As soon as we get up, Captain Josh from EcoRafting picks us up. We head south to Mount Cook in a VW bus. Numerous rivers pour into the Tasman Sea in endlessly wide gravel beds. At around nine we reach the helicopter landing site in a lonely mountain valley near the New Zealand glaciers. We will fly up the Whataroa River by helicopter, then raft 10 kilometres over grade 5 white water back to the sea.
We are given thick neoprene suits for the ice-cold glacier water. Thermal overalls and jackets, thick life jackets and helmets. Two rafting boats, a kayak and the rest of the equipment are stowed in a large net. Then the helicopter arrives and the net is hooked in at the bottom.
Captain Josh praises the helicopter as the “Porsche of helicopters”. The pilot flies it duly. It follows the course of the river up the valley in rough bends up to almost 90°. Video will follow here within the next few days. At some point, the gorge becomes too narrow, he pulls the control stick back and flies in James Bond style just over a ridge. Funnily enough, exactly at the point where two trees are missing.
Unfortunately, the rollercoaster only lasts 10 minutes. We land in the upper river valley. In front of us are 10 kilometres of white water up to grade 5, no road, no houses. Just us and the Whataroa. Captain Josh gives a detailed safety briefing with some good punchlines sprinkled in. We practise his manoeuvring instructions properly. Then off we go.
The turquoise-blue Whataroa River meanders through a wild mountain gorge where parts of The Lord of the Rings could have been filmed. But they weren’t. The rock faces and forests to the left and right look like something out of a fairy tale. Ice-cold rapids and numerous rocks in the riverbed prevent us from daydreaming. Captain Josh’s instructions guide us through the first rapids. Nobody gets lost and everyone gets really wet.
We have lunch at a small waterfall that flows into the river. You can’t swim on a full stomach. But with a life jacket. That’s why everyone jumps off a rock in front of the waterfall before continuing on.
We have to avoid two large rapids along the way. 3 metre high waves crash head-on onto huge rocks. One of the guides had paddled his kayak around the rapids, which were actually classed as impassable. You can find a video of it here. It is clearly too narrow for the raft. We are happy to do without, abseil over a few rocks and jump back into the rafts.
The last few kilometres before the sea are quite flat and wide. Still very fun. I learn that you don’t need a grade 5 to get wet, because when the water is deep and fast and the rapids are 1.5 metres high, it also makes a good splash. Captain Josh tries to sink us in a few standing waves. But the safety training was too good.
After six hours on and around the river, we arrive back at the helipad. Very knackered, very happy and not at all poor. Captain Josh had made us an absolutely cracking offer. Helirafting in New Zealand normally costs from €150, which is nowhere near what he wanted from us. There’s still plenty of money left for a full dinner tonight…
Frank Woelky, born in 1973. Kitesurfer since 1998. Since 2006, I have been combining kitesurfing and web design on trips lasting several months off the beaten track.