Epic Travel → Asia & the South Pacific → New Zealand → Otago → ⊗ Robinson Creek Canyon

⊗ Technical Route ⊗Warning: Do Not Attempt Without Proper Training – click here for details

Location: Haast Pass area, Otago, New Zealand

Time Required: 2-3 hours

Distance: 1.7 miles (0.8 miles technical)

Elevation Gain/Loss: 300 feet

Rappels: up to 8, lengths up to 25 m/82 ft

Jumps: Mandatory to 2m, optional to 5m

Red Tape/Notes: If you’re doing canyons in New Zealand, get a copy of Dan Clearwater’s guidebook Canyoning in New Zealand (available here and here). Not recommended for canyoneers without swift water experience (this canyon is rated 4C1 /v4a3 II), but is a good option for beginners to run with experienced whitewater leaders. If you don’t know anyone, you can always book a trip with one of the local canyoning guide companies, like Deep Canyon. You will need a thick wetsuit (7mm) because the water is very cold. This canyon is currently didymo free – please keep it that way.

What’s Nearby?: Lake Alta and the Remarkables, Rob Roy Glacier Valley Track, Mt. Aspiring Packrafting, Wilson Creek Canyon, Cross Creek Canyon, Bendigo Ghost Town

Robinson Creek is a great little canyon – sort of like a miniature version of Wilson Creek, both in terms of the approach and in terms of the difficulty. These New Zealand canyons are delightful for those of us who are used to trekking for three hours with 3000 feet of elevation gain on an approach and then having an hour-long exit hike at the end. Robinson Creek is maybe a 15 minute approach, through a dense moss-covered fern-filled forest, and the exit plops you right back at your car. The technical portion will be more a comfortable run for most canyoneers from the US southwest, since it’s heavier on the rappels and less heavy on the jumps, and while still a class C swift water canyon, the water features are less hazardous. The adorably-named “roundy-roundy pool” can be tough to exit in high flow, but is hardly noticeable in medium and low flows. Oh, and the canyon itself is beautiful, with sculpted rock walls, blue water, and a final stunning rappel like an exclamation point on a great trip.

Epic Travel → Asia & the South Pacific → New Zealand → Otago → ⊗ Robinson Creek Canyon