Is it because we are all statisticians or a collective penchant for superlatives that causes us respond to the biggest, highest, longest, hottest furtherest and so forth? Whatever; I’ll wager this will give you something to think about and that memory will stay with you long into your futures should you choose to be so bold.

Draw a north / south line between Te Anau and Tuatapere then one west off that and there, tucked into the most eastern flanks of Fiordland’s south west corner is Lake Hauroko. The country’s deepest lake. At 463 metres it’s bed is well below sea level. “Haruoko” means “sound of the wind” and blow it can just as it can reflect, in astounding glory, on a fine day in this corner of the Te Waipounamu World Heritage area.

Out of the southern tip slides the Wairaurahiri River. Through a narrow waist between dangling forest trees and banks of mosses, lichens and orchids the water changes from deep liquid liquorice to a fast, clear, glassy green chute. 27km of it rushing all the way to the Southern Ocean it soon becomes Grade 3 and holds that form to the end – there is no standing water. The two jet boat operators working the river know it intimately. In Maori the name means “many rushing waters”. It’s a frentic rush and tumble over a jumbled rock strewn bed and makes for the most exhilarating ride.

The Wairaurahiri runs down a wide valley shaped by many bends and turns. In places high walls bend the outer radius, others where the water scoots past low banks of overhanging ferns offering a glance deep into the midst. The drivers have their favourite stops where you may clamber ashore and tread in luxury over spongy mosses and litterings of leaves absorbing the bird song and fecund smells of an unaffected rainforest. Back on board and on towards the ocean. It’s known as the longest waterfall or, if you prefer, the steepest river and you can see and feel the drop as you speed on down. In places the Cameron Mountains can be seen to the west and the Hump Ridge to the east strewn with giant limestone tors stark against the skyline.

Under the wire bridge and past the DOC hut, there is a lodge down there too – the Waitutu so named for it’s position within the Waitutu Forests although not on the Waitutu River. That one is further west by a good 4 hour tramp along the South Coast Track. Here resides Peanut – custodian on the lodge and quite likely to offer you a fresh batch of scones and/or a cold beer. A ten minute walk due south and you’re on the edge. That wondrous place where land becomes ocean. If the atmosphere is clear enough, the Solander Islands can be seen floating on the blue horizon; Rakiura too, further east.

There are options at this point. Lunch and a meander about the paua shell littered beach and back into the jet, or a two hour tramp along the South Coast track towards Port Craig to see the huge viaducts. Percy Burn being the largest at 127m long and 36m high it’s the largest still standing wooden viaduct in the world. Or perhaps a night at the lodge and out the next day?

Then back into the boat for the uphill version. Running against the grain you can feel the big engines working. There is a prominent midstream rock you may not have noticed on the fast downhill run but river levels depending, it’s possible to have your photos taken by the crew as you rush by rooster tails of white against the lush green forests. On and upstream past side creeks joining the rush and back through the chute onto the beautiful and noticeably level lake again. Past Teal Bay back to the ramp, standing more often than not to get as much of that fabulous sharp air as I could into my face and lungs.

The 74km ride is real value for money, it’s the sort of adventure you wish you knew about years ago, and the one you’ll not forget for a while. So remote yet very accessible and do-able throughout the year as both operators run all seasons. It can be a day trip, an over-nighter, incorporate tramping (South Coast Track and Hump Ridge Track) and even helicoptering (courtesy of South-West Helicopters in Te Anau) and fishing/hunting options.

- Cag