Cruising down the Waihou River

Our local Classic bike club organised a cruise down the Waihou River so Marty spoke to Wattie on Friday to ascertain whether or not people going on this cruise were riding their bikes up to Thames or going by car. Car was the preferred mode of transport so Sunday morning after making a packed lunch and a thermos of coffee we hopped into the roller skate (alias the MX5) and headed off to the wharf at Thames. Marty had great fun throwing her into the corners on the backroads to Paeroa. Nearly as much fun as on a bike but not quite.




We thought we had arrived early but a good number of our group were already there, along with another 20 odd people who were also taking the trip.


This made for quite a crowded boat but we all managed to squeeze on and nobody missed out on the refreshments provided including LUNCH. Needless to say our sandies never saw the light of day till they hit the toasted sandwich maker for tea that night.

The boat headed off at 11am and our captain was a very knowledgeable bloke and gave us a wonderful insight into the history of the river and surrounding countryside.

The Waihou River - lierally translated means 'new water' and was formerly known as the Thames River, was named by none other than Captain James Cook. On one of his trips to Thames he was rowed nearly 20 miles up this river by his crew as he was curious as to how far up the river went before it changed from salt water to fresh water. it was also one of the few nights he spent off his boat as despite rowing their little hearts out the crew were no match for an incoming tide and they had to overnight on the river.

We were all genuinely surprised at the size of the river. Especially the width. It runs 150kms from the Mamaku Ranges before entering the Firth of Thames and in the early days it was a very important waterway as there were no roads or rail to the Coromandel. it was also a very important waterway for early Maori. Schooners, paddle steamers and scows which were capable of carrying twice there tonnage in timber were familar sights on the river in those early days. Kauri and Kahikatea were two of the main timbers that were harvested almost to extinction. Collisions did happen and the odd boat was sunk as a result. Barges still use the river today mainly to carry metal from a local quarry up to Auckland. One barge load is equivalent to 60 truck and trailer loads. One has to wonder why more use of the river is not being made of this mode of transport, especially now that logging is again a major industry on the Peninsula.

The highlight of the trip for most of us had to be the passing under of the Kopu Bridge and seeing the bridge open and shut from the river. The bridge was constructed in1928 and is the longest single lane bridge in the country (463m) and the only swing bridge on a state highway left in New Zealand.



The Bridge slowly swings open


a lone cyclist waits.



I took a video of the bridge in action but I'm not sure if it will work for you or not.

All that is about to change due to the ever increasing number of Aucklander's flocking to the beautiful Coromandel beaches at holiday times. The current bridge cannot cope with the sheer volume of traffic so a new two lane concrete monstrosity is being built alongside the historic Kopu Bridge and is due to open in 2012.


The fate of the old bridge is undecided as no one seems to want responsibilty for its upkeep which with our ever increasing OSH (Occupational Safe and Health) laws makes things very expensive.



But I digress. as we floated down the river we saw beautiful countryside and lots of birdlife even if it was mostly ducks. Don't they know it's duck shooting season in a couple of weeks? Old Maimai's lined the banks, some obviously past their use by date while others were just waiting for the 1st of May and their owners to return.



It was a lovely day out. We were very lucky that we had this opportunity to see the bridge in action before she shuts forever.



The beautiful Waihou River