The Rakaia River is one of New Zealand's largest braided rivers, traveling 150kms before entering the Pacific Ocean, south of Christchurch. It's a fast flowing river, which runs through wide shingle beds for most of its length before being forced through a 7km - long, narrow canyon (gorge) as it approaches the Canterbury Plains.
The camp is run by the Rakaia Gorge Society and offers easy access to the river. There's a manager on site during the high season and outside of these months, payment can be made using an honesty box ($10/person). Although there are no powered sites there's a shower block, toilets, a kitchen shelter and running water. The sites are spacious - no cramming up of campers here. Plus, it's dog-friendly, pooches are welcome provided they're on a lead.
After Bernie had had his hundredth cuppa for the day, we headed to the river. A track, overlooking the Rakaia Valley, runs along the back of the camp, leading down to the water.
In former times, the Rakaia River was known as O Rakaia, which means 'The place where people were ranged in rank". It was an area where food was grown and cultivated (mahinga kai) for the people of Ngai Tuahuriri. Near the mouth of the river, earth ovens used for cooking Moa have been found.
One of the first things you'll notice about the Rakaia River is its milky turquoise coloured water. The source of the Rakaia River is the Southern Alps, making it glacier and snow fed. As the water is derived from glaciers, silt is created when rocks underneath the surface of the ice, grind from the movement of the glacier. This results in rock flour, which is very light and stays suspended in water. The sunlight reflects off the rock flour, giving the water a spectacular turquoise blue or green colour.
The single lane, Rakaia Gorge Bridge, constructed between 1880 and 1882, is one of the oldest wrought iron bridges in New Zealand.
The day was a scorcher, so the best place to be was beside (or in) the water. We tested the water and decided it was a tad too chilly for us Nelsonians to be swimming, so we sat on the river bank, with our feet submerged. Oakly did what he loves doing - digging! And Boo, well, she rolled and then inspected the holes that Oakly had dug.
Other people nearby, weren't as wimpy as us, and were enjoying a swim. A shallow pool to the side of the river, provided a safe spot to swim. The Rakaia River is very fast flowing and one could easily get into strife - as we were soon to find out!
While we were enjoying the surroundings, we spotted, what we thought, at first glance, were two soccer balls floating down the river. One white ball and one black ball. However, as they came closer, we saw that the 'black ball' was actually a person's head!
This 'mysterious black-bearded man' was midstream and quickly approaching fast-flowing rapids. He didn't appear to be at all bothered, nor was he making any effort to move to the side of the river. He just rapidly floated by. It was bizarre, the milkiness of the water hid the rest of his body, making it look like a disembodied head drifting downstream.
We wondered if he was okay, it seemed strange that he wasn't moving his arms. Did he have hypothermia? After all, the river was freezing! Was he caught in a current, exhausted and unable to get to the river bank? My mind raced for an explanation.
On the other side of the river, a man picnicking with his family, was clearly concerned. He wasn't about to sit and watch things unfold, he ran downstream trying to catch up with 'the head'. Everyone had their eyes glued to the scene, wondering if he was going to make it out in time. And ... fortunately, with only seconds to spare, he swam to the side. Just in the nick of time as rapids were merely metres away.
After that bit of drama, we went to check out the stone stacks, I love finding rock towers people have created, I think they add an eye-catching, feature to riverbanks. And in case you're wondering ... nope ... Oakly did not lift his leg on any of them. He gave each stack his sniff of approval before moving on to the next.
Later that evening, we were treated to a maevey sunset. The tussock gained a rosy glow and the river turned a salmon-pink colour. It was the perfect end to a perfect day.
If you're in the area and have a few hours to spare, there's a walkway that runs along the edge of the Rakaia River. The views are breath-taking, plus there's some geological and historic aspects that may interest you. To read the post I wrote when I walked the track a couple of years ago, click here on Rakaia Gorge.
Looks like a lovely place, I must explore there next time I have a few days in Canterbury. Thanks for the photos!
ReplyDelete