spent a few days floating down the whanganui river. it reminded me of the 40 Mile River in alaska and canada, except it had giant tree ferns and dead goats. goats are another of the pest species in NZ, as a consequence they are are shot on sight during the winter season.
it was an interesting bunch of people on the trip. several outfits rent canoes and drop people off at various points along the river. but as there are designated campsites you all tend to end-up in the same place at night. so, there were a couple from ireland, germany, a guy from france and a guy from switzerland and a guided group from england with the guides coming from calgary. other than the guides, and myself, none of the paddlers had any idea how to paddle a canoe, let alone run a river. during evenings around the picnic tables (high class campgrounds) i gave them some pointers on j-strokes and draw strokes. as a result, by the third day i was no longer the first one in camp.
