This is a great kayaking adventure to do in the Waikato, New Zealand! We hired all our gear from “The boat shed kayaks” www.theboatshed.net.nz which is right next to the boat shed café www.theboatshedkarapiro.co.nz.
The adventure crew was Mandy, Bexie, Jai, Lyn, Jenn, Daniel, Lisa, Juliette and Antoine. We kayaked on Lake Karapiro, over to two different waterfalls. The paddle was very scenic, with lovely views of the lake.
We were given a map to find the hidden waterfalls (guided tours were also an option), and we spent a bit of time paddling on the big wide open lake, where there was some rowing training going on.
After getting our bearings, we took a side avenue off the main lake. This is when it got very picturesque and pretty. We took two dogs with us, but in hindsight, I would not take them again as they both didn’t really enjoy it unless they were in the water swimming alongside the kayak. My dog howled the whole way there and Mandy’s dog yelped a bit. You live and learn!
As we made our way to the waterfalls we had to duck under tree trunks and dodge rocks under the water. It was a bit like an obstacle course, but this is what made it fun.
When we got to the waterfall we all got out for a swim and a bit of exploring. Bexie decided to try and get behind the waterfall as we all agreed it’s a cool feeling to be behind the waterfall. This option was only for fairly strong swimmers as you had to swim against the waterfall current and then rock climb a bit with feet and hands gripping onto rocks to get around the back of the waterfall. Jai, Myself, Jenn and Bexie all managed it and it was super cool.
One thing Jenn said, which I thought was nice to share, was that even though she felt nervous to go behind the waterfall, she did it anyway, and really enjoyed it. This reminded me of how good it feels when you stretch your boundaries. “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone”.
After swimming in the waterfall we were all nice and fresh and a little on the cold side, so off we kayaked away from the waterfall to a sunny spot and all joined our kayaks together and sunbathed and ate some fruit and thawed out in the sun. Then we finally decided to head back to land. On the way back we visited another water fall; this one was higher and very pretty. Then we headed back to base and had some lunch. We all had a great day and we were really stoked it was sunny! The kayaking itself was about 2 hours of water time, including the waterfall fun.
Beautiful !