rainy days in hokitika

through my experiences so far traveling in n zed, i have learned never to believe a forecast. more than likely the weather man is close, but if you watch channel 3 six o'clock news and weather then switch to channel 1 afterwards, you may hear two different meteorological predictions.
over the past few days, philly and i have enjoyed a wonderful christmas here in hokitika, the local crowd we have fallen in with due to kayaking connections has been more than hospitable in welcoming us and our foreign holiday recipes: jj's pumpkin pie and the collaborative effort at sweet potato (kumara substitute) casserole were both big hits.
the windy and wet weather spoiled plans for multi day heli adventures for just after the holidays but opened a window of opportunity for a river with road access: falls creek. falls creek is a tributary to the hokitika river; just south of town turn off on a rough gravel road, drive deep in the bush, check the level at the bridge, suit up and you're off on one of n zed's classics.
philly and i were the two "falls creek virgins" in our crew of five: marty, local legend and first decent team member; jj, transplanted local; and eden, kiwi paddling legend in the making. the run features some great gorges that we found in on and off drizzle from the consistently grey clouds over our heads.

philly, exiting the first major section, the bridge gorge, with eden and marty looking on

photo by mw

further down the river here's jj firing into "chernobyl"

photo by mw

eden on is way to avoiding a meltdown at "chernobyl"

photo by mw

the excitement didn't end in the flow. just near the end of the run, we were out with our ropes, locking carabeaners, and webbing for a repel

photo by mw

after that portage, we were just a few rapids above the final drop of the run, "bellaflop": named after Dean Arthur's dog, Bella, who accompanied the scouting mission prior to the first decent, and like all members of that hike jumped this waterfall:
marty, committed

photo by mw

eden same

photo by mw


philly, still glad to be in new zealand

photo by mw

jj same

photo by mw

stay tuned for more exciting adventures. same blog time, same blog channel...