Rivers play a important part in outdoor recreation in New Zealand.
They provide waterways for the canoeist and rafter. They provide natural lines of approach to the mountains for trampers and hunters. Routes often follow river banks and may go through gorges. On some popular tracks there are swing bridges or cableways, but in this country it is often necessary to ford quite big rivers. This can be a risky business which requires skill and judgement.
A Wanganui Tramping Club group had an issue with rivers on a recent trip to Sutherlands Hut in the Haurangi Forest Park. The group took a high track into the hut and made three small crossings to reach the hut. But continuous rain meant the next day's return to the van along a four-wheel drive track posed some problems as there were seven river crossings.
Two or three of these required particular care but by linking up the seven trampers crossed without incident, despite some powerful currents. Had we passed this way a few hours later it may have been a different story. No wonder advice on how to handle rivers takes up 16 pages in the NZ Mountain Safety Council's bushcraft manual.
With a cold month ahead, the emphasis is on day trips, with four scheduled along with one weekend outing to an alpine hut. The club's full programme for August is:
