For the last good day of weather at Haast Pass, Chucky, Pip, Joe and I set our sights on Zig Zag Creek, which was highly recommended to me as one of NZ's "must do" canyons. I was just excited to do something new in Haast Pass and not something I had been down 4 times already. We had a leisurely start setting off from Cameron Flat but we did not have far to go. The bushwhack to the top of Zig Zag was pretty thick and scrubby, part of the hazard with approaching seldom-visited canyons. We managed to find a very steep but manageable way into the canyon above its confluence, and then suited up.The fun began right at the confluence with a graceful free-hanging abseil off of a tree. The drop ended at the side of a 15m abseil into a beautiful blue-green swimming pool. Next frothy whitewater tumbled over the edge of a fanning waterfall. I scouted so we could determine the best anchor to be able to pull the rope free. In the end the best option was a large log jammed vertically in the middle of the creek as we could get down two waterfalls from this anchor. Next was a very shallow jump, followed by a nice narrow section that ended at a c. 60m fanning waterfall over bedrock slabs.
After some more horizontal travel we reached a mellow 15m cascading waterfall. We then downclimbed around a frothy pothole and crossed over the top of a waterfall to find an easier dry bypass to this falls. Later I realized this falls could be one of the boldest slides in NZ. At its base was a large deep pool that spilled over an incredible horizon line. This was a BIG waterfall coming up! We staggered the team and waited to pull the rope out of this hanging pool, making sure we had an escape in case we couldn't safely get out of the pool to find a suitable anchor. Joe rigged a suitable tree and it was decided I would go first (the waterfall is the frontispiece).
The view from the top of this falls was pure intimidation. It was a 60m falls followed immediately by another 40m falls, but because I could not see straight down through the falls the ground appeared 200m below me. Below was billowing free-falling white water which I saw no way of avoid. Being the first one down meant I had the rope in a bag at my side to manage. If the rope was too short I would probably have to deal with it in the middle of the waterfall which would be unpleasant and potentially dangerous. I started down easily enough, but quickly realized I would have to enter the waterfall. The force was staggering! I braced with my brake hand and tried to find a position where the waterfall would not try to flip me upside down. Because I was constantly having to find the rope out of the bag, my concentration was on full alert. I gave up trying to resist the waterfall and took a hunched over fetal position as I slid down the bedrock chute of the falls. I was completely surrounded by water and because of its strength could only look down. The water sped in thick gushing drops continuously around me. The effect was mesmerizingly beautiful and is hard to describe. It was a bit like the warp speed streaking star effect in Star Wars, only in reverse, shooting away from me. For over 20m this was my view, enveloped in a small pod of terrifying powerful water with no end in sight. Just when I was convinced the rope wasn't long enough I could see the pool below. Once unhooked from the rope I swam half drowned across a pool with pulsing waves shooting out from the base of the falls. Whoa that was intense I thought. It was the perfect combination of intimidation, adrenaline and beauty which I crave. I had a quick check to make sure there was an anchor for the next drop, then yelled up at the top of my lungs and signaled for the next person to follow.
Chucky came down next no problem. But also felt pretty intimidated and was not very comfortable with Pip and Joe following. He tried to explain to them via charades that they should find another anchor that would bypass the force of the water. While I looked at him though I was a bit worried they would interpret his gestures as meaning the rope was cut or the next anchor was gone and that they should bail. My spirit sunk a little bit as I saw them pull up the rope. Here we were at this small hanging pool with hardly any escape from the cold spray of the waterfall, and no rope. We waited an hour, by the end of which I was getting a bit shivery. The rope then appeared again and Pip came down on abseil. No problem- she handled it like a pro and Joe after her as well. It all felt a bit silly waiting for that.
We rigged the last waterfall and were home free. Just a short scramble back down to the river and then back up to the car. It was a very nice canyon and that second to last waterfall would have made the trip in itself. I have never been on such a wet, powerful and intimidating waterfall abseil before. A few well placed...anchors...on some of the drops would certainly make this one of the best Haast canyons. We still had plans for another week and a half of canyoning but the weather forecast was atrocious so we hung out in the rain in Wanaka for a day, then I decided I had to call it, and head back to Dunedin. Thanks to the team for a great trip.
No comments:
Post a Comment