Mackay Creek Canyon
| Rating: | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Difficulty:4B (v4a2 IV) Raps:10, max ↨39ft
Red Tape:No permit required Shuttle:None Vehicle:Passenger | |||
| Start: | ||||
| Parking: | ||||
| Condition Reports: | ||||
| Best season: | ||||
| Regions: | ||||
-45.0680, 168.0089
-45.0621, 167.9937
Search nearby locations
Weather forecast
Waterflow
Introduction[edit]
An incredibly deep slot canyon with 10 pitches. Despite the low aquatic difficulty this is a great Fiordland canyoning trip. Suitable as an introduction to the area or as an easier day.
Approach[edit]
Car[edit]
Park in the layby North of the bridge crossing Mackay Creek. This is the first main lookout in the Eglinton valley and is often busy with tourists.
Foot[edit]
The canyon is in the unnamed North branch that joins Mackay Creek close to the road. Follow the trapping line marked with blue triangles on the true left of Mackay Creek. Once the stream diverges into two branches, cross the South branch and continue uphill to find the trapping line again on the true left of the canyon. At some point you will have to cross a tributary with a small gorge, and soon will find a trail of pink flagging tape. Continue to roughly 540m where a route down to the stream is marked with the pink tape.
Descent[edit]
Refer to File:Mackay Creek Topo.pdf
Reasonably straightforward canyoning with low flows. There are some good pitches and the slot is very impressive, but none of the pools are deep enough to jump or slide.
The creek carries a lot of boulders - take care not to knock any down pitches while someone is abseiling. Particularly above R3, rocks will move if anyone walks near the top of the drop.
The crux is R3 where a steep handline is used to cross the flow and reach a hanging anchor on the true left.
Exit[edit]
Walk down the creek back to Mackay Creek bridge and your car.