Mangahao Fund: What it has supported

Mō ngā awa te aroha, he waiaroha — For the love of rivers

The Mangahao Fund exists so paddlers can keep getting on the water safely, protecting access and flows, building skills, and growing the sport. Since the first round closed in September 2022, the fund has put more than $60,000 into clubs and community projects across the country, and drawn on its fighting fund to defend river access.

Here is what your fund has made possible.

Ruahine Whitewater Club 2024 River Rescue Course – Photos courtesy of Graeme Curwen

Keeping paddlers safe

River safety and rescue training has been the fund’s most consistent investment. The fund has paid for courses for Hutt Valley Canoe Club, Victoria University Canoe Club, Hawkes Bay Canoe Club and Ruahine Whitewater Club.

Some were train-the-trainer courses, building a club’s own capacity to teach safety and river rescue to the new paddlers it brings through each year. Others were direct river safety and rescue courses for the paddlers attending. For clubs that take a steady stream of beginners onto moving water, this is the training that keeps people safe.

Ruahine Whitewater Club 2024 River Rescue Course – Photos courtesy of Graeme Curwen

Opening up and protecting access

On the Waikarataheke River, a remote site in the foothills of Te Urewera, the fund paid for a DOC-style toilet. It sounds modest, but it is what lets paddlers camp at the site and paddle the river over a weekend. The run was hit hard by Cyclone Gabrielle, which choked it with wood. Hawkes Bay Canoe Club put in the persistent work to clear it, and the river is now much safer and well worth the trip.

The fund has also:

• Helped restore the Kakapotahi access road on the West Coast, protecting one of the few roadside grade 3/4 runs in the region and access for Tai Poutini Polytech students learning the river. Due to the high quality of the run, this is deemed a river of national significance.
• Supported Hutt Gorge conservation work on Te Awa Kairangi, led by HVCC.

HVCC’s conservation work installing predator traps in the Hutt Gorge – Photos courtesy of Nigel Parry

Building the places we paddle

Whitewater Taranaki’s “Meeting of the Waters” whitewater course has been supported across three funding rounds. It is the only reliable run in Taranaki, where the rivers depend on rain and offer only narrow windows of flow. The club has used the course to bring a lot of new paddlers into the sport. The fund’s support has gone into phased, in-water work to make it a better place to learn and progress.

Supporting the Mangahao whitewater park

The fund has invested in the Mangahao whitewater park itself, putting $12,500 toward storage and shelter at the site.

Smart shelter at Mangahao whitewater park – Photo courtesy of EWWPT

Growing participation

• The Hutt River / Te Awa Kairangi Whitewater Festival, a community event that gets new paddlers on the water.
• New whitewater equipment for Ruahine Whitewater Club, lowering the cost barrier for members getting into the sport.

Ruahine members using club gear on a rescue course – Photos courtesy of Graeme Curwen

Defending rivers

Half of every dollar the fund receives is held as a fighting fund to protect river access and flows. Many river consents come up for renewal over the next five to ten years, and protecting access will take sustained, well-resourced advocacy. The fund has already met legal costs opposing the Kaituna hydro Fast Track proposal, standing up for continued access and flows on a nationally significant awa.

Grant history at a glance

Plus legal costs met from the fighting fund to protect river access and flows.

Is your club working on something that protects access, builds skills, or gets more people paddling?

→ Find out how to apply to the Mangahao Fund

Mō ngā awa te aroha, he waiaroha — For the love of rivers