If you like this, please share
Previous canyoning experience and an excellent level of fitness is required.
Waterfall Creek
This is more than just canyoning. This is our BIG, truly remote canyoning experience. Everything about this trip is just BIG! And so will be your smile at the end of this adventure. Make sure your breakfast is BIG too, as this epic canyoning mission in NZ will require some BIG energy. We wade up a beautiful river, climb our way straight up the hill through stunning bush to get to the starting point at 400m above sea level. On the way we’ll introduce you to the rich history of the area and the giant trees of the forest, some are many centuries old. If big slides and big abseils in a remote setting is your type of adventure, then Waterfall Creek is your trip. BE WARNED: This trip might be the most challenging thing you’ll do in New Zealand…
Location: Abel Tasman National Park
Access: Road
departure: 6am from Motueka, 7am from Takaka
Return: ± 6pm in Motueka
free pick up: Motueka, Riwaka, Takaka, Pohara
Included: Professional guides, gear, photos and videos, delicious lunch, drinks and heaps of snacks to keep you going
Minimum number of people: 3
Minimum age: 16
You need: Swimwear, towel and closed toed shoes that you don’t mind getting wet, light weight clothes for the walk in.
Season: 1 October – 30 April
Booking information, please read
The price includes an Environmental Access Fee, find out more.
Online bookings close 16 hours prior to trip departure (NZ time)
For last minute bookings please call us on: 0800 86 34 72
Start times are subject to conditions, availability, and participant numbers. Your meeting / pick up time will be specified in your confirmation email.
- Previous canyoning experience and good coordination is required
- This trip is physically very demanding and requires an excellent level of fitness
- The trip involves walking on uneven and slippery surfaces
- The trip involves full submersion in water
- Clients will be exposed to heights of up to 30m
- Jumps and slides are always optional
- All clients must fit our wetsuits and safety equipment to participate
We have flexible booking conditions due to Covid-19. Please click here for details.
waterfall creek Canyon rating
2.5 hr steep hike
lOADS OF YUMMY FOOD and drinks
Free photos and videos
About this canyon
From the Awaroa carpark we take you on a journey along the inlet and up the remote and unspoiled Awaroa River. After about 1 hour of mostly flat walking it’s time to start gaining some height…what comes down, has to go up first…. The further we make our way into this spectacular wilderness, the more ancient the native bush gets. Some of the really old trees are getting close to celebrating their 900th birthday. If these giants could talk they would have some amazing stories. The guides know a few stories of their own and they are happy to share them with you. After another 1.5 hours of very steep and difficult hiking we reach the top of the canyon. Delicious lunch, a quick changing session and a thorough safety briefing gets us ready for the canyoning descent. From start to finish this canyon will blow your mind, test your skills and tease your nerves. Fast slides, jumps, tricky downclimbs and spectacular abseils are on the Waterfall Creek menu. We spend about five hours in one of Mother Nature’s finest creations. At the bottom it’s time to ditch the wetsuits and get changed into some lighter gear for the 1 hour walk back to the car park. Expect to be exhausted but extremely satisfied after this expedition style adventure. Canyoning in NZ doesn’t get much better than this!
If you’re still not sure if Waterfall Creek is the trip for you then grab yourself a hot drink and read all about the experience of our Office Manager Helen in her blog about epic canyoning in New Zealand.
Getting there
The Waterfall Creek canyoning trip is located in the remote heart of the Abel Tasman National Park in NZ. We access it by road via Golden Bay. To get there you can either come with us in the van (limited space available) or you can drive your own vehicle. Upon booking we’ll arrange a suitable meeting place depending on where you are staying so you can either jump in our van or follow the van to the canyon. The last 10km is a gravel road which is generally in a good condition, suitable for normal 2×4 vehicles, as long as they are not too low to the ground.
Sit back and watch the video
“A MUST DO to complete your NZ experience”
Toine, Lee, and Ben provided a very challenging, but safe, environment to see a part of Abel Tasman that few have or will see again. All the hard work in the beginning of the trip was well worth it as “Waterfall Creek” is a teffically beautiful canyon, with pure/drinkable water, amazing features, and more than a few killer canyoning elements. All the gear provided by ATC was first-rate and very comfortable, and the instruction the group received empowered us to make it through the trip without injury and with knowledge you can take with you for a lifetime.
And to echo the other reviewers: Toine and Lee are great guys who know their stuff. There wasn’t a dull moment until we got back in the van – Fonzi – and promptly dozed off on the way back to Motueka.
Thanks again, guys. I’m a fan for life!
drewcfay, San Francisco, California
