Rangitaikī / Aniwhenua Run, II
This
section of the Rangitaiki below Aniwhenua is a great novice section and one of
the favourites in the region. It has been kept alive by river users and
environmental groups who banded together in 1995 to fight a proposal by Bay Of
Plenty Electricity to dam the river to the base of the falls. When dam is releasing it is possible to paddle from the
base of the dam down to the falls.
Aniwhenua
Falls makes for an exciting put in and kayakers have been plummeting off the
edge for years. Things have changed a little after recent floods and there is a
ledge you can hit when there is 2.5 cumecs or less running over the falls.
Otherwise take lots of pictures and enjoy this kindergarten huck.
Below
Aniwhenua the river flows between fantastic walls of ancient volcanic ash. The
water is mostly class I-II and when flows are good the rocks are well covered
producing great little waves for aspiring surf hogs and there are plenty of
pools and eddies making this a popular teaching run.
To
get to the put in: from the township of Murupara head east 2km to the turnoff
signposted Whakatane, Te Teko, Kouriki. Follow this road for 3.5km to another
junction. Turn left and follow Galatea Road for just over 20km. Turn left at a
road sign posted Aniwhenua Power Station, cross the dam and turn right. Follow
the road to its end by the Power Station just below the falls.
To
get to the take out: drive back to Galatea Rd and turn left. Follow this road
for about 9km. There is a jet boat launching ramp at Mangamako Stm that has off
road parking and is probably safer than the ‘old' take out 1.2km back towards
Murupara. It's your choice but there is a ruthless history of vehicle break'ins
in this area.
This section appears in New Zealand Whitewater, 4th edition, 2006 on p49.
Just paddled the run from the dam to the falls with 2 gates running. Good Flow, all the rocks in the first rapid were covered.
All rapids were grade 3 - 3+. Big pools after each rapid to clean up if necessary. Waterfall looked clean with more water, no ledges to hit :)
Great run! If the dam is releasing, definetly worth the drive.
-Allen
Current Access Issues to Aniwhenua Dam - Get In
This direct response from BOPE:
Access from the Aniwhenua barrage (dam) is at present restricted to when operational staff are on-site for control of access , normally Monday to Friday between hours (approx) 08:00 to 15:30.
The restriction has been put in place for safety of the public due to the danger of trees felled and partially felled throughout the site by the strong winds recently experienced.
BoPE are in the process of engaging contractors to remove the trees and during this process the site will be totally closed to the public.
This operation is expected to commence within the next week to 10 days and run for approximately 4 weeks, which will include the Labour Weekend period.
Once dates have been confirmed for the felling operation BoPE will extensively advertise the total closure of the site.
BoPE realizes the value of the area for recreation and is working to clear the site within the shortest possible time to again make the site available and ensuring safety to the public.
There is a class III run that can be run from the lake down to the falls. It's pretty bony, but it does include a few slides and the odd pour over.
To get to the put in walk down to the river below the lake dam. You will almost certainly have to walk the first rapid due to a lack of water. The run includes half a dozen class III rapids. Several of these, including a nice slide not far above the main waterfall made this run worthwhile for us. We decided not to run a 3-4 m high waterfall due to rocks in the landing area, although I do remember running it in the past.
I word about the falls. Back in the day it was a class II drop, that you through beginners of, in the knowledge that they were going to be safe. After a half dozen runs in the weekend I'm think twice about it at low flows. As Graham noted, there is a ledge in the falls. This resulted in the destruction of a creek boat, on what appeared to be a good line with a decent boof.
In terms of beginners: at this flow there was a finger of rock just under the water immediately above the falls. This pushed our class III boater hard left on one run and spun him just above the drop on the other.