Please note, we are just a small family owned and operated
business – and are used to just taking bookings over the phone or with an
email. We have recently introduced an online booking system – and it sometimes
has a little glitch trying to look at our resource availability. If you are
having trouble making an online booking, just fill out the enquiry form on our
website, or call us and we will try to help you.

The cost to canoe from Whakahoro freedom hire is $190 per person for a group of five or less people

The cost to canoe from Whakahoro freedom hire is $180 per person for a group of between six and ten people

 The cost to canoe from Whakahoro freedom hire is $170 per person for a group of eleven or more people

Canoe Hire includes canoe; paddles, life jacket, maps, bailers, storage barrels, and shuttle to the river and back from our base in Raetihi.

Plus you will need to pay DOC fees.  

DOC have changed their fees for the use of their walks,

campgrounds and facilities, the fees will vary depending on the

campsites/ huts you choose to stay in. Under 18 year olds are free,

but still need to be booked in.

DOC have an international online booking system, which is pretty easy to use. It

is best if you book the sites yourselves as DOC add an extra $10.00

fee if we book it for you. Let me know when you have booked your

campsites online and I can confirm your booking. Their website is

www.doc.govt.nz and all of the campsite prices are listed there.

DOC have increased their camping prices this season - so if you need to hire camping gear it would make it more affordable in the long run to book spaces in the huts.

Otherwise, we do hire the following(all hire equipment needs to be booked well in advance)

 tents $30 per tent per trip

Sleeping bags $10 per trip

Sleeping mat$10 per trip

Cooking stove $18 including one gas cylinder

Eating utensils/plates etc $10 per person

Below is the itinerary we recommend for the three day trip

*Meet us at the Raetihi Holiday Park either the night before your trip, or at 6.30am on the morning of your trip for a briefing and to pack your gear. Our shuttle leaves by 8am.

- Canoe Day one : paddle 37.5 km and stay the night at John Coull

option of campsite or hut.

- Day two: paddle 29 km and choose to stay at Tieke or the Bridge to

Nowhere Lodge/campground (As DoC have increased their camping price this season, the privately owned Bridge to Nowhere Campground may be more affordable.  www.bridgetonowhere.co.nz) 

- Day three: paddle the final 21 km to Pipiriki where you will be met

by our shuttle driver and be driven back. Our usual meeting time in Pipiriki is 2pm but we let you know closer to the time as it does depend on river levels.  You would be back at our base between three and five pm.

Accommodation before/after your trip

We operate the Raetihi Holiday Park, which is a great place to stay before you start the trip, as all of our trips depart from there. If you book a canoe trip and a stay at the Holiday Park we can offer you the below special prices!

Our Cabins cost $30.00 per person per night. 

For a tent site it will cost $15.00 per person per night and powered $20.00 pp per night. We aim to leave the

Holiday Park by 8am so there plenty of time to paddle to the first campsite. 

If you meet us in the morning you will need to be here at 6.30 . We leave between 7.30 and 8am.

Leave your vehicle at our Holiday Park FREE OF CHARGE

For a freedom hire trip on the river you will need to bring:

• Pots, pans, and eating utensils as well as dish washing material and tea towels

• Matches or lighter and a gas cooker

• Enough food for an extra day

• Can opener

• Tent - even if you have booked a DOC hut, good outdoor practice is to be prepared

Canoeing clothing (layers of clothing for all weather, no jeans)

Camping clothing and equipment

Swim wear

Comfortable shoes (for camp only)

Shorts

Towel

2-3 x Polypropylene or woollen tops

Spare light weight top

Sand shoes, river sandals or wetsuit boots

(everyone must have footwear on the river)

Complete change of warm clothes

(fleece and wool preferably)

Sun hat / warm hat

Warm socks

Waterproof light weight jacket or parker

Beanie (depending on season)

Windproof leggings (optional)

Torch / batteries

Track suit or polypro pants (not jeans or cotton)

Sleeping bag / sleeping mat

Woollen socks

Spare plastic bags – for clothing and rubbish

Light weight gloves for warmth or blisters

Water bottle

Sunscreen

Basic toiletries (no soap in river)

Sun glasses with strap

Basic first aid kit

Wetsuit (optional for colder months)

Insect repellent

Snacks and nibbles for in between meals

Toilet paper

Small camera – carried in waterproof box

Small pillow (optional)

We recommend bringing a thermos along, so that you can have a warm drink at anytime each day without a fuss - especially handy keeping everyone warm on cold, wet days. 

