After our mini epic in Mathers we were like what a 20min walk in, 2hr canyon 1min walk out? Yes Please.
We’d kept Imp Grotto until last as it would be a short morning giving us plenty of time to get the gear washed and dried for the trip home.
It was another one I was really looking forward to as it sounded like the prefect bang for buck canyon.
We pulled up at the bridge, found the secret entrance to the entry track… It’s such a cool ecperirence you part the ferns and the trail appears in an area that looks all but cliffed out.
Magic
Less than 15min later we are at the start of the canyon.
How cool is that.
Of the canyons we visited this trip, in terms of look, Imp Grotto is probably the most reminent of the Blue Mountains canyons we are use to.
I head over and set the rope and we are into it like a Hobbit in a cake shop
Kris leading the way
On a scale of 1 -10 its a 15 on the fun dial.
And pretty darn pretty to boot
Lots of little jumps
Absiels big and small
Jason on anchor duties. Hywaida keeping an eye on things
Kylie on the big one. There a bit of hydraulic at the bottom but at these water levels it was relatively tame
Jason, as LARP
And before we know it we are splashing around in the pool under the bridge like some sort of troll living his best life in the absence of Billy Goats Gruff.
And with rain predicted for tomorrow we can’t believe just how lucky we got with the notorious west coast weather.
We are not the fastest group out there and don’t intend to break speed record but we go alright. Even taking the time to soak in the experience and take 1001 photos our group of 6 had cruised through Robinson, Cross Creek, Wilsons, and Mill Creek well within the suggested timeframes so we weren’t expecting Mathers to be too big a day.
As it was, it turned into a bit of a mini epic.
No idea why, TBH.
We did have a couple of stuck ropes ( first one the figure 8 block flipped over and caught on the anchor ring) but they didn’t take us long to sort out.
Maybe in our complacency we spent a bit too much time enjoying the slides and jumps in the upper section.
The middle section seemed to go on for-fucking-ever…
End result we were well over the suggested time but still had an absolute blast.
In hindsight a 4th rope in a party of 6 would have made it a lot more efficient.
Anyhoo. This one is a little less descriptive than my usual write up (Most of these ones from NZ are mostly from it all being a blur of awesomeness)
We were frothing to get into it. Mathers was rumoured to be very pretty with lots of slide and jumps.
We make our way from the campground, along the Haast and up into Mathers creek.
The canyon ends at one of the prettiest waterfall Archways going.
It’s recently become a social media hot spot. I can see why
Unfortunately Haast river is infected with Didymo and the increasing crowds of influencers either don’t know or don’t care about cleaning it off their shoes before entering the side creeks. Sadly the pool below the Arch is showing signs of Rock Snot.
While we tried to avoid walking in the water you can pick up cells in the dirt along the banks so we had brought bottles of detergent and scrubbing brushes and paused here to SAY NO TO DIDYMO.
And then up we went.
more gorgeous colours
After an hour or so hauling up we gain the top of the creek and are pretty much straight into it
And tricky traverses to hanging belays. This was one of our rope jams. Nothing obvious for it to catch on. thankfully a few attempts changing the angle of the dangle it came free
Dave, Jason, Hywaida, Kristo, Kylie and meeeeeeeee
A canyoning trip to New Zealand has been on the wish list for years but just hadn’t popped to the top of the priority list.
Until now.
The lead up was a bit chaotic and at various points it was looking like not all of us would make it but somehow the stars aligned and, thankfully, all 6 of us found ourselves making the acquaintance of every sand fly in Haast.
With the flies in a suitable frenzy over the taste of our blood we started our adventures off with a bang in Robinsons Creek.
a 15min walk up the hill and we are straight into it.
The patterns and colours in the Schist was beautiful. Haast Schist is a metamorphic rock formed from sand and mudstones that have been reheated and placed under pressure then subjected to folding and uplifting to give it the patterns and swirls.
All good, gentle fun so far. A couple of small hydraulic features to be aware of.
The route is really well set. Unlike the typical Blue Mountain canyons we are use to there are times where you need to set traverse lines to avoid the hydraulics at the bottom of the waterfall, or loose log jams that act a sheives part way down. We are not unfamiliar with high flow canyons and practice this stuff a lot but it was a lot of fun putting our skills into practice in an easier canyon on day 1.
Then we come to the cavern pitch.
Jason sets the rope and I jump on, peering over the void.
It looks epic.
Then I notice a guy in board shorts below…. He’d scrambled up from the bottom but doesn’t hang around long. It was cold enough in the 5mm wettie.
Anyhoo, this pitch was amazebalz
Kylie at the top. The roar of the water beside you is awe inspiring.
Buzzing from Robinson Creek we make the short drive down to the Cross Creek Bridge.
Now I may have been a little over hyped.
I may or may not have mis-read the notes to say “From the Bridge Walk 10min back toward Haast to find the obvious trail.”
Well we walked toward Haast for 10min…
What the notes Actually said was “Walk 10m (As in metres everybody) back towards Haast Pass (As in toward Wanaka- away from Haast, like der Fred ) You would have thunk the friendly guide having a chat with us while suiting up his clients might have said “Hey Bros you’re going the wrong way. It’s just there aye”
Anyhoo, we correct our (my) mistake.
what’s a Flynny trip with out a slight navigational hiccough anyway?
