One of the biggest, nastiest, most awesome-looking projects, which local kayakers/canyoners have been eyeing up for years, but never quite getting the opportunity/water levels.

The grade has been estimated from the photos and topo; it could be higher in reality. Bear in mind that Gloomy Gorge was graded v6a6VI****

The Tuke is a major undertaking, life-threatening for expert teams of canyoners even in ideal conditions. The first descent was done at the end of one of the longest, driest summers that most locals can remember…. ‘Normal’ flows are likely to be much higher.

We flew in to where the Dickie Spur route meets the river. Took 3 days. Main crux gorge is just above Truran creek. Took us a day to get 5 or 600 metres

Shannon Mast

First descent April 2022, by Shannon Mast, Greg Lee, Phillip and Rata. Sketch topo and photos courtesy of Shannon Mast.