Cross & Robinson Creeks Jan 7

We camped the night just above the banks of the very swollen Clutha River at Albert Town, hoping the rivers would be lower near Haast Pass. There were now twelve of us, all keen to get in some canyons! We drove for Haast Pass and were pleasantly delighted with the water levels - just the high side of normal flow - too high to think about doing a new canyon but just right for old favorites like Cross and Robinson.

We started with Cross Creek. Perhaps NZ's most classic canyon, virtually the whole canyon can be jumped or slide apart from one or two abseils. The jumps are all straightforward with clear drops and deep, deep pools. The canyon is pure fun and was just right for a social trip with a big group. Despite being my fourth time in the canyon, I still had a great time and found a couple new things to discover.

It was really neat to go canyoning with such a good group of diverse canyoners. The Frenchies quickly set themselves out as the bold and daring type. I marveled at their confidence in running slides on slippery surfaces. Seeing everyone's jumping styles was also quite neat. Although we were a large group we were also a confident and fast one and we reached the culvert under the road before I knew it.

After rinsing and cleaning gear for the invasive algae Didymo, Round 2: Robinson Creek. Despite being a short canyon, Robinson has some very impressive features including a big jump into a whirlpool, log jams, and "the cavern." Here a beautiful 22m abseil plunges in a dark and subterranean corner of the canyon. Mist billows out from the base of the waterfall. This cavern is definitely what sets the canyon apart in my mind. Beyond it are a couple awkward drops including one down a log jam.

        The cavern abseil

We stayed the night at Cameron Flat, excited to move on to something a bit bigger tomorrow. A highlight was watching a ridiculous film some of the Frenchies had made. It had some silly story that led up to a group of canyoners wearing ridiculous costumes running, sliding and jumping as fast as they could down the canyon to catch a bad guy. It was fantastic.

It is worth noting that less than a week later a major storm hit the area and completely stuffed Cross Creek. Now logs and debris fill many of the pools and for now at least the canyon is in poor shape. Apparently that has not happened since 1996. I feel fortunate to have had one last go before it turned. WHo can say how long it will take to recover.