The hike in in stunning. Hanging glaciers, towering mountains and a river that flows through open grass lands. This is an amazing wilderness area, known for it's whitetail deer and the back drop to many Hollywood movies. It's not unusual for us not to see any other people in the valley as we wade through the river and amble along the track towards our lunch spot. The hike is relaxed and easy, without steep hills and should take between an hour and half to two hours to cover the 8-9km.

We'll have a heart feed sitting opposite the impressive Lennox falls before being introduced to our pakcrafts. Your guide will show you how to inflate them (not with lung power as many people imagine!) before giving you a full briefing and showing you how to safely navigate the river....then we're away! 

Paddling back along the river gives you a new perspective on the valley and turns "out and back" trip into a circular route. The Rees river itself is a super mellow, braided river that you can either float along blissfully on or seek out the small waves and faster flows of the occasional small rapids.

Eventually, all good things must come to an end and we'll have to take off the river. Your guide will show you how to deflate and store your boats back into your backpacks before the short walk back to the car park where we started. For many of our guests, this is not only the best thing they've experienced in the area, but the highlight of their entire New Zealand experience!