In the 2023-2024 season there were 12,643 total bookings, up from 11,795 in the 2022-2023 season - these numbers only include those booking for the Whanganui River Journey campsites and huts.
Many other users access the river for day trips or by staying at other locations.
Campbell said people were often opting for a mix of paddling, walking, mountain biking, and jet-boat transfers rather than multiple days of paddling.
“We do seem to be observing more diversification in the trips that people take,” he said.
Whanganui River Canoes owner Rebecca Mead, who oversees about 100 canoes, said she had started to see a lot more visitors from overseas coming back.
“You get used to working with New Zealand families, and all of a sudden we’ve had young couples from overseas coming in.
“Just getting used to all the different accents again.“
Mead said a shifting forecast also impacted the past season on the Whanganui River.
“The weather was just so changeable.
“We’d be putting people on the river with a forecast for rain and then they’d come back sunburnt.”
Campbell said weather on the Whanganui River Journey was always changeable: “However from our perspective it’s been a pretty good season”.
Mead said operators monitor river levels through the Horizons Regional Council and each canoe business had their own cut-off point for sending groups onto the river.
“It’s up to us to keep an eye on it.
“We all try to work together to make cut-off levels that make sense for the way we operate.“
Council environmental data manager Brent Watson said there were three monitoring sites along the Whanganui River: Te Rewa, Pipiriki and Te Maire.
Niwa also has a site on the awa just south of Parakino.
A range of technology captures measurements every five minutes, which are then broadcast every 30 minutes.
“These measurements are fed into models, which enables us to give forecast river levels.
“These sites measure not just river levels, but also information about water quality indicators such as turbidity and dissolved oxygen.“
Each canoe can hold up to 500kg of gear, but Mead said getting safety messaging right was important as it was easy for people to underestimate the equipment needed for the journey.
“Lots of people arrive who have booked huts and they don’t bring tents, but if you’ve got 50km winds against you and you can’t reach the hut, where are you going to stay?“
Mead said safety briefings and canoe instructions also had to be translated into multiple languages.
Eva de Jong is a reporter for the Whanganui Chronicle covering health stories and general news. She began as a reporter in 2023.
