Adventure West Coast: Styx & Inangahua Rivers

A warm northerly air flow was forecast to bring rain to the coast over the long weekend. Frustratingly the really heavy rain didn't arrive until Monday afternoon/night. After spending Saturday biding my time I came up with a plan to head down to Hoki early the next morning if it didn't rain in Westport overnight.

Arriving mid morning at the Styx, it was looking like it had plenty of water and was definitely good to go. After a couple of warm up runs down from the lower corner I was in luck as a team of local paddlers showed up. Following in behind and paddling some of the rapids higher up the river, at 10 times the flow it had been when I was last here in February, was a real hoot.

Back in Hoki I lined up a couple of Canadian's for kayaking the following day, but that plan fell through in the morning. So on my way home I was on the lookout for a creek which was new to me and had a bit of water in it. Blackball Creek had some water and was a possibility, but I continued on as I was keen for my first run on the Inangahua River.

The level looked a bit low in the open lower reaches of the Inangahau, but it was raining steadily and there was more than enough water for the more confined upper section by then time I got to Tobins Bridge. The upper section starts about 2km upstream of Tobins close to where the road makes some bends marked 55km/h. Two hundred metres downstream of here the river is in open view of the road where a side stream makes and entrance – this spot is immediately above the first waterfall.

There are three big drops from the upper put in and you can choose which ones you put in for. The top drop is a tight and nasty 5m waterfall with an exit width of less than a metre. It's possible to get in below this above the a classic 7m metre waterfall that's walled in. The final drop is a steep and continuous class IV rapid which requires some moves to negotiate the obstacles.

I put in below the second waterfall and paddled upstream into the bedrock gorge. The waterfall was thundering and I was treated to the sight shown below (photos are courtesy of Zak Shaw www.passion4adventure.blogspot.com who was also recently on the Inangahua).

Paddler on the second of the waterfalls

Below the third drop the rapid the river flattens off for a bit before steepening up again and entering a rapid where the river makes an S-bend in a short gorge. There is a steep long entrance so eddying out to take a look or portage will require some forethought – especially at higher flows. A hole at the entrance to the gorge tends to wash out at higher flows, and another smaller drop around the corner shouldn't cause major problems before the pool at the bottom. S-bend rapid is right beside the road and is easily accessed from the culvert 100m upstream of the Patterson Creek road bridge.

Paddler negotiating the hole at the entrance to S -bend gorge

From here the river remains continuous class III/III+ until the final class IV rapid immediately upstream of Tobins Bridge. This is a good spot to check out the flow, and if you don't like the look of the rapid immediately above the bridge, you had best not venture further upstream because it gets more difficult.

After the first rapid below Tobins Bridge the river changes character and becomes much more open, wide, and flat. Rapids are mainly shallow class II+ boulder gardens which are punctuated by 20 or so class III rapids – where the river steepens or is constricted – over the next 8km. Take out can be arranged at various spots where the river and road meet.

Arriving back at the car above Tobins the river had risen considerably and everything in the Upper was looking a whole lot bigger – waterfalls included.

The upper Inangahua section is beautiful and a really good spot for those looking to improve their class IV technical creeking skills. There is nothing else that compares in the Murchison area and I can't believe it hasn't received more action given its roadside location. I can't wait to go back! It should only require medium rainfall to be runnable, and for those interested at high flows it will be continuous, committing, and an awesome ride. While no Little While Salmon it would be an great spot for a class IV extreme race if it had a dependable flow.

The following pictures show the main drops at low flow (mid November 2013).