The Morda Brook

I first visited the Mangahao slalom course in 2013. The course is an inspiring place, with continuous class III rapids lined with native bush. Five minutes drive downstream is the Manawatū town of Shannon. Conversely, Shannon is not an inspiring place, the sort of fading rural town where the buildings quietly ignore the passing of the last half century. The course is situated on the Mangaore Stream but the water comes from the Mangahao River. This occurs because a system of dams in the Managahao River divert the water through a power station which, while generating, releases into the top of the course. Consequently, the Mangaore Stream frequently receives about twenty times it’s natural flow. The slalom course spans around 200m of the stream length and, like any slalom course, the normal mode for paddlers is to yo-yo up and down. Stretch the spraydeck over the cockpit, dance with the water, pop the spraydeck off, contemplate or commiserate on the walk back. Every time a slight...

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 consi...

It was somehow fitting that the hillside that had been beaten by fire was currently having a good attempt at breaking our morale. The top of Kapakapanui peak in the Tararua range was cleared by an accidental fire in 1903 [ 1 ]. Nowhere is this more apparent than on the peaks western slopes, which we were halfway up. It had been a very long day. The final climb to Kapakapanui from the west. Image from http://www.topomap.co.nz/ The Southern Crossing of the Tararuas is a classic tramp known for its long history, windy tops and mountain running. Perusing maps in an idle moment it was clear to me that the classic southern crossing is not actually the most southern possible crossing of the range. If Waterworks Road in Kaitoke and Ngatiawa Road near Waikanae could be linked this route would cross the range further to the south than the classic. Thus began the Southerner Crossing. Hutt Forks We began very early at the Norbert Creek track which climbs quickly and pleasantly...

This site is a journal of adventures in New Zealand inspired by The Unlikely Voyage of Jack de Crow by A.J. Mackinnon. This book is the inspirational story of the authors journey across a continent in a small sailing dinghy. Whilst the story is told with a copious amount of artistic licence and somewhat impenetrable literary references (for a layman such as myself), it beautifully captures the spirit of the everyday adventurer. The Morda Brook is "a sinuous little blue line on a map that should not be considered a navigable waterway".  Near the beginning of his voyage Mackinnon embarks on a descent of the Morda Brook as the only route between the English canal system and the river he intends to travel seaward. The canals are left behind as 5pm recedes, which the reader will recognise as the official start time of all good weekend adventures. Unsurprisingly the evening is not straightforward. Encounters with overhanging trees, muddy water and darkness damage his boat a...