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The first time I ever went kayaking was in '87 at Outward Bound. Our instructor was Ross Merrett and kayaking was one of his favourite sports. The 3 days we spent on the Rai river turned out to be my favourite part of the whole month long OB experience.
I never had the opportunity to get in a kayak again until Feb 2002 when Kevin organised a paddle down the Waikato river.
Then I met James, bought an el-cheapo perception dancer kayak off Trade Me and have never looked back :) . We aren't into white water but enjoy paddling in rivers and lakes and getting to places that can't be reached easily by land. Thus far we haven't ventured much outside the Waikato district...but there is no shortage of water around here to paddle in.
Paddling Trips
Lake Karapiro| Hora Hora Road| Waikato River| Lake Ngaroto | McLaren Falls | Lake Tarawera
Raglan Harbour | Bowentown | Lake Rotoehu | Lake Ohakuri | Kayaking Links
Only a short hop from Hamilton, nice easy paddling with a side branch that with some negotiation through the fallen trees and dead cow bodies takes you to a waterfall. Being that Karapiro is used a lot for water skiing its more pleasurable in winter than summer. The BoatShed Cafe hires out kayaks if you don't have your own.
We have paddled here a few times.
Paddling against the current is not the most fun....but excellent exercise. Starting at the Narrows is a good option. As with Karapiro often good to avoid in summer so the idiots in boats don't drown you in their wake.
This is one of the most interesting places we have ever paddled., so interesting we have now made 2 trips there. Starting from the east side of the lake at some thermal pools you spend a large amount of time paddling in warm/hot water..which is an odd feeling. We have paddled down to Orakeikorako and there are many small thermal geysers along the way for amusement. Another one of those places however best avoided during the peak of summer as it gets very crowded but then its a great place to paddle in winter as its warm! A real shame that over 200 springs and geysers were lost when the lake was formed in the 60's.
Pics L to R :The lake from the western side, Orakei Korako and some of the steaming water and rocks paddled past.
Lake Ohakuri Map | Orakei Korako
This is a large peat lake and is a 19km drive South from Hamilton (on Banks Road). Used mostly for sailing and duck shooting, its interesting to paddle around it and check out all the duck shooters shacks. There is also a walkway right around the lake (although you can't see the lake from the walkway!) In summer it tends to suffer from algae problems and it can be like paddling through slime...
Paddled here a couple of times taking the winding road to the far side of the Harbour and using the boat ramp there. You can paddle to a beach that can pretty much only be reached by boat and there are lots of inlets to explore....many crabs in the rocks too. The tides need to be considered when choosing paddling times.
Map located here
Have paddled in the harbour and around the bays and over to Matakana Island
Another Hydro lake. Beautiful clean water for paddling in. The whole area is very picturesque. You can also walk a few tracks and visit Marshalls animal farm. Its possible to paddle a fair way heading south away from the main lake area down past the power station.
Beautiful clean lake to paddle in. We have only paddled a small section of it so far and started from Kariri Bay (Spencer Road). Best attempted in very low winds as it can get rough when the wind gets up. Keen to paddle to Hot Water Beach one day. Great views of Mt Tarawera. Map located here.
Hutchwilco -my preferred life jacket model for kayaking is the Reactor
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