Highest drop 110m (in two pitches; take 3x 60m ropes)
Public access
8.5hrs
An adventure canyon; multiple rappels, handlines and downclimbs often back to back. Relatively open, steep stream.
Video by Hamish Castle.
Thank you to Jonathan Carr for photos and Justin Hall for the Topo.
First descent by Justin Hall, Hamish Castle, Antony Alford, Gabriela Scheufele and Jonathan Carr, March 2019.
Significantly more water on this trip (2 or 3x) than in the photos. Not dangerous, but some pitches were very wet. Hāpuku was silty coloured and took a bit of effort to cross in a few places. The final falls was the most aquatic, so probably a good way to judge the flow of the canyon as you walk past it on the approach. The hunters track is very easy to follow and the ascent takes you through some remarkable podocarp forests; you’d miss it if you took the helicopter option.
The upper section is through some amazing bedrock, the lower section is mostly greasy, fractured boulder stacks; less fun. R10 is two 10m pitches with 10m of boulders between; probably best to break it into two pitches or bypass the second drop on the TL to avoid risking a stuck rope in the boulders.
All in all, a pretty wild journey and definitely worth doing!