Rose and I are both 55 yrs young and wanted to do the wanganui river trip from taumarunui to pipiriki for the second time,last done 5 yrs ago,we phoned karen at "Taumarunui Canoe Hire" to discuss

options, karen was really knowledgable and helpfull and the bookings were made,their instructions were excellent and we arrived at their home and were made very welcome with probably the best coffee weve ever had,( its the king country milk) Ron and karen let us stay beside the river in our van the night before departure on the river, next day after completing the paper work with karen, Ron gave us a full briefing of the trip covering navigating, safety, finding locations and camp sites, and canoe handling, while this was going on karen got on her computer and sourced two different weather forcasters, they ensured we had the equipment required and delivered us to the river and away we went,we were also informed of places to get out and call for help if required,Ron has his own jet boats if a recovery is necessary, our trip was excellent, safe and uneventfull, it panned out as Ron said,an incredable journey, the rhine of the south pacific, , at completion of the trip at pipiriki Ron showed up with home baking and drink and took us back to their base on the edge of the river at taumarunui, more fantastic coffee, unpacking and de briefing etc, but it didnt end there, we were invited to stay on their land on the river edge again and leave when we were ready, this was kiwi hospitality at its best, THANKS Ron, Karen and family of 6,(Jonathon,Joshua,Justin,Rosalie,Samuel and David) it was a team effort and they all helped in making our trip a truly memorable one,we did the trip on our own and met other like minded people on the way and may even do it all again next year with other friends, AWSOME,THANK YOU. Dave and Rose Cooper, Napier, NZ.

Reviewed over 3 years ago and experienced in February 2010