Tuesday 6 January

We were woken at 0640 with the Mighty rocking from side to side as though someone was pushing it sideways back and forth. It lasted about 45 seconds and then stillness resumed. We assumed that it was an earth tremor but it was only later that we were told that there had been an earthquake at Methven on the outskirts of Christchurch about 300 km away that had measured 6.4 on the Richter scale! We do not know yet whether there was any major damage. Interestingly it had been a full moon that night and it is known that the moon’s pull does have an impact.

It is said that when in NZ one needs to experience as many of the adrenalin trips as possible so it would have been a shame if we had not gone back 10 km to Buller Gorge

This little boat has a 6.2 litre engine producing 410 hp and is capable of speeds up to 80 kmph. There were two others plus Mike the driver on the boat

It was a nature trip up and down the river with a few spills and thrills on the way

Unfortunately the photo opportunities to catch the 360 degree high speed turns and near rock misses were limited as both hands were required to hold on! However we shot the rapids

cruised the calmer waters and stopped to see the wildlife, talk about the river, and hear about the gold mining exploits of Mike, the skipper

who had being doing the job for ten years!

Four rivers flow into this stretch of the river, known as the Buller, so when it rains the river rises exponentially, well above the lower storey of trees in this photograph

We went up to the head of the falls where we could go no further and he edged the boat right up to the lip of the rock against a very fast and powerful stream.

Going up was the easy bit because he could control the boat against the stream—returning was more difficult as he had to ensure that in order to have steerage the boat speed had to be greater than the water flow and we had to negotiate a few twists and turns. No cameras allowed at this point, hang on tight and 5 seconds later we were back in calm water absolutely drenched by a mountain of water that came in over the side.

A very informative 40 minute trip with a few spills and thrills along the way!

Then on towards the Abel Tasman National Park and tonight we are resting at a freedom site beside the River Motueka according to a Kiwi one one of the top ten trout rivers in the world! 

and sheltering from the midges.