Rain

This run has benefited from the January 2011 flood clearing out much of the wood. The run starts with 3-4km of easy water before turning away from the road into the scenic gorge. The pace picks up through Foreplay rapid, and continues through another half dozen named rapids. Most things can be boat scouted, but there are ample opportunities to inspect and portage in normal water levels.

A tiny Hawke's bay gem, runnable again after the flood in January 2011 washed the willows out. This run is short, roadside and has the bonus of Hukawai falls near the start. If you are driving along SH5 with boats and a few hours to spare, then go for it. Most of the run is continuous boulder gardens with a couple of mini bedrock gorges. The first bridge has Hukawai falls hidden just below around a bend. This is a 2m slot drop that is better in higher water, or take the chicken chute left. Inspect and portage left.

We did this run thinking it was a first descent but have since heard it may have been done before. The reason for the lack of traffic was due to the two drops marked on the map which would be pretty serious if they were actually there. As it turns out, the good old topo map wasn’t quite right and the biggest drop on the run was only a six-footer.

This seldom-run Hawkes Bay river needs a bit of rain or snowmelt to bring it into condition. It is a long day out in remote country, or stop overnight in the historic Shutes Hut.

To get to the take out from Napier, go along the Taihape road, turn left into Matapiro road. After 23km, turn left onto Whanawhana road. At the bottom of the hill, turn left just after a bridge and park next to the river. Have a good look at the Ngaruroro river, as it is wide and braided here and the take out is not obvious from the river.

A wee wave in the heart of town. Who would have thought you can surf only half a km from the Wholemeal?

From the main street of Takaka, turn into the Junction Hotel carpark, thread your way through the slalom course , turn left at the end and drive on past the fishing access sign. The car park is another hundred metres odd, so close you can be seen changing from the supermarket.

Best at 30 cumecs but there is something there between about 20 and 40. This is a fun way to cool down on a hot day, or provides locals with a bit of park and play before or after work.

The 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.

This is a short, fun little gorge in the stunning scenery of the Nevis Valley.

The river runs through a fun rock garden with some nice features.

To get to the put-in, drive from Cromwell, through Bannockburn and over Duffers Saddle to Nevis Crossing. Continue up the valley, cross Schoolhouse Creek and you'll soon reach Commissioner's Creek.

The ford over Schoolhouse Creek can be deep, watch out for it.

The Waikawa stream is probably the best creek in the region when it's been raining steady and the rivers are on.

If its over 900mm then its going but 900mm is low so expect some scrapy class III-IV action at those kind of flows, but it gets better as water levels go up. When the river is charging around 1,600mm and over expect a non-stop run with a big water feel even though the river is only four or so meters wide at most points and still often only a couple of feet deep.

The first rapid just above the road bridge doesn't really charecterise the rest of the run, which typically has more single drops with powerful hydraulics. The harder rapids are in the first kilometre, before easing to class III boulder gardens. At the flows necessary for this run to go, the water is brown and pushy, and you can hear boulders rolling along the river bed underneath your boat!