Murchison: amazing roadside access paddling..
The Murchison area is undoubtedly one of the best destinations for beginner and intermediate whitewater paddlers. That said, most of the runs are roadside affairs and for those looking for classic packrafting runs there is somewhat of a lack of walk-in opportunities that combine track access with a suitable river run. (Check out the Matakitaki River – Roadside runs page for more info)
Overview – Mammoth & Horse Terrace
This somewhat overlooked section on the Matakitaki River goes some way towards breaking this mold with a combination of farm track and bush road access, two stunning gorges and varied whitewater all within a compact and walkable river trip. It could very easily become a local classic for pