The Whanganui Journey in the Central North Island is New Zealand’s only Great Walk that masquerades as a walk but is a 3- or 5-day paddling adventure on the Whanganui River.

With road access to only three points on the river, Ohinepane, Whakahoro, and Pipiriki, and no cell phone coverage anywhere on the journey, this is a wilderness area covered with indigenous podocarp rainforest so dense, untouched, and remote, we were surprised to find it even in New Zealand.

At Whakahoro, the starting point of the 3-day journey, the river, on its 290-kilometre voyage from Mt Tongariro across the Central Volcanic Plateau to the Tasman Sea, enters into a series of narrow gorges cloaked in lush greenery.

For three days, you can expect to see nothing but a soothing monotony of endless river bends and occasionally another double canoe in the customary red colour. There are no roads, buildings, or farms.

I imagined the serenity of sitting in the gently rocking hull of our canoe, at the foot of a magical waterfall tumbling down the steep-sided canyon walls and listening to kereru and tui call out from the bush would get boring.

But of course, it didn’t. The foaming rapids that passed us straight into the ripples of a swirling eddy and the landings we almost missed did spice things up.

We had little previous canoeing experience, and after a rather brief instructions and safety briefing (your life depends on not hitting any hidden snags, was all I took away), I’m amazed we made some of those landings.

I still wonder what happens to people who’re equally inexperienced and less lucky and drift downstream, indefinitely through the night. I’m also surprised we didn’t capsize when the river, as it gathered speed, turned our canoe sideways, and we then drifted backwards through a churning rapid with rocks placed all around us just so as to catch most of the driftwood and a few of the unlucky paddlers. I guess we were lucky.

Accommodation options include 2 DOC huts and 11 campsites spaced out along the journey, which must be booked in advance during the Great Walks season. If you seek a little more comfort, the Bridge to Nowhere Lodge across the river from Tieke Kāinga offers private rooms and meals and runs a campsite with hot showers a hundred metres upstream from the lodge.