Dart River Funyaks, the promised second instalment

After an awesome trip down the Dart River in a jet boat it was now time for the part of the trip I was most looking forward to, the Funyaks. We raced back down the river in our jet boat until we came to a turn which housed a rocky beach bank. There our two guides were busy blowing up our Funyaks for the day.

The inflatable funyaks, a unique form of transportation down the Dart River

After a brief safety talk which provided us with lots of information about the river itself, we pulled on our more comfortable gear and climbed into our new mode of transport. Basically, a blow up kayak the Funyak had a larger front but apart from that it was a case of dip your paddle over the side and off you go. It was so easy that basically navigating the rivers current was the hardest aspect of the whole thing. We were a group of five so only 4 Funyaks were needed, two couples and an elderly lady who got to share with one of our guides. The fourth kayak was for our second guide who carried all the safety equipment and our precious lunch. Gently we floated down the river paddling along listening to our guides clear instructions about which part of the river was best to follow. But most of all just enjoying the silence and serenity you can only truly find in a place as special as this. It was a truly incredible experience with the majesty of the mountains all around towering over the dense New Zealand bushland that climbed up from the pebbly riverbanks. All that could be heard was the gush of the water and bird song. At times the silence was eerie so far away were we from civilisation. We followed the direction of the river flowing down to the lake beyond so little work was actually needed with the paddles although sometimes they were essential for navigating past shallow rapids and helping to prevent lodging the Funyak on the riverbed - which I confess did happen to me once or twice!! A further hazard was soaking oneself - I splashed myself constantly with the freezing river water, still it was a good wakeup call should I have found myself drifting off and paying too much attention to the scenery and not the Funyak. After a peaceful time, floating along our guides pulled us over to one side, we were invited to enter the Rockburn Chasm. My trip coincided with the end of a long hot summer and the river levels were low. This meant we had to carry our Funyak across a shallow stream which flowed off the main river - the level being so low that our Funyak would have lodged itself on a rock if we’d tried to paddle. The walk carrying the Funyak was worth the slog though as this was my absolute favourite part of the whole fabulous trip. Once back on the water after our rocky island crossing, we began to slowly float through into the world of Narnia.

The Rockburn Chasm is found just to one side of the Dart River

The Rockburn Chasm was magic, ancient rock faces reflected into the deep depths of the crystal-clear water below. We could see way down to the sandy banks and our guides confessed that it was incredibly rare to see it this clear as usually rainfall in this area clouded the colours.

The dazzling colour of the water and its clarity meant that we could see down to the sandy bottom

The bird song here was inspiring as we gently paddled our way through careful not to bump one another as there wasn’t too much room.

Floating through the world of Narnia, the narrow edges meant a lot of back paddling!

After such an awe-inspiring experience we had worked up an appetite. Our guides suggested lunch at a picnic table just by the Rockburn Chasm entrance. None of us were going to turn down a picnic in the bush besides the water with mesmerising mountain views in every direction. Lunch in paradise it most certainly was. After being sufficiently sustained we climbed once again into our Funyaks to continue our float back down the river appreciating the warmth from the sunshine on our backs as we slowly paddled our way back to the real world.