Upper Wakamarina

The Upper Wakamarina is the 2 km of river between Doom Creek and Butchers Flat. It's an easy walk on a four wheel drive track the majority of the way to the put-in.

I was first alerted to the section on the Kiwi Canyons website and since then a few people have mentioned it as worth a look in kayaks. It's pretty unlikely this is a first descent as it's readily accessible, immediately upstream of the kayak guidebook run and there are even pictures of some rapids in the canyoning guidebook! In saying that I haven't seen any information about it in kayaking circles.
On the 18th of November 2018 we went up there for a look on the way to the ferry. We were suitably tired after a previous exploratory mission (subject of future post) and were looking for some easy adventure. We put-in at the Doom Creek bridge and scratched through two rapids to the Wakamarina proper. The scratching didn't stop there as the river was much lower than anticipated!


Rapids consisted of short drops between spectacular pools of every shade of green. The gorge walls were close on either side and with suitably high water portaging options in many places would vanish. As it was we only required one portage to avoid a tree blocking the flow. Both the scenery and the boat abuse were fairly continuous through the entire run.




Approximately two thirds of the way down the run we reached the stand-out 'chute' rapid. The river tightens up and runs down a shallow angled drop for a few metres with a small hole at the bottom. The true left wall overhangs the river slightly. With a complacency brought on by the low water I took a very brief look and dropped in. Immediately I caught my edge and flopped over, dragged myself down the shallows and took a few rock hits. To salvage pride I went back up and brought the other boat through unscathed. Verdict - perhaps it's trickier than it looks but it really shouldn't be a problem. At this level it really is only a grade III.

Complacency above the chute

Round two on the chute

Overall with a bit of extra water this run is an excellent prospect. Incredibly scenic gorge, whitewater that will push the top end of class III and an easy walk-in. With low water I'd recommend it only as a fantastic canyoning trip.

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