West Coast, 1 Day, 2 Day, Loop trip, Out and back, Through trip.
Challenging approaches to Intermediate paddling on a remote an scenic Westland River
Canterbury, 1 Day, 2 Day, Out and back.
A great rain or snowmelt run, suitable for mixed groups of intermediate level paddlers
West Coast, 2 Day, Out and back.
Another overnighter on a wild west coast valley and river. Rough tracks, a great hut and magnificent scenery that backs on to the Adams Wilderness Area.
Southland, 1 Day, 2 Day, Out and back.
Long day or overnighter: good approach routes to a fun grade III gorge and grade II lower section.
Northern Southland.
Otago, 2 Day, 3 Day, Through trip.
Steep creeking in the Shotover River headwaters. 2-3 days, Otago.
Manawatu-Wanganui, 1 Day, 2 Day, Through trip.
This is a packrafting overnight run that starts on the lower slopes of Ruapehu and bounces its way down to join the Whanganui below Owhango. Most of the flow off Ruapehu is diverted to the Tongariro Power Scheme so it’s best after heavy rain but grade is heavily flow dependant. The Whakapapa is renowned with…
Otago, 2 Day, Out and back.
Overnight out and return trip for advanced paddlers. In Otago, near Lake Wakatipu. Permission required
Canterbury, 2 Day, Loop trip.
An ‘almost-loop’ trip through Arthur’s Pass mountains and braided river valleys. There are a few options for paddling the Poulter, including continuing on down the Waimakariri Gorge – check out a video by Haydn Deane of the Poulter-Waimak Gorge option on vimeo . Thanks to Michael Batchelor for the information and photos to make up…
Tasman, 1 Day, 2 Day, Loop trip.
Steep boulder gardens and spectacular gorges in this grade IV packrafting day trip in Kahurangi National Park.
West Coast, 1 Day, 2 Day, Through trip.
The Maruia is a very pleasant and scenic float that is mostly Class II. There is a Class III rapid in the middle of the run and there are a few Class II+ depending on flow. It’s an easy run as anything above Class II is easily portaged. You don’t need 2 days to complete…
Otago, 1 Day, 2 Day, Out and back, Roadside.
Roadside grade III in Otago Highcountry, with two day’s worth of paddling, hiking and biking on offer.
Needs rain to be runnable.
Manawatu-Wanganui, 2 Day, 3 Day, 4 Day, Through trip.
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…
Tasman, 2 Day, Through trip.
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…