THE LAST FRONTIER

The East Coast of the North Island is a remote, relatively untracked, and infrequently visited area except for the multitude of hunters who jealously guard their access and favourite spots. It is bounded to the west by Te Urewera (formerly national park), and to the North by the Raukumaras all the way up to Mount Hikurangi near the East Cape. Home to Tuhoe and Ngati Porou, the ‘coast’ runs on its on schedule and under its own set of rules. The respective areas of bush form the largest unbroken tract of native forest in the North Island. Access to Te Urewera is limited to (roughly) Lake Waikaremoana on the East side, or through the Whirinaki forest to the North West.

The remoteness of this area has left it feeling a bit like the last frontier as far as kayaking goes – it takes a long time to get there from anywhere and there are logistical challenges for some of the rivers which have already been run. However, there are several unique features of the area which have given it a semi-mythical status in some of the kayaking circles around the country. The first of these features is geological. From Napier, all the