Waipara / Source lake to Arawhata Road Bridge, IV+ (V) (P)
The Waipara is a beautiful, isolated valley which drains the Bonar Glacier in Mount Aspiring National Park. The river takes you from the ice filled neve lake to the Tasman Sea (if you paddle the last section from the road bridge). The very long walk out in untracked valley if things go wrong and the sheer isolation provide a great sense of commitment and add to the ambience of the Waipara River.
First paddled during 95/96 by Sean Waters, Jo Kippax, Rich Kersel and James McKeown in a three-day session only after convincing the helicopter pilot to keep flying higher, even though he told them they would die. They flew to the lake and began from there. Five years passed before a team went in for the second visit and paddled out in two easy days.
The Cabin Pass rapids leading out of the lake need a spring melt or a little rain. Best described as ‘scenic boat abuse’, this steep continuous section is tight and technical all the way to a final bouldery rapid near Steward Creek. The action eases for a while before picking up in the Companion Ladder Gorge which contains an excellent series of class IV+ rapids. Continuous class III boulder gardens start the next section with one steeper rapid near Butland Creek. The river enters a scenic gorge below Common Sailor Creek with a string of class IV drops culminating in the Saxton Drops. Below this is a long stretch of class II and III with some good river flats for camping.
Fun class II and IV water leads down to the ‘big corner’ where the river swings due west before the bottom gorge. A change in rock strata snares a lot of wood through these drops but they are easily scouted and portaged if needs be. A short flat section leads to a disappearing horizon line; take out on the left to portage. The route just in the bush provides the quickest line. Put back in where the river eases. A few more easy rapids lead to the flat water flowing into the Arawhata River. Tune out, turn off and settle in for the 2 - 3 hour float out to the road bridge.
To get to the take out: turn south off SH6 at Haast township and head towards Jackson Bay until the Arawhata River bridge, park on the north side.
This section appears in New Zealand Whitewater, 4th edition, 2006 on p216.
