The river map called for another 7 or so hours - 29 kms - of canoeing to get to our next destination, Tieke Kainga which is a DOC hut and campsite as well as a functioning Maori marae (sacred, open court yard space). We were on the river just before 9am. Some fluffy white clouds hung over the hills but they burned off within not too long to leave us with another warm, sunny day with just some high white clouds here and there. Day 4 did not have many rapids and the river wound its way through more gorges lined with lush, green, native vegetation including many ferns, large and small. Just before 12:30pm we arrived at the landing for the walk to the Bridge to Nowhere. The landing was a smooth volcanic rock with natural holes in it and a bit of a challenge but we safely made it onto land with a daypack with water and walking shoes for walking the 2.7km to the bridge. As we arrived there was a helicopter flying around the area, getting quite low. It turned out that they were changing out the toilet holding tanks which happens once or twice per season. We were stopped by a DOC worker not far into the trail and had to wait while the helicopter picked up a full tank. Interesting experience.
The Bridge to Nowhere is an abandoned concrete arched bridge in the middle of what is now Whanganui National Park. After the World War I a number of returning soldiers were given a plot of land to farm in one of two valleys in this region. While this program was successful in other parts of of New Zealand, the land in this area was too rugged and isolated to be successfully farmed. At the peak of the settlement there were 46 farms, however by 1942 only three families were left and in 1943 the settlement was deserted. The bridge was built to replace a wooden swing bridge across the Mangapurua Stream which connected the settlers in the isolated valley with riverboats that brought goods up and down the Whanganui River. The bridge was completed in 1936 when many of the settlers had already left. Ironically, more people use the bridge now than ever before. Jet boats also drop tourists off at the landing to walk to the bridge, and the bridge can also be reached by remote bike trail.
After the walk we stopped off for lunch at a nearby campsite and continued paddling down the river. On our first attempt to pull into the landing area we managed to get stuck on a tree in the river, and it took some doing to get off and away from it and the current kept pushing us towards the tree. We safely managed to get onto the shore a little further down the river. We were the first canoers to arrive at Tieke Kainga hut and had a good chat with one of the Maori men who was preparing food in the kitchen. After settling into one of the bunk rooms we went for a swim in the river. By that time most other canoers had arrived, including Graham and Lisa and the various families and groups we had met since the first day on the river. Visitors were then invited to a Maori pōwhiri, a welcoming ceremony where the Maori people were on one side of the marae (sacred meeting area) in front of the wharenui (carved meeting house), with the visitors entering from the entrance to the marae. A few Maori elders then welcomed us in the Maori language, followed by a supporting song by the Maori women, and after that two of the visiting men held a (very) brief speech, each speech followed by singing by a number of the visitor women and placing a gift (some money or eg food) in the middle between the two sides. The gifts were then retrieved by a Maori person. After that we were allowed to cross the scared marae - men first, followed by the women - and shook hands with the Maori men and then Maori women. (Traditionally the greeting is not a handshake but the handshake is considered more COVID safe.). We were very impressed with one of the two visitors - one of the dads of one of the family groups - giving his speech in the Maori language, and most New Zealand women and girls knowing some Maori songs and singing them very well as supporting songs for the visitor men. As we were cooking our evening meal after the ceremony, the Maori man we had been talking with pulled a pan with cooked, chopped up chicken from their fridge. He explained they cooked for a large group the day before and the chicken was left over, so we could use whatever we wanted. So our tuna with macaroni & cheese meal was changed to chicken with macaroni & cheese which tasted very good after an another long day on the river!
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