Helicopter
Morgan Gorge
Tue, 2012-05-22 11:55 — jonathanAll but the first 300m of the gorge can be seen from the helicopter; be sure to fly over the gorge and pay attention. The rapids are segmented, and vaguely recognizable from the air. What you can't see (the first 300m) is very committing, tight vertical walls, but manageable, pushy class III white water exists here. Most of this you can see from the swing bridge at the entrance.
For the upstream section, Graham Charles wrote: "‘Don’t go into Morgan Gorge’ the Hot Tip said, I should know I wrote it. I must’ve forgotten as we sat at the entrance to the gorge in January 2002. We had run the river in four hours and arrived at the portage around the gorge in the early afternoon. Flying the gorge it had looked like some good lines existed and some portages around the impossible stuff. Like moths to a flame we were all drawn to the excitement of the unknown. The anxiousness was laughable as we ran the entrance drops and all took a pounding of some sort. Like a lost world the twisting corners kept things hidden, some hard drops, some mandatory portages and we were in up to our armpits. Over half way through before we met our nemesis. A rapid no one wanted to attempt, no way back, no way around. We left the boats and began the climb up the only possible break in the vertical moss walls. We made the cars that night after seven hours of walking and bush crashing. The boats took a further nine hours the next day after we abseiled in and hoisted them out and carried upstream and eventually around the gorge. A great trip - the Hot Tip gets upgraded to a Very Hot Tip."
Lake Stanley to Forks Hut
Tue, 2009-11-24 18:57 — jonathanThe Stanley is a little done addition to the Waingaro helicopter trip. When we did it in 2008 the helo pilot reckoned we were only the second group in, but who knows? There needs to be a reasonable amount of water around for the Stanley to be on. It is a very small creek, and as your second day will likely be on the Waingaro you need water to hang around for the second day as well.
Big River to Coast
Mon, 2008-11-17 21:02 — jonathanWrite up of first descent in CUMEC Magazine #6, p34-37 by Ben Robson.
Styx Saddle to Third Gorge
Thu, 2007-11-22 23:14 — jonathanThis section appears in New Zealand Whitewater, 4th edition, 2006 on p175.
Grassy Flats Hut to Styx Bridge
Mon, 2007-10-15 18:30 — GuidoThe Upper Styx makes for a great day out and can handle quite a lot of water. Recent seasons and increasing fuel costs have seen it become one of the more popular runs because the helicopter shuttle is so short.
This section appears in New Zealand Whitewater, 4th edition, 2006 on p180.
Barrowman Flat to old SH6 bridge
Wed, 2006-05-17 20:59 — jonathanThis section appears in New Zealand Whitewater, 4th edition, 2006 on p205.
Butler Hut to Barrowman Flat
Wed, 2006-05-17 20:59 — jonathanThe huge north face of Mount Elie de Beaumont provides a stunning backdrop for the first couple of kilometres of the upper Whataroa, the only problem is there’s not much opportunity to stop and look at anything except the next difficult rapid. Once landed at Butler Hut it is possible to walk upstream and get a kilometre of steep water on the Butler. Otherwise walk downstream of the hut on the track and get out to the river wherever you can. Expect a gradient of 28.5m/km for the first 3 kilometres, and 8m/km from there.
This section appears in New Zealand Whitewater, 4th edition, 2006 on p204.
Cropp River to Hokitika River
Wed, 2006-05-17 20:59 — jonathanThe Whitcombe is one the most popular trips on the Coast. The record to date is 47 paddlers flying to the Cropp put in during a busy day in early 1999. It carries more water than your average Coast steep creek so feels like a ‘real’ river.
This section appears in New Zealand Whitewater, 4th edition, 2006 on p188.
Cave Camp to Cropp River
Wed, 2006-05-17 20:59 — jonathanIf Henry Whitcombe and Douglas Lauper could be transmogrified through time to anywhere in the Whitcombe River on a summers day they would not believe their eyes (I guess a helicopter would be enough to do the trick). This river of hell, which took them fourteen long days to descend in 1865, is now the home of two classic kayak runs. The upper section from Cave Camp to the Cropp River confluence was added to the list during the 98/99 season by Arnd Schaeftlein, Andi Uhl, Mike Abbot, Andy Phillips and Allan Ellard.
This section appears in New Zealand Whitewater, 4th edition, 2006 on p184.