Bring a small container to store your food scraps, we have a worm farm/compost/and chickens so can dispose of your scraps at our base. 

Jandles/flip flops/thongs are not suitable footwear, as they slip on slippery rocks and can cause injury. Please ensure your footwear is suitable for this trip. 

DOC do have rain water tanks every two hours along the river at their campsites. DOC do advise that you boil or filter water before drinking it. It is a good idea to bring some drinking water with you. Some sugar, and salt in the water can also help with rehydration if required along the river. 

We also provide a Spot Tracker for the trip, on the day we will look at the different groups paddling, and where they are staying. We will decide who should carry the SPOT and ensue everyone paddling with us knows who has it and where they will be holding it. A spot tracker is a device that, if you get into any trouble, or need a jet boat or helicopter urgently you can push a button and we will receive an email, so we can send help.

There is no cell phone reception on the trip, and you will only see jet boats from the Bridge to Nowhere downstream, on your last two days. If you have your own emergency beacon, you can also bring that along.

We do not require payment until you arrive, we accept cash, credit

card or Eftpos. We keep a very close eye on the weather, and will not

put you in danger, so we do reserve the right to cancel the trip if we

believe the weather is going to make the trip unsafe.  

How else can we HELP YOU??

 We are right in the Hub of the North Island with PLENTY of ADVENTURE around us!! We know our stuff, and have heaps of tips and tricks for getting around in an affordable and fun way!! Feel free to ask us any of those questions that just aren't getting answered no matter how hard you look!!

 Remember, we also

*offer mountain bike hire

* offer mountain bike shuttles

*can book your Tongariro Crossing shuttle daily in Summer, from our door ($50 per person return)

*free parking at our campground while you are out on your other adventures

*Can pick you up from the train station in Ohakune

*If you book in advance we can shuttle you to Ohakune if you want to have dinner and drinks, and back to our Holiday Park

Please ensure that EACH member of your group is fit, healthy, and CAPABLE of completing this canoe trip. If you have any doubts about medical conditions, or your physical condition, speak to your doctor before coming for the trip. Please also ensure that you have the correct travel insurance for yourself, your belongings, and your vehicle before coming along for the trip. 

LET WHANGANUI RIVER CANOES KNOW OF ANY MEDICAL CONDITIONS/INJURIES BEFORE YOU ARRIVE - RESCUES ON THE RIVER ARE ONLY AVAILABLE BY HELICOPTER, AND CAN BE VERY DRAMATIC - WE NEED TO COORDINATE RESCUES WITH SEARCH AND RESCUE SO NEED TO BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE ANY CONDITIONS TO THEM. 

 This includes

 ·         average 5-7 hour paddling days

·         ability to swim

·         ability to climb short but steep distances to campsite

The minimum age for our trips is 7 years old  - if your group is made up with children, please let us know their ages and the number of children/adults so we can check adult/child ratio's and give appropriate advice.        


We have recently re-vamped our canoe website - so any questions anyone should have should be answered well and truly on there - there is an awesome brand new interactive map showing where we are, where the river is and the different campsites along the river too. Under our prices page, it mentions all of the inclusions in the cost. As a mother, and a business owner I am often in and out of phone reception, and am not always at my desk (or am serving customers) so go to the website first to answer any further questions - if you have any very urgent ones that you can't find the answers to let me know and I will try to help you. Otherwise, feel free to send an email when you have booked your DOC accommodation and are ready to confirm :)