The warm up walk curbed our enthusiasm slightly so we opted not to go all the way to the upper sections and dropped in to the middle section a little early to get the jump on the guide group.
and we are pretty much straight into it again.
while the canyon was a little more open the colours were even more vivid.
and a few fun little slides greeted us
And some easier features to be wary of
And natures artworks
It was a little bit fun
all on wonderfully grippy Schist
and crystal clear water
And once again the canyon finishes pretty much at the car. We change and eat and swap tall stories about our first 2 NZ canyons then make our way back to our rented house at Haast where the lovely flies had told all their friends just how tasty we are.
Unfortunately the Haast river itself and some of its tributaries, including Cross Creek are infected with the invasive Didymo slime, AKA rock snot.
And while we didn’t see any it’s important to do the right thing, this means cleaning all our gear in diluted detergent and drying it off each day. Most parties we spoke to suggested we get a plastic tub each for this.
We’ve seen some amazing thing so far and the next adventure was one I was looking forward to.
We opted for a super early wake up at Bruce Bay and made our way down to Haast for breakfast and coffee. Today we would be driving the Haast Pass, in an of itself a great scenic drive but we were leaving ourselves plenty of time for exploring.
Haast Pass is home to some of the most popular canyons in New Zealand. It would be too cold to descend them this time but with the constrictions often ending in stunning waterfalls just off the road we planned to take most of the day exploring them.
Some of the waterfalls are sign posted tourist attractions, others you just need to keep an eye on the bridge names and find a place to park. We had several picked out that we wanted to check out but there were plenty more.
Note: The Haast river is known to have Didymo, an invasive fresh water algae also known as Rock Snot, so if you enter the river bed or water it’s important to Check Clean Dry shoes and gear before entering another waterway or traveling.
Anyhoo our first stop.
Depot Creek
A camping area on the right just after the bridge made a good spot to park and a trail headed off leading upstream. Less then 5min later we came to the 10m tiered Depot Creek Falls.
Click to see the full photos
Imp Grotto
When I say the canyons open with a waterfall near the road, Imp Grotto finishes right under the bridge. We had to park a little up the road and walk back but it’s a cool spot
Roaring Billy
Not far up the road Roaring Billy falls is a signposted tourist stop. A dedicated parking area gives access to a trail that takes you down to the Haast river for views across to Roaring Billy falls, it’s around a 30min round trip with a bit of time taking photos. Thou the mountain mist made getting a decent shot hard today
Douglas Falls
Another small waterfall right by the road
Thunder Falls
Thunder falls is signposted with a constructed tourist walk down to the stunning 30m waterfall
Pyke Creek
This one was a little harder to get to. Being directly fed from the Brewster Glacier the water is even colder. Kylie decided to sit this one out. I carefully made my way up stream on a rough track that at times traversed narrow ledges. Im handy in the outdoors and a good scrambler with a head for heights but this was at the limit of what I was willing to brave on my own in unfamiliar terrain so take care.
In summer you might be able to work your way up the creek itself but I’d imagine with ice melt the water flow would be treacherous as the canyon descent has rarely been repeated.
Fantail Falls
Another signposted waterfall with dedicated car park and walking track to views across the river towards the falls.
Robinson Creek
One of the more popular canyons in the area for which the bottom chamber is easy to get to
Wilsons Creek
The show case canyon in the area, Wilsons creek is spectacular and if you are willing to brave cold water and wet feet you can visit the last little bit just in off the road.
Other waterfalls within 5min walk of the road or visible from the road that we didn’t visit this time around include
Orman Falls (10m high)
Joes Creek Falls (150m High)
Gunboat Falls (150m High)
Diana Falls (15m High)
We decide if possible we’d spend a night at a van park to get a descent shower and stuff. A quick google search revealed Mt Aspiring Holiday Park to be cheap as chips and referenced something about a hot hub.
Calling ahead the lovely Erin assured me they had plenty of spots and if we could get there by 6:30 we could book the last allocation for the hottub.
How much is it said I
$10 each for 25 minutes. Says she
Book us in said I.
We got there around 5 and Erin informs me she’d given us their best non-powered site. She wasn’t wrong, close the kitchen and amenities while not too close but better it gave an amazing view out the back of the van to the snow capped mountains reflected off the lake.
No only that but she also said no one had booked the 6pm spa spot and she was keen to leave early so if we wanted to pick up the key to the spa at 6 it was ours for the night, just put the key in the safe when we finished. Winning.
But wait, there’s more!
Um, I saw a sign for a drying room how much is it to use that?
What gear do you have?
Just some old boots, we were in the Haast and have done the check and clean and gave them a good scrub but it would be good to get them dry.
Oh yeah of course, no charge. Leave them outside the door and when I get a chance I’ll pop over turn the heating on and put them in for you.
I like Erin.
So that’s an unpowered van site, pretty much unlimited use of the hot tub (TBH we were tired and hungry so only took the 30mins anyway but still.) and they turned the ski gear drying room on all night just for us for a grand total of $68NZ.
We do a nice diner in the kitchen, get a good night sleep and then head to the Clay Cliffs of Omarama
