The Waiari stream is a hidden gem in the Bay of Plenty. It is a must-do run with numerous boofs and crystal clear water. As a bonus it’s a spring fed creek that has a consistent flow year round. It is a typical Taupo Volcanic Zone ignimbrite gorge.

The Shuttle

Organise access with Kaimai Canoe Club first. Don’t mess things up for everyone by accessing private land without permission. When you have permission, and only when, drive up Te Matai road to a large building 400m past Angland Drive. Access is through the orchard on the western side of the road. Follow a track down to a large pond and walk to the southern end of the pond. The walking track leads down to a water intake at the put-in.

On the River
It’s a picturesque stream with just adequate trickle of water that will have you wondering if it’s going to be a rock humper of a trip. The first 1.5 kilometres is a boulder bed stream that will have you wishing there was twice the flow. The suffering is short lived and worth the rewards that follow.

The valley constricts to a tight ravine with spectacular vertical jointed-ignimbrite walls and the fun soon begins. It is a typical ignimbrite gorge, unique to the Bay of Plenty/Waikato area. This “Whakamaru ignimbrite’ was deposited 450 thousand years ago in a series of eruptions. The rock is the result of an unimaginably massive outflow of volcanic material that has rewelded to form a massive layer of ignimbrite. A distinct joint pattern develops as the material slowly cools and the groundwater moves through these rocks producing springs. As a result the flow steadily picks up.

Paddling into the gorge the character changes to bedrock constrictions and ledges and occasional blocks. Once you are in, you are in for the gorge – it is too steep to exit until after the last drop. There are numerous horizon lines heralding drops up to several metres height. Generally they can be carefully boat scouted (but be ready for new logs in unexpected places). There are half a dozen fun drops to boof and the paddling is a delight. A few notable features are pinned on the map – but locations are approximate (it’s a little too pushy to drop a pin).

The largest rapid about an hour down the gorge, is a 3.5 to 4m waterfall (Class IV) which is usually portaged. Familiarise yourself with the location on the google earth file (this location, “Yeah Nah”, is accurate) and look out for a horizon line followed by a large pool. There is a ledge on river left that can be used to walk to the edge of the drop. This ledge leads to a slippery river left portage. We roped up boats to improve the portage safety. There is also a metal spike to hook a rope over to assist lowering yourself down the last 2 metres to the pool. There was also some no 8 wire that may be used to portage kayaks.

The base of the waterfall has ledges that are apparently often just submerged and one of our party encountered shallow rock when jumping into the pool from the portage. Packrafts may fare better than kayaks running the drop as they are more effective shock absorbers. It is important to assess the risk and carefully inspect the landing zone if planning to run this drop. Weigh the risk vs reward – it’s tight with hazards at the base and requires a very precise boof that few packrafters possess (in contrast kayakers in packrafts have run it successfully at the right flow).

The day after paddling this stream we met a kayaker who had broken her ankle running this drop and we’ve heard of plenty of mishaps.

After the “Yeah Nah” drop, the gradient eases and the gorge opens out for a slow Class I and II float out the State Highway bridge. (Note if you’re a local and there are names for these features drop us a line and we’ll update).

Alternative access exists if you have permission (contact Kaimai Canoe Club for landowner details).

The Papamoa water supply extracts water from the stream below the gorge. If desperate you could exit here or at a water pipe on river right just upstream. If you didn’t break an ankle on the drop you can just cruise on down to the State Highway.