Possibly the most famous canyon in New Zealand.
Tag: Westland
Rahu Left Canyon v3a3II*
10m (1x30m rope) | 2hrs return | Public land
A relaxing trip with big green pools and some very good jumps. Easy access and fun, not very technical.
Klondyke Canyon v3a3II**
15m (1x40m rope) 2h20m public access.
A playful canyon in a shallow mossy gorge, with a couple of fun abseils and lots of small jumps into big pools.
Carew Creek v4a3I*
45m (2x60m)
2h20m
Public access
Short, steep granite canyon with interlinked waterfalls and plunge pools. Semi-open, medium volume.
Dorothy Falls v4a3II**
50m | 4-5hrs | Public access
Lake Kaniere, West Coast
Ford Creek v2a2I**
No Rappels,
Public access
1-2hrs
Short, horizontal sandstone canyon
Tiropahi Canyon v4a6III**
27m | 4-5hrs | public access. Charleston area.
High volume gorge with one compulsory rappel. Challenging return route.
Lower Trovatore Canyon v3a1II*
10m max drop ( 1x30m rope) | 2hr return |Public access
Crane Creek v4a4IV**
A long, reasonably high flow trip with some impressive features. Couple of bigger drops with lots of messier features in between.
Low Creek v5a4III**
A relatively open descent alternated with two distinctive enclosed sections which require some technical and aquatic rigging.
Broken Creek v4a2IV*
Broken creek first full descent: Jeroen (Stretch) Verhees, Edgar Fella, Morgan, early 2025 Lots of medium length pitches and fairly low flows. Adventure canyon! More info to come!
Tatare Stream v6a6V***
A fairly short but very techincal section of canyoning near Franz Joseph Glacier.. “Maybe the ideal warmup for Whirling Water?” said some of the first descent team… First canyoning descent, 21 February 2025. Edgar Fella, Henry Rotherham, Taylor Haisell, Jeroen Verhees, WIlliam Henry Norton, Louis Rgissart See the facebook post below for videos, until we…
Goat Creek v3a2IV*
26m (1x60m rope) | 5-6hrs return | public access
Adventure canyon with some good pitches near Greymouth
Scamper Torrent v4a3III**
40m (2x60m minimum) 5.5 to 7hr round trip from Kiwi Flat Hut Scamper Torrent is a great introduction to canyoning in the Waitaha Valley, with three distinct sections of canyon providing unique challenges. First descent: Feb 2023: Leo Tregret, Sid Tinney, Charlotte Mason, Jason Bilsborow. Thanks to Richard Bramley, Leo Tregret, and Sid Tinney for…
Bartrum Creek v4a4IV***
The little brother of Whirling Water
Victory Canyon v3a3II**
30m (2x 30m ropes) 1h/1.5h/30min approach/descent/return Public land Short but high quality. Four slotted drops in quick succession. Easy access makesit a worthwhile stop on the way to your next canyoning destination. There’s a strongsmell of sulphur at the put in, so there must be a hot spring nearby! Currently sparsely single-bolted with 8mm galv…
Keyhole Canyon v4a3IV**
Max drop 65m (2x70m ropes) Public Access 4hr / 7.5hr / 30min (approach / descent /return ) = Total of 12hrs Keyhole canyon an unnamed tributary of Barrack Creek V5a4IV Keyhole is a steep and aquatic alpine descent. Polished rocks, blue pools and the back-to-back nature of the waterfalls make this a rewarding canyon. There…
Doughboy Creek v5a4IV**
Long, high flow canyon with open and enclosed sections.
Rope Creek v4a3IV*
Max drop 31m Public access 2hr approach / unknown descent time / 1.5hr return Exploration by Jeroen Verhees et al, December 2024 Upper Rope creek: Jeroen (Stretch) Verhees, Billy Norton, Henry Rotherham (fox guides) and support from the top from Jack Kyle (franz guide) Middel and lower Rope creek: Jeroen (Stretch) Verhees, Billy Norton First…
Rolleston River
First descent by West Coast Canyon SAR during a search operation, March 2021. Two absiels from bolt anchors, some sections of nice canyon and some sections of open riverbed scrambling SAR team leader Canyon ends at the confluence with the stream coming from Lake Florence. No futher information available at this time.
