Unlocking Gnarly Gorge

Not long after I arrived in New Zealand, Evan mentioned to me that I should try and “unlock The Gnarly Gorge.” I didn’t think too much about it at first, but after a blur of Kaituna laps and a trip down the Lower Gorges, but portaging Gnarly Gorge, I decided it was time to start working on unlocking the last missing piece.

The Kaituna River is split into 4 sections. The most commonly run classic section starts at the Lake Rotoiti Control Gates in Okere Falls down to Trout Pool. This stretch contains the famous Tutea Falls which is said to be the highest commercially rafted waterfall in the world.  After Trout Pool takeout is a short stretch of flatwater and Grade 2 through the lower slalom course. After the slalom course ends, things pick up and become more continuous. The canyon walls lined with ferns now tower around you as you make your way down the constricted Grade 3 of Awesome Gorge. Then comes Gnarly Gorge, with two well-marked takeouts above it on either side of the river. After Gnarly Gorge comes Smoky Gorge, named after the thick layer of fog that can form in colder conditions over the water there. If you add all the sections together, it’s approximately 26 kilometers or 16 miles.

The beginning of Gnarly Gorge is Grade 2/3 for a few hundred meters but once you get past a certain point you are very committed, barring a very challenging and tedious portage back upstream from the point of no return.  After that point, the river constricts to a narrow hallway not more than a few boat lengths’ wide and takes a 90 degree turn before it drops into the first drop, which is around a 1 meter or 3-4 foot boxed-in stout ledge backed up by a powerful boil. Immediately after that the river does a quick zig zag, passing some logs that are not in play unless you were out of your kayak. The river trucks downstream at a solid pace through a sheer vertical walls with few to no options for escape. Sunlight filters through the towering walls, illuminating the spray of the whitewater and the ferns around you to create an otherworldly experience. The gorge is an incredibly beautiful place that demands respect: having problems in there could quickly become seriously life threatening.

I started off my scouting with drone flights from a few different take off zones to maximize the signal range of the drone and see as much as possible. I was able to see some of the gorge but not all of it. I also did not exactly know what I was looking at since I hadn’t paddled it or scouted it from shore yet. A shore scout would be necessary to eliminate as much risk of dangerous surprises as possible.

I paddled down to the river’s left portage trail, got out of my boat and hiked up to where I thought I might be able to glimpse this first bit of the gorge, but to no avail. I quickly got quite lost in the bush and for a while couldn’t even figure out where my boat was as my GPS and sense of direction were both failing me as I traipsed around in circles in the jungle. After a while I managed to get back to my boat and paddle down to the river right portage.  

I decided to paddle past the portage to see if maybe I could somehow do some climbing and see into that first crux section but once I reached the point of no return it quickly became apparent I had stitched myself up by being overly optimistic to the point of ignorance. I ended up spending over a solid hour free climbing and lining my boat back upstream to simply get back to the river right portage. A solid mistake but I’ve got to learn somehow and for me it’s often the hard way.  At this point, it had gotten late in the day so I stashed my gear and hiked back out to Trout Pool, planning to return the next day to resume scouting.

I walked back in the next day to the river right portage area and managed to climb down 5 parts of the first gorge with my throw bag anchored to trees.  I was able to see that most of the gorge was clear of wood. Once again, with poor planning it had become quite late so I hiked back out with my gear and did one last drone flight from Trout Pool parking lot sitting on top of my van, which ended up being the best spot for my drone’s signal to reach the furthest. I was able to see more than 95 percent or so of the Gnarly, barring a few spots covered with trees, but those were in Grade 2 or flatwater. 

After days of scouting from the ground and the air, the section looked clear of serious obstructions and hazards so I felt it would be an acceptable risk to drop it. No one was keen to join me and I felt very confident that I would be able to have good lines down the gorge, so it was time. The next day, after a good night’s sleep, I paddled to the river right portage eddy alone. My heart rate was elevated so I stopped and did some deep breathing to slow my heart rate down so I could be present and focused in my boat. I paddled into the first drop with speed and despite my paddle blade hitting the bottom of the river at the lip I had a decent enough line through it and slowly picked my way down the gorge. I stopped a few times to look at Zack Mutton’s edit of it that I had saved on my phone so that I could know exactly what was coming next and where to go. Everything went incredibly well and I made it down to the beginning of Smoky Gorge in no time. 

It felt quite rewarding to have made it through safely after days of scouting and hiking! After a quick snack I dropped into Smoky Gorge, which proved to be almost more exciting since I did not really remember the lines or the order of the rapids, having only done it once.  I managed to read and run my way down and was able to remember most of the rapids as I got to the top of them. Good times! I got down to flatwater, paddled out and managed to get just enough service to give Rob a call and let him know that I had made it down safely and that a shuttle from the takeout would be awesome, having not set one myself. I paddled down to the takeout and Rob showed up with beers not long after I hiked up out from the river to the paddock. 

After that first lap I managed to get 4 more laps down Gnarly Gorge, including one at higher than 500mm on the gates, high water.  I feel lucky to have been able to witness the natural beauty of this amazing gorge and to have had safe passages through its tall mossy walls.