Bridge to Nowhere (with Dad)

Ever since we moved to Whanganui, people here have been saying, "You have to do the Bridge to Nowhere!" Apparently it is THE thing to do in the area, but it has taken us until now to actually do it. Which worked out perfectly, because we got to do it with Dad, and it was the perfect thing to do with him.

So here's the (very shortened) story of the Bridge to Nowhere. After World War One, the government decided to divide up the Whanganui River Valley for farming (sheep) and sell it to the returning soldiers. 

This is a picture of the way the valley was divided up. Each settler got a huge chunk of land, but they had to clear it themselves. Considering how incredibly lush and thick the forest is and how steep the land is, that is no small task.

At first, the only way to get to all of these places was to take a ferry up the river, which took days and days, and then you had to haul stuff up the steep side of the valley. So when they decided to farm it all, they started building a big bridge up high in the middle of it, so that they could get supplies to and from the farms. Unfortunately, what they found out, eventually, was that even if you did manage to clear all the land, erosion started to wash away whatever you put there. In addition, right about that time, wool prices plummeted, so what little chance the farmers had of making a profit for all of their hard work disappeared. So, just as the bridge was being finished, all of the farmers moved out of the area, and the tropical forest took over. Resulting in.... The Bridge to Nowhere!!! I have pictures of said bridge, but you'll have to wait until the part of the story where we actually get there.

Here we are, about to start our adventure!

Anna and Ollie came with us, too, which was wonderful! We are quite the crew!

The first step of the journey involved this jet boat, which took us an hour up stream to the bottom of the hike to the bridge. The guide was really nice, and he stopped every so often to tell us about interesting things along the way.

The water was so still sometimes, it was hard to tell where the land ended and the river began!

It happened to be our guide's birthday that day, so he cousin (who lives in a lodge in the middle of the forest) jumped aboard at one of our stops and gave him a chocolate cake, which he shared with us for lunch. Lucky us!

At the end of the jet boat ride, we did a 45 minute hike through beautiful tropical forest. We loved how this tree grew completely sideways, but turned so that it's leaves still reached for the sun.

And now, without further ado, The Bridge to Nowhere!! As you see, it is a big, concrete bridge, with thick forest and small, dirt paths on either side. Tah dah! Quite beautiful, actually, and a very interesting mix of types of beauty, which I like.

This is the view from the bridge. You can see, the river is a long way down from there!

J on the bridge.

A pleasant break for lunch, complete with tea and coffee from very effective thermoses that our guide lugged up.

After lunch, we went back downstream a little ways in the jet boat, but then were unloaded into canoes and kayaks to meander back ourselves. Perfect.

J and I shared a canoe, as did Anna and Ollie, while Dad zipped around in the littlest and most maneuverable kayak I have ever seen.

Anna and Ollie.

It was wonderful to relax in the beauty of the river. We were on the water for a about 6 hours of non-strenuous paddling and awe-inspiring beauty. In between these calm parts, there were some pretty exciting rapids, which were very fun as well. 

Dad's quote of the day (from Frog and Toad) - "There is nothing half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats."

Dad under a natural awning. The picture doesn't do justice to the impressive overhang, but it's still cool.

After a solidly beautiful day, the clouds rolled in as we were getting close to being done. Notice the little patch of blue holding on there? Well, soon it was covered up, too, and it rained. J and I had already capsized our canoe in some rapids, and therefore couldn't get any wetter, and everyone else had raincoats, so the rain wasn't really an issue. In fact, it was very beautiful on the river and in the forest. I didn't take and pictures for fear of damaging my camera, but trust me, it was stunning.

In conclusion, the Bridge to Nowhere trip utterly lived up to people's descriptions, and provided us with a very exciting and wonderful day. I am so glad that J and I got to share it with Dad, Anna, and Ollie.