Highest Drop 22m
1-4hrs
Public Access.
One of the most fun canyons in NZ! Beautiful slides, jumps and rappels in very cold water.
Since Cross creek is one of the most popular canyons in NZ, the Department of Conservation are closely monitoring damage to the forest and mosses around this canyon. If the area is damaged by canyoners, we may risk having the canyon closed.
Therefore, it is ESSENTIAL that you find and keep to the access track, actively try to avoid damaging any moss and remain in the canyon once there. Do not exit the canyon to do ‘laps’ of any jumps, as this will destroy the environment.
Cross Creek has Didymo. You MUST CHECK CLEAN DRY your gear before going into any other canyon. Even better, schedule Cross Creek as your last canyon, so that your gear gets to fully dry so that your conscience is clear and you do not spread this horrible pest to our other BEAUTIFUL CANYONS. Some nearby do not yet have Didymo.
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Pools similar to last summer. One bolt was spinning in middle section and a few hangers were loose, otherwise canyon is in good condition
Awesome canyon.
All bolts in place.
A lot eaiser & more enjoyable in low flow compared to in borderline flood last time we did it!
Anchors are all in place, but some of the tru-bolts have exposed studs (threads) which are getting a bit on the long side… Chem bolts are all excellent!
A good ‘normal’ flow with slides working nicely 🙂
Just love this canyon!!
Trip Report – Cross Creek
All anchors are still in place after the high water. However, several things have changed. In the upper section many trees and branches are lying across the creek, and they will likely move downstream later in the season. A lot of gravel has also shifted, so it’s important to check all jumps.
We removed an upward-pointing log at the 2 m jump in the middle section. The slide before the escape is now fairly shallow. The first high jump is less deep than before. The deepest point was now just right of center, So clear the edge at the beginning. But don’t jump to far, the end of the pool becomes shallow quickly, and even the left side seems to be filling with gravel at the moment.
The second high jump in the middle section is also less deep than it used to be. More importantly, the tree on TL is loose. Use the bolt, not the tree. We’re looking into adding an extra bolt there soon. And remove the tree.
After the high jump, the small slide has almost disappeared because two logs have formed a dam that creates a large pool. Let’s keep an eye on the dam in case it starts showing weaknesses.
Next you reach the section before the Arch. This used to be jumped, but it’s currently knee-deep. After the Arch you have the slide. There is wood in the pool of the slide, and some wood standing upright directly below the slide. It’s moving, so it’s different from the last time I checked. Check the pool, and we’ll try to remove the wood as soon as possible so it doesn’t keep circulating in the pool.
Be careful of the undercut on TL after the slide in high water conditions.
I did not check the last waterfall of the middle section for depth—I just did a rappel.
In the final part the slide looks shallow, but it was hard to check properly with the water level at the time.
Be safe!
Cheers!
R2 still missing a hanger. Water Flow is a4 and probably not best for beginners. Lots of scary looking features right now but most were friendly once we got into them (we did bypass a slide in the lower section due to how scary it looked).
All jumps slides were good to go, r2 was missing a hangar next group through should take one to replace
One of the double bolts in the middle section is missing a hanger and mallion.
The flow was pretty high, so we only did the middle section down. Good canyon though, looking forward to doing it again in the future at a lower flow!
All anchors middle section and below, still there.
The pools are pretty clean: some bedrock, a few with gravel beds. Most jumps are on, but it still pays to check first ;0)
Shiny new double glue in anchor, high on TR about a meter downcanyon of the arch. Beautiful line to absiel the slide pitch between the arch and the 11m if the arrival pool is ever too shallow.
22 October 2015
There have been 3 trips through Cross Creek so far this season.
All the anchors are in good shape, and the pools mostly clear. There is a fair bit of tree fall on the access track. Bring a folding pruning saw and do a little community service on the way in. Please don’t walk around the logs; it just kills the moss and makes a mess of the area.
There are a few logs jammed in the canyon, but nothing that stops you doing any of the features as normal.
Very cold still however ;0)
Descended on 28-Jan 2014; went all the way to the upper section, anchors in place, jumps are on, super fun canyon!
Five us us ran the middle and lower sections 09-Februrary 2015. I think we managed all of the jumps except into the arch pool after scouting. One accidental belly flop and bloodied nose on the 11m. We tried to clean out some of the logs from the arch, but we were pretty useless. A saw may be handy. Beautiful canyon. Don’t let the flood damage report deter you.
Hey there- We have placed a bolt and ring at drop 3 on TR as log jam is deteriorating.
Drop 8 there is bolt and rapid on TL for when there is high flow
Drop 11 has bolt and ring on TL
Sweet, I’ve updated and incorporated the new anchors on the CanyonTopo!
Visited 29th Jan 2012. Excellent stuff. We did the full trip, enjoyed the middle/lower sections the most.
Thanks for the info/topo. Everything seemed to be in place, nothing to report.
We filmed abit of footage:
http://youtu.be/DG7SwJsAFdE
Cheers
Lee, Sam & Dave