It was with great effort I managed to convince Jeff it would be a travesty to leave New Zealand without experiencing a Southern Alps canyon (plus I really wanted to see my canyon buddies). In the end I succeeded with a trip down Wilson Creek (only my second time down), to be followed immediately by a classic Cross Creek trip. Wilson was in excellent shape! Many things that usually are not jumps were cleanly jumpable, almost all pools deep and clean. My first Wilson trip was early on in my hydraulic canyon career and I remember the turbulent froth and water hazards impressing me. Now considerably more experienced several years later I saw it with completely different eyes. No less beautiful or fun, but considerably more friendly. A definite highlight was the 16m or so waterfall jump that felt a bit like threading a needle from the top. I'll let the photos speak for themselves. Wilson is a very special place!
Alain, Jeff and I followed up with a run through Cross Creek while the other two buggered off back to town. I was sad to find many of the pools partially filled from the storm which limited some of the jumping and sliding options. Still a classic and I did still jump off the highest waterfall despite a slightly shallow pool. It was unfortunate we didn't get to fit in new canyons for me, but some nostalgia in some tried and true classics was certainly better than no canyons at all.
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