We crossed the Makarora River and ditched our river shoes by the footbridge at the bottom of the canyon, so as not to take Didymo into Ore Stream. A near-vertical bush-bash uphill for 45mins brought us to some red webbing tied around a tree, marking the start of the near-vertical bush-bash downhill for another half hour to get to the stream. Bits of this descent were loose, and we used a rope as a hand line for the final 15 metres or so. At one point I leant on a tree for support, which promptly collapsed sending me head first down the bank for a heart-stopping moment.

One of the first abseil pitches ended with a delicate balance across a log, wedged just above a frothy whitewater pool. Further pitches generally avoided the flow in descent, ending in some deep blue pools. Gareth was the first person to descent the fourth pitch, which transitions to free-hanging after a few metres. He made it to the bottom safely, but upon pulling up a bight of rope for me to attach to we discovered that the entire sheath had snapped leaving about 50cm of the rope’s core exposed. After swapping the rope around, the rest of us also made it down the pitch safely.

Rachel was the first to descend the final pitch, ending in a pool with a very large undercut waiting to swallow anyone who strays too close. After reaching the pool and detaching from the rope she boosted across the flow and established herself as a meat anchor on the dead rope to create a guided abseil for the rest of us.

Despite the concerns I had about the high aquatic grade of this canyon, I had Type 1 fun throughout! Bring on the next one!

Rachel acts as a meat anchor to provide a guided abseil for Gareth, allowing him to avoid the current wanting to pull you into a deep undercut