A long drive from Dunedin to Wellington the previous day was broken up slightly by taking the scenic Port Underwood Road to Picton which passes through some nice Marlborough Sound bays and beaches, and by staying at a friend's in Wellington. I set off from Wellington at 9am after getting a rock chip in my windscreen fixed. Having already had a pretty thorough look at the things that interest me in the Waiarapa on previous trips, I drove on to Napier and inflated a innertube at one of the petrol stations. From Napier I navigated a maze of backroads to the end of the long dirt road past Puketitiri. Here there is a pleasant camping area above the Mohaka River, one of the North Island's few remaining wild rivers (no dams or diversions).
There is an immaculately maintained hot spring (Mangatutu) right next to the camping area and an even better one about 4 hrs walk up the Mohaka River (Mangatainoka). I had particularly wanted to visit Mangatainoka as it sounded like a very appealing hike and I had heard it was possible to raft or tube from the hot spring down the river back to the car park. Unfortunately it was 4:30p by the time I reached the road end. The weather looked stable (light drizzle) but I knew it would be raining heavily through the night and the following day. I weighed my options. Hiking to Mangatainoka would take more time than I had but I knew conditions would be lousy the following day. After a bit of personal deliberation, I decided to go for it. I packed a light pack with wetsuit, snack, water, headlamp, etc., strapped my innertube put on my running shoes, and set off on a brisk pace down the track. I felt confident that although I would be hard pressed to make it back to my car before dark, there should be ample places to ditch the river and regain the trail if needed, so I considered there to be a relatively low chance of disaster or benighting myself.
The scenery on my trail run was surprisingly good. The way I rigged my inflated tube to my pack worked amazingly well, apart from a annoying rubber squeaking noise with every step I took. I did my best to try to tune it out. The trail generally follows the true right bank but in places climbs high above to skirt above bluffs. Some of the stretches of river looked like they had fun (and potentially challenging) rapids for tubing. At least one of the stretches went through a vertical walled gorge that the track steered clear of. The best view came probably about 1 km before Te Puia Lodge, a 20 bunk DOC hut. I stopped at the hut just long enough for a drink before continuing on.
I made it to the hot springs in just under 1.5 hours- not bad! What an idyllic place. Two well maintained hot tubs surrounded by decking with great camp spots nearby. On a rock wall near the hot springs were tens of faces and figurines people had carved out of soft pumice blocks. I enjoyed the solitude of the place long enough for my heart rate to return to a study calm. The waters felt great to the hard working muscles in my legs and back. After a half hour of enjoyment I again became conscious of the time- I was a long way away from my car and it would be dark in under 2 hours!
I put on my wetsuit, carefully stowed everything else away in my dry bag, and hopped into my innertube. Almost immediately I experienced my first rapid - the flow was moving pretty good and there were trains of waves greater than 0.5 m high - this was going to be fun. I worked hard paddling across the calm water sections, trying my best to mind the eddy lines and make the most efficient use of the time, while still enjoying the very remote and wild surroundings. The rapids were fantastic. Some of them required careful planning on the approach, but there were no major obstacles I couldn't push through. I could help but smile with delight by the end of some of the rapids. One of them had about 3m of drop over a short interval. Often to my surprise, I remained on my tube through all the rapids.
It began raining heavily as I passed through the gorge section. It was also getting very dark...I was losing time and realizing that my pace on the river was definitely slower than my pace of the trail. Regardless, I was still making progress and my eyes were constantly adjusting to the ever dimming light. Eventually I pulled out my torch and some of the rapids were getting a bit hard to scout. I also checked my GPS. I was getting hungry and tired, but not worried or unenthused to be there. I carried on to a river flat where I knew the trail came close to the river, which seemed like a very logical place to bail on the river and get to my car in the most timely fashion.
Back to the car in the rain. I made an emergency freeze dried meal while I set up the car. I then went for a soak in the Mangatutu hot springs, which got me good and ready for bed. It was just before midnight by the time I finally crashed. It rained heavily in the night and I awoke to standing water everywhere. The river was in flood and I felt very satisfied I made the decision to run to the hot spring the previous evening. It was a fantastic trip and probably my only chance to make it to that special place. Another mid-morning soak in the Mangatutu hot springs, then I hit the road.
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