Canoeing the Otaki River, Manuwatu Range, North Island, NZ

The Otaki River (grade II-III) is a lovely scenic river on the North Island of NZ. The river is an excellent introduction to grade 2-3 whitewater, and provides very good access if you need to exit the river prematurely. The river’s rapids are not huge, and are well-spaced for beginners. Some rapids comprise rock gardens, which will not bother the technically -competent canoeist, but otherwise present only a nuisance. Beginners should take care to avoid potential snags, where the river current flows around tight corners; taking the canoeist potentially through trees. It is a small risk for the skilled canoeist.

Otaki township is a good place to meet, as there are several cafes in the centre of town. There is an outdoors-canoe shop opposite two coffee shops. If you are interested, there is a community market every 1st and 3rd Sunday in the month.
The river access is from the south side of the town. Take the exit road East just south of the Otaki River and drive to the ‘Bridgeview’ Bridge. The exit point is right after the Kaitawa Rd turnoff/bridge. This is where you should leave your exit vehicle, as you will need to get back to the point of river entry. I suggest using a GPS waypoint to identify this location on the river, as its easy to miss the exit. If you can identify the bridge, the exit is just 10m from the top of the rapid on the left above the ‘Bridgeview’. Take care on the track up to the road as it is steep. I suggest carrying the canoe on your left shoulder to avoid falling/slipping off the slope/steps.

There are a number of places you can enter the river, as there are a number of bridges crossing the river. Otaki Forks and above presents good entry points. The entry point is actually not on the Otaki River but a tributary. We entered at a campground after a Dept of Conservation (DOC) gate, however this gate is sometimes locked. Regardless, anywhere around here provides a suitable entry. We canoed the river at a river level of 2.1m, though apparently higher water does not make much difference to the water grade, though it is faster. It tends to drown the rock gardens, making it easier to navigate. The rapids are grade 2-3, though they tend to be easy grade 3 because they are discrete rapids, and not particularly difficult technically. i.e. Large standing waves require some good balance.

Once again I used a Sevylor Tahiti inflatable canoe on this river and it was well suited to the conditions. The steep valley walls means that wind does not present a problem. The shallow gravel river also posed no difficulties. I think you could comfortably canoe this section in 2.5 -3 hours. We were in at 10am, and out by 2pm, however we were a large group and people were taking their time, playing in the rapids.
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Andrew Sheldon www.sheldonthinks.com