The Whanganui National Park situated in the central Nth Island of New Zealand, is based around New Zealand’s longest navigable river, the Whanganui, which rises on Mt Tongariro and runs 329 km to the Tasman Sea. The upper reaches are wrapped in a dense mantle of forest, spread over an endless succession of razorback ridges that are largely road less and trackless. This is what makes ‘exploration’ by canoe or on foot so appealing to outdoor adventurers. A float trip down the river from Taumarunui to Pipiriki takes you through wild rapids and majestic river gorges, with moss, ferns and ‘goblin’ forest clinging onto sheer walls laced with waterfalls. An ‘expedition’ on foot along ancient Maori trails penetrates so deep into the forest that transport out usually involves a boat rendezvous at a point where the track meets the river.