Upper Whitcombe, February 2012

Most kayakers aren't really known for their detailed planning or long term plans. After some fabulous days of paddling on the West Coast, Daan and I are were attempting to make plans of our own. Due to work committments we were to return to Murchison after paddling on Friday, with hope of coming back the following week. Our loose paddling plan for Friday fell apart and before we knew it, our paddling trip was looking pretty over, until...

We got a message from some North Island friends wanting to know our plans as they would be in Hokitika later that day. To cut a short story shorter Toni, Pete and Fatty had been for a one day paddling trip to the Rangitikei from Rotorua. Concluding that relative to Rotorua, Taihape was half way to Wellington and Wellington was halfway to Hokitika so they turned left at State Highway One, crossed the ferry and ended up on on the West Coast.

Suddenly grateful for the spontaneous streak that most paddlers possess, all plans changed. No work for anyone and all play for another few days! The team: Daan, Jared (NZKS Whipper Snapper), Toni, Pete, Fatty, Weka and myself. The plan: an overnight trip on the Upper Whitcombe (which is located on the West Coast of the South Island, New Zealand). Two other friends Chris and Jamie were coming too, flying into the upper part of the second day then leaving their boats and walking up to meet us at the hut for the night.

How to make the chopper pilot happy!

(P: Toni George)

Toni and Daan doing my favorite kind of shuttle

(P: Toni's Camera)

Not far below the put in, looking back up at the glacier

(P: Daan Jimmink)

Once on the river there was a short and easy warm up section before things got steep. If it looks steep from the helicoptor, then you know it's going to be a busy day (and it was). Between the team, everything was paddled bar Masty's Slot and the usual portage at the Whitcombe/Price confluence. Not much carnage which was good - a damaged paddle and one swim. The flow was on the lower side of good which meant that there were some creative lines in a few places but still a heap of sweet boofs and moves. 

Fatty and Toni stitching together an early rapid

(P: Toni's Camera)

Weka finding his line

(P: Toni's Camera)

One of things that Pete does best

(P: Toni's Camera)

Daan making a manky rapid look like anyone could do it

(P: Jess Matheson)

His Whitcombe Debut and third heli-trip ever... Jared Mulligan
(P: Pete Lodge)

Main line: 0/4 beatings...
Bouldery sneak line on (photo) right: 3/3 beatings

(P: Daan Jimmink)

Steep and Burly... Daan going for it

(P: Jess Matheson)

Surveying the damage

(P: Jess Matheson)

Weka on another Whitcombe boof

(P: Toni George)

A happy boof as the river paparazzi watches on

(P: Daan Jimmink)

After seven kilometres or so of reasonably steep water, things get a little steeper as the Prices River meets the Whitcombe. A mandatory portage (apparently there is a line, but it's "awful") saw us putting back in at a sweet spot... One last rapid to run with freedom (and Prices Hut) in the distance. 

Toni eyeing the last line of the day

(P: Jess Matheson)

Pete boofing to freedom, Jared watching on

(P: Jess Matheson)

We are very fortunate to have gems like this scattered 

throughout the New Zealand wilderness

Prices Hut, Whitcombe Valley

(P: Toni George)

Full bellies and a good sleep set us up for a good start on Sunday morning. Chris and Jamie having walked up the previous afternoon, set off for the their boats as we put back on the river. From the hut there is a small section of easy water before things get busy in Prices Gorge. Beautiful class four boogie leads into some bigger drops including one of New Zealand's best 20 (ish) footers... Leap of Faith. 

Jess on some early morning gold

(P: Toni George)

Fatty in the middle of Prices Gorge

(P: Daan Jimmink)

Daan checking in

(P: Jess Matheson)

Making sure it's all good, Daan doing his thing

(P: Jess Matheson)

Toni leading the charge off Leap of Faith

(P: Daan Jimmink)

Daan making the Leap of Faith

(P: Toni George)

Jared boofing like he means it

(P: Toni George)

Toni and Si, somewhere in the lower Prices Gorge

(P: Toni's Camera)

Once clear of this Prices, we settled into awesome class four boogie for pretty much the rest of the day. Not long after Prices Gorge we found Chris and Jamie chilling out in an eddy and ready to go. With a group of nine, we split in two and made our way out through the regular Whitcombe trip (from the Cropp River confluence). 

The Upper Whitcombe is a pretty special trip by New Zealand standards, in that multi-day trips are few and far between. This particular trip offers two days of stellar whitewater in a rugged and fairly remote valley. There is a walking route up the Whitcombe which is adventurous, to say the least.

An awesome trip all round... Cheers to the the North Island crew for showing up randomly and being keen to get on the mission!

