Hello fellow Adventurers!
The plan is to become the first people in the world to swim the longest river of New Zealand, the Waikato River.
We will start in January 10th 2016, and will need 3 weeks to swim 250 kilometers across the Northern Island of New Zealand.
As of now, I (Henk) am the only one that will attempt the swim, and two others will most likely join as a support team in canoes.
The entire river from source to sea is 425 kilometers. The actual source is located at Mount Ruapehu deep inside Tongariro National Park. From there the river flows down into Lake Taupo, the biggest lake of New Zealand.
The first 175 kilometers from Mount Ruapehu are considered very dangerous including the great hukka falls, and many rapids ranging from class 3 to class 6.
After consulting with the Waikato Regional Council, we agreed that the safest place to start the swim is at Atiamuri Dam.
From here is it will take us exactly 250 kilometers to reach Port Waikato, from where we will mound out into the Tasman Sea.
We will be making a short film of the whole journey, so don't be afraid to share some personal stories on camera.
I’m very excited about this adventure, and am looking forward to work together with other adventurous people.
Interested? Send me a message, and I'll send you a PDF with all the details.
Requirements
*Not afraid to sleep in the outdoors for 3 weeks
*Photography or videography experience preferred.
*Be fit enough to paddle for 3 weeks