Win - Canoe & Kayak

Seven Dams, SevenDays by Sea Kayakby Mike BellThe planning started nearly twelve months ago. Thechallenge was to portage the seven dams starting from theFuljames rapid in Taupo and finishing at Port Waikato. Atotal paddling distance of over 300km without assistancefrom a support vehicle.We were to free camp along the way carrying provisions, food, cooking andcamping gear for the journey as well as six litres of water to last two days.Water top ups could be made along the way.Most of us had paddled the individual lakes and side-streams on day tripsand had explored different parts of the river north of Lake Karapiro so weasked, “Why not the whole way?” The five were Evan and Linda Pugh fromLeitchfield, John Flemming from Rotorua, Ryan Whittle from North Shore andMike Bell from Cambridge. That’s me.I was the last to arrive at the get-in on Friday afternoon with enough time toload my kayak so we could leave together. Small rapids kept us focused andwith a good flow we managed 28k before pulling the kayaks up a small bankat 7.45pm.With two dams to portage we were up before sunrise for an early start. TheOhakuri Hydro would be the hardest of the trip. A short portage brought usto an area high above the water level of Lake Atiamuri. The only ‘easy’ waywas 40m straight down a fisherman’s track. Each of us carried 10m of rope,joined by John to lower each fully laden kayak to the bottom of the track.Evan and I manoeuvred them to the get-in. We had a short paddle to AtiamuriHydro-dam. Towering cliffs edged this part of the lake in a landscape whichcan only be enjoyed from the water. The water level was low and we had tostop in knee-deep mud. It smelt real bad!Portaging to the base of Atiamuri Hydro was relatively easy but the water atthe get-in was moving quickly. Evan went last to make sure we got round thefirst few corners leading under State Highway 1. He and I got round the cornerto find John capsized, holding on to the back of his kayak. Evan quickly passedme, hooked on his towline and paddled to a large easy back eddy. We bothpumped out John’s kayak then steadied it so he could re-enter. A few bitswere lost from his trolley so we phoned to arrange a spare for the nextmorning. An easy paddle to campsite 2 past the Youth camp, then a washdown, dinner and a beer finished the day.It was a misty, calm morning. After breakfast, packing the gear, and gettingthe kayaks on the water we were off for the next day’s paddling. Skierscamping at the reserve opposite us asked: “Where are you headed?” Whenwe answered “Port Waikato”, there were a few wows and good wishes. Theyprobably thought we were mad!!We had a short rest and snacks at the top of Whakamaru Hydro, trollied upand portaged to the next get-in at Lake Maraetai. At the base Evan, Ryan andI paddled under the spillway. It’s an eerie feeling when you realize the bottomof the previous lake is close through the concrete structure.At the exit point of Lake Maraetai, the portage down a rough four-wheel drivetrack became the undoing of 3 trolleys. One was repairable while the othertwo weren’t. Damn! All we could do was double back for the remainingkayaks. After refuelling with drinking water and food, the final part of thisportage began. We lowered each kayak down a steep slope beside a bridge,and then eased them down 2m onto a concrete platform to water level.Without incident we continued through scenic Lake Waipapa until wereached our designated camping spot.The next day’s portage at Waipapa hydro was probably the easiest and wewere quickly back into the kayaks on Lake Arapuni. The coloured steep cliffsat Lake Arapuni are quite spectacular.Our 6th portage of approximately 3.5k’s was the longest. After what seemedhours we arrived at our next campsite exhausted but with plenty of daylightto set camp.Tuesday dawned and promised to be a shorter day. The plan was to paddlethe length of Lake Karapiro, portage the Karapiro Hydro and camp in the oldquarry. A distance of only 25ks to cover. At the start, 500 metres of rapidssmooth out and form the top of Lake Karapiro. I led determinedly, and withlots of yehaaas and woohoos we all got through unscathed. Evan recorded atop speed of 17.2kph, which was the highest for the entire trip.Fresh blackberries were a nice treat, a change from muesli bars and nuts.We topped up with fresh water at Finlay Park then while Evan, Linda andJohn went to Horahora reserve, Ryan and I paddled the Pokaiwhenua Stream,as far as we could go, a distance of about 4km. We caught up with the othersat Horahora for lunch and managed to dry some of our gear before settingoff again for Karapiro domain. A short portage and a lift over a fence gave usaccess to the track leading to the unused quarry.We gave a shout of delight as this was the last of the dams and from here itwas plain sailing, ah kayaking. We camped and I made a call home to arrangea traditional NZ dinner for the adventurers. Yes, fish and chips andhamburgers finished with ice cold Cola. What a treat. My wife took gear nolonger required.The following morning we intended to use a manmade lagoon as an idealget-in but the river level had dropped 1.2m making it too high. Instead wehad to use strops to carry each kayak to an easier put-in further up stream.We entered a narrow gorge with a surge and exited without any problems.One small rapid to go... I was the last to go through, then without warning, Iwas over. Bugger, I’ve capsized. As the others were ahead I self-rescued, gotin first time, pumped out most of the water, replaced the spray-deck,disconnected the paddle float in time to negotiate the last bit of fast waterjust before Cambridge. I caught up to the others, explained what hadhappened and sponged the remaining water out as we headed towardHamilton.At Horotiu a powerful stench hit us from the freezing works. An amazinglydisgusting Hamilton refuse site is a few hundred of metres from the riveredge. Makes you wonder how much stuff seeps into the river. Yuck!!.We stopped at Huntly to fill bottles with fresh water. The river water hereisn’t that tasty. We passed the dominant building of the Huntly Power Stationand finished the day setting up camp on a semi-island, watching the sun godown. We had been on the water for 7hrs 50mins and completed 74ks forthe day. The river flow helped us a lot.Another morning and up before dawn. There was a light mist on the river,which burned off quickly giving us a beautiful day. We stopped at Mercer forlunch and ice cream. On a journey like this you have to treat yourself alongthe way. An easy breeze was against us and about mid afternoon we foundan ideal camping spot on an island big enough to farm. Cows looked on aswe pulled the kayaks ashore and erected tents where they had stood.On our final day we stopped at Tuakau to empty our rubbish and continuedon to our destination Port Waikato. As John drifted by a sand quarry, which40 ISSUE THIRTYtwo • 2005