Waireka will run skiers down Wanganui River

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 243, 24 May 1988, Page 12

Waireka will run skiers down Wanganui River

Winter river cruises are on the holiday agenda this year. The 82-year-old MV Waireka will be running on the Wanganui River for holidaymakers when the mountain is closed for skiing. Arrangements were put in place last week for the special cruises. Tour boat operator Vance Crozier, 27, told the Bulletin he planned to run four-hour expeditions including two hours on the river travelling return from Pipiriki to Jerusalem. The trip will be promoted as an historic and nostalgic trip complete with complimentary wine and a com-

mentary on the history of the river, the boat itself and the Jerusalem community where the famous poet James K. Baxter once lived. The $35 charge will include bus fares to and from Pipiriki from Ohakune and Raetihi. The bus trip takes an hour each way. Mr Crozier says there will be a number of pick-up points around Ohakune. He is cooperating with Turoa Skifields and local businesses to provide the most suitable service for visitors. It is intended the bus will leave Ohakune around noon and the trip will run only when the ski field is closed. The Waireka is a 60ft steel boat just 6ft 6ins wide and drawing 18 inches of water. It seats 46 person and was built in 1905 specifically as a passenger boat for the run between Taumarunui and Retaruke. Powered by a 180hp turbo engine, it has a flat bottom with a tunnel drive system which encloses the propeller within the hull and thereby protects it from snags and debris in the river. Mr Crozier, formerly a joiner in Palmerston North, bought the boat 18 months ago and operates daily cruises during summer.