NZKS Staff Trip on the Mokihinui

Each summer the staff of the New Zealand Kayak School get on a team mission and undertake some kind of adventure together – this year we had plans in motion for a two day caving trip at Harwood’s Hole in Abel Tasman. In typical New Zealand fashion, the weather changed and we could see (courtesy of metvuw.com) a huge weather system with a lot of precipitation, slowly approaching the country. We soon abandoned the caving trip as the team wasn’t really into the prospect of cave diving.

Sure enough it rained. And rained. And rained some more. Someone came up with the idea of getting into the Mokihinui for a two-day trip, which was likely to be fantastic on the back of all this rain. We put the plan together and headed off a day early to paddle something on the way to Seddonville. Having left Murchison, we were turned back at Inangahua as all the main roads were closed because of flooding and slips. All was not lost as we got stellar high water trips on both the Mangles and the Matiri that afternoon.

In a second attempt, the team left early on Tuesday morning for Seddonville: Mick Hopkinson, Soph Mulder, Shannon Mast, Matt Coles, Jared Mulligan, Daan Jimmink and Jess Matheson. The rain had stopped and the roads had reopened. We left a vehicle at the Seddonville pub and drove further north towards the Little Wanganui and start of the Wangapeka track. This made our heli shuttle a lot shorter.

Shannon and Soph waiting for the chopper 

We flew into Johnson Hut in Johnson Creek, which is a tributary of the North Fork of the Mokihinui. Four hours or so on the North Fork saw us at the confluence with the South Fork, which then becomes the Mokihinui proper. We took our overnight gear to stay at the Mokihinui Forks hut.

Stuck in the wilderness, ready for an adventure

Mick leading the way: Johnson Creek was just a trickle at the put-in

From our put in we had a kilometre or two of fun boulder gardens on Johnson Creek down the to the North Fork. Johnson Creek was a little low (it clears up first after rain) which cost the team a bit of skin in places. 

Once in the North Fork, we had a fantastic flow. The weather had cleared up too so not only was the water good but the weather as well. The character of the North Fork is bigger volume boulder gardens with some cool rapids and some sticky holes. The paddling is super fun with a bunch of great boofs and fun moves. The scenery is beautiful. 

Daan on the portage

Jess getting a great line on one of the many clean boofs

Matt getting ready for the boof to meltdown

Jess finding a great line, the bleeding has stopped on the knuckles

Jess keeping it together during a giant surf

Bit of a rest after some entertainment

Five hours later, some good entertainment and a stack of rapids and we were at the Earthquake “Lake”. The 1929 Inangahua Earthquake sent an enormous slip into the river just below the confluence, which blocked the whole river off and created a huge lake as the river back up behind the earthquake slip. The slip has worn down over time and so the river runs through it these days. Above the slip there are huge tree trunks towering out of the middle of rapids, and clusters of tree stumps to navigate through. The river is slowly claiming it’s way back through the debris.

The Forks Hut sits on a second-tier terrace above the river looking out over the confluence. We made ourselves at home and settled in for pots of tea, a yummy dinner (thanks Jared) and a few games of Hearts (Black Bitch, Mariah). The hut toilet sits on the next terrace below and had been victim of recent flood. The river had gotten at least half way up the toilet structure and had left a thick mat of silty goodness over everything. Mick, well educated through his years of international kayak travel and exploration, told us how to get around the silty-problem Asia-style.

 Mick still charging at 63

Bit of a boat scout

Nearing the end of the North Fork of the Mokihinui

We were on the river about 8am and made quick work of the Mokihinui down to Seddonville. The Mokihinui valley is absolutely stunning and even more so as it was shrouded in mist. It was forecast to rain on day two and true it did. As we came out of the last gorge part, the weather really started to pack it in just in time for us to battle it out on the open flats in pissing rain and strong winds.

After an awesome feed at the Seddonville pub, Soph and Shan took off to the do the shuttle while the weather got worse and worse. We sat in front of the fire playing cards until their return. By that stage the river had risen to full flood stage and we were happy to be finished.

The Mokihinui is currently under threat from a hydro scheme that would see an 80m high dam built just upstream of Seddonville that would back up the Mokihinui River to the Forks. This wouldn’t dramatically affect the North Fork but would mean that the section would finish in a lake at the Forks and a long flat paddle out to the dam. The Mokihinui from the Forks down would be completely flooded and lost forever. The area is super rich in flora and fauna including the endangered Whio (Blue Duck) and long-finned eel. It would be a tragedy to see such a special place be drowned. If you get the opportunity to get into the Mokihinui then do, because who knows how long it will last for. 

Jess Matheson