32m
Public access
6.5hrs
Tunakohoia is a little gem of a canyon nestled in the hills behind Te Aroha Township. Generally low flow, this is an ideal winter trip as you are not required to spend long periods in the water. The canyon is a lot of fun after some rain when the flow increases although care should be taken. R5 can be quite pushy and has the potential to invert the unprepared or inexperienced while on rappel. There are a number of technical down
climbs most of which are now protected with bolt anchors that can be used for a hand line or belay if required.
First descent unknown. Possibly Waitomo cavers. Rebolting funded by NZ Canyoning Association and carried out by Karl Burt, Leesa Fraser, Shanan Fraser, Pete Smith & Brendan Wallace in 2018
Download the CanyonTopo for Tunakohoia Canyon
Very impressed with bolt placement. Makes for super easy rope pulls.
We dropped in after/during rain and were weary of flashing so constantly keeping an eye on escape routes which there are many of. Down climbed the top pitch of the last waterfall in an effort to avoid the high water. We also walked out not far below the waterfall as there was no way through the final gorged section.
Primo! DCd last supposed rap, couldn’t find rings? On the walk back, when you hit the slip, walk for about 10m, then take a sharp left top rejoin the track and find the bridge.
Exit track damaged – not recommended for use until fixed!
Plan for a different exit track.
Great trip, all anchors in mint condition, large slips disappeared parts of the exit track on the way back to the parking.
Access into the canyons was good, but better to walk more than 150m from the bend.
All anchors are in great condition.
There is a small slip at the top of R6, above the anchors on the TR, but because the anchors are a couple of meters down on the cliff face (on TR) they are not damaged or obscured.
Coming out of the canyon, after the walk down from the bottom of R8, past the steep uphill track, just before and just after crossing the main Tunakohoia stream, very large slips took large parts of the track. We had to bush-bash through thick tangle in muddy slip, uphill, to find the rest of the track. This exit track is not recommended until fixed.
All good. Haven’t been through for a few years but looked pretty standard. Spotted a fresh water crayfish / koura in the pool at the view point / lunch spot.
Good conditions today, all anchors there but the rock was particularly slippery. There’s a couple of anchor stations that could use a hand line bolt to get safer access. Might put some in next time I’m in there but using a meat anchor works fine for now
We left the road at the corner just after the marked point on the map and followed the ridge line for a bit before dropping into the canyon and we ended up in the right place to start.
There’s a steep exit track on the TR right at the bottom of the last pitch that goes up to the lookout. Just turn left and follow the path back to the carpark
Good conditions after a bit of rain. Rap anchors all good, some existing handlines/tat for scrambles which were definitely helpful for us. We accidentally walked into the bottom of R3 at the start instead of the top of R1, maybe we didn’t go quite far enough along the road but it looked like a doable/easy approach and pretty close on the GPS. Not sure if there’s a footpad at the actual entry but we didn’t see anything super obvious, I guess aim slightly higher than you think!