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Fishing on the Rangitikei

Tarata Fishaway Weekend

There are places in New Zealand that never cease to amaze with their natural beauty but are within easy driving distance of home. We've been to a few of these places this year but this was the most spectacular. The middle to upper reaches of the Rangitikei River are just awesome. In just 20 000 short years, the river has cut narrow gullies down through the mudstone to sculpt cliffs up to 100 metres high. The water is a beautiful deep green yet so clear, the fish become easy to spot.

We spent two nights at the River Retreat, a cottage overlooking the river equipped with everything you could possibly want from a spa pool on the deck to a collection of 70's LPs and mock leopard-skin bathrobes.

On Saturday, while the rest of the region was drenched in constant rain, we enjoyed a day of rafting, fishing and at times, even some sunshine.

The fish were biting all morning and into the afternoon. We both landed some beauties which were all returned to the river for someone else to enjoy. We even provided a Kodak moment for some German rafters who arrived just as I landed my biggest catch of the day.

By mid afternoon, things had gone a bit quiet but there was plenty of scenery to enjoy as Stephen, our guide for the day, rowed us back down the river to the lodge. Weekends don't get much better than this one and if you're in the area and want to see the real, unspoilt Rangitikei region, this is the place to go.

There's even Bungee jumping just up the road at Gravity Canyon.