Florence Canyon
First descent by Canterbury CanyonSAR team during a search operation in March 2021 No further information available at this time.
Dickson River v3a4IV***
1x60m rope | 11hrs | Public access
Mikonui Valley, West Coast
One of the top canyons on the coast.
Tuke River v5a6V**** (estimated)
Monster west coast canyon, only descendable in dry summers by an expert team.
Diedrichs Creek v4a4IV***
15m (1x60m) | 9hrs | Public Access
Hokitika Valley, West Coast.
High flow jump, swim and scrambling canyon with 5 absiels
Goat Hill Canyon v4a4IV*
30m | 10hrs | Public access
Taramakau Valley, Westland
Scenic alpine approach, high quality slot sections, but with a fair bit of boulder bashing.
Muriel Creek v4a4IV**
20m (1x60m + throwbag)
10hr
Public access
Hokitika gorge
Long and physical. A big approach followed by an adventurous canyon with a mix of down climbing, abseils, and jumps.
Freds Creek v4a2II*
30m
Unknown duration
Private land: Permission Required
Lake Brunner, Westland
Trovatore Canyon, v4a2III*
50m
5hrs
Public access
Lewis Pass
5 drops in an open, sunny alpine stream.
Spray Creek v5a3IV**
100m (2x70m)
8h15m
Public access
The drawcard is two 100m+ waterfall sequences in a row. It has a good amount of water and gradient, and some great waterfalls.
Holts Creek v4a4IV**
40m
11-12hrs
Holts Creek is a big day in a remote alpine canyon. It is bolted but come with natural anchor rigging materials. The upper canyon starts with pool drop waterfalls. The only escape is a scree mid-canyon before giving way to enclosed steep walls. On the way down make sure to look back up the canyon at the spectacular series of waterfalls.
Bonny Creek v4a2II*
53m
7.5hrs
Public access
Steep, low volume stream with about 10 rappels, a few jumps and a very scenic finish into the Burke Gorge. Unfortunately a bit slippery, which detracts a little from the descent.
California Dreaming v4a2II**
40m
3hrs
Private land: access permission required.
A very pretty, low flow granite canyon with some stunning big rappels. A great beginners/intermediate half day out. Can be combined with neighbouring Fred’s canyon.
Surly Creek v4a3III**
30m
Adventure canyon
Public access
Pretty good trip but quite a bit of down climbing and boulder hopping.
Wesley Creek v5a3IV***
124 m (2 x 70 m ropes)
10 hours (5 hours up 5 hours down)
Public Access
Steep alpine canyon, with large multip-pitch rappels.
Brumms Creek v4a3III*
35m
4hrs20min
Private land on the access route: permission required.
‘U’ Shaped fault line canyon with plenty of short to moderate rappels.
Red Granite Creek v4a4III***
40m
7hrs
Public access.
A fantastic, open granite canyon with big waterfalls and big pools. Jumps galore into west coast coca-cola coloured pools.
Griffin Creek v4a5IV***
29m (2x60m)
9hr30
Public access
Big, watery, beautiful, long, technical.. Jumps galore into pumping whitewater. Huge pools, powerfull waterfalls… This canyon is a pure gem in NZ!
Barrack Creek v5a4IV***
65m
9hr30min
Public access
Barrack Creek is a steep, aquatic and vertical alpine descent. Polished rocks, deep green pools, the back to back nature of the waterfalls, and the fantastic end series of rappels makes this a classic three-star canyon. Make sure you have suitable experience and a strong team.
Big Wainihinhi via Wainotinoti v4a4IV***
75m
8-10hrs
Public access
his trip has it all. A staunch multi-sport approach. Back-to-back high waterfalls in Wainotinoti. And finally, the jewel in the crown – jumps and whitewater problem solving in the slotted Big Wainihinihi.
Waterfall Creek
The canyon was called Waterfall Creek, and terminated directly opposite Maruia hot springs. This was the appeal of the canyon, because if it was a good one you could do a winter mission and then jump into the hot pools at the end! Anyway, it was a three hour slog up the true left side…