Waimangaroa River – Westport's Home Run

As a kayaker one of the joys of living in Westport is the close proximity of the Waimangaroa River – our backyard run.  A 15km drive north to Waimangaroa and a 15-20 minute walk gets you to the put in of one of the better after work runs in the country.  While no more than class III/IV, it definitely has still got enough going on to keep you concentrating, and provides the necessary whitewater fix which keeps you coming back again and again.  Of course the only thing you need is a bit of heavy rain – which doesn't come often enough for my likening – and you are doing well if you manage to get out on the run a dozen times a year.

From the Waimangaroa settlement a gravel road heads up the south bank of the river for a little over a kilometre before reaching the bottom of the Denniston Incline.  After leaving the carpark on foot the track soon crosses Conns Creek and is then rejoined a little way above river level.  If the Conns Creek crossing is up to your waist, and you are starting to have second thoughts about whether or not this is such a good idea, then the Waimangaroa is starting to get really high.

The track follows an old railway line which is long abandoned but nonetheless provides good access up the river.  After 500m the track ends at the Crossing where it is necessary to cross the river to continue further upstream.  From the Crossing to Conns Creek it is class III, and above the Crossing it is class IV.

One of the better parts of the track on the way to the Crossing

The Crossing rapid

On the opposite side of the river the track is rejoined after climbing up a small rockfall.  Upstream of the Crossing the track is harder going, but it's only about 200-300m to the put in (shortly after the tunnel).  At the put in there is a nice spot to do some ferry glides, and the first rapid also provides a bit of a warm up before the business starts.

Hard right is the standard line on the first drop.  The big rock on river left is undercut, but I have only ever seen someone go under there once, and it flushed pretty quick.

 

The first drop

  From here it is pretty busy through the next few rapids to the bottom of the Crossing rapid.

Below the first drop

 

At the top of the Crossing rapid after a bit more rain

Below the Crossing the river eases up to class III until Conns Creek, from where the river steepens and there are a couple of class IV rapids to negotiate.
 

Rapid below the Conns Creek confluence

The infamous Undercut is the final rapid of note, and while not overly difficult, the potential consequences of getting yourself somewhere where you shouldn't be makes it one of the more serious rapids on the river.  The big rock on the left forms a large underwater cavern through which a significant amount of flow passes.  It is not be underestimated and has been the scene of some potentially very nasty incidents over the years.

The infamous Undercut rapid

Below the Undercut rapid there are some nice class III rapids before the river flattens off to class II.  If the river is high enough and you are interested, the rock groyne a further 1.5km downstream (at the railway and road bridges) can provide some entertainment.