George Edward Mannering

“ Imagine, then, the troubles of two canoeists in navigating this stretch of water. No canoe or boat in the world would have the slightest chance of going through, out in the current, without being smashed into matchwood and its occupants infallibly drowned, for swimming would avail a man nothing in such a place. ”

“ Such an immense body of rushing water, receiving, as it does, the whole of the drainage of the Southern Alps, from the head of the Mueller Glacier to that of the Murchison, necessarily creates great havoc amongst the glacial and fluviatile deposits through which it descends, and, as a matter of course, all the smaller stones are hurried and rolled along to form shingle on the river-beds further down, leaving the larger ones, which alone can stand against the force of the flood. ”

“ At one time, Dixon, who was leading, accidentally dropped his paddle, which was whisked away by the current in a trice. He made a great effort to recover it, and plunged in up to his armpits in the turbulent water, but failed to reach the truant paddle. Seeing his difficulty I pushed my boat out to him, and he seized my paddle and, jumping into the canoe, gave chase to the one he had lost. I ran along the bank, but could not keep near him; and in fear and trembling I watched him nearing a horrible fall amongst some sharp teeth-like rocks. ”

“ The Clutha River in Otago—the largest river of the South Island— discharges as much water per annum as the Nile! It seems a strange statement to make; but such is the fact, the calculations having been made by competent men.
The day following our return from Aorangi we left the Hermitage at 9 a.m., and by 1 p.m. had begun our exciting journey of 140 miles to the sea.
The Tasman River takes its rise from the Tasman and Murchison Glaciers, and is soon joined by the Hooker, which drains the Hooker and Mueller Glaciers. ”

“ Some of these men are adepts at canoe-sailing, and think little of going out to sea in their cockleshells and even making long coastal journeys. The brothers Park have established quite a reputation by their adventurous journeyings. On one occasion they crossed the South Island with their canoes, towing up the Teramakau River, crossing a saddle of 1,700 feet at its head, descending the Hurunui and then coasting fifty miles down to Christchurch. ”

“ The Waimakariri—The enormous rainfall—Descent of the Waitaki River—The Tasman branch—Lake Pukaki—Leaky canoes—The Pukaki Rapids—The Waitaki Gorge—Out on the plains again—Sixty miles' paddle to catch the train—Home once more
Canoeing on the New Zealand rivers is desperately exciting work. On the west coast of the South Island there is a canoe club, whose members build boats in watertight compartments specially suited for the rough journeys which they undertake. ”

“ It is not easy to describe the wild course of the river in its descent through the enormous ancient moraine deposits, some of which might almost be classed as mountains, and must rear their tops to a height of 1,000 feet above the level of the river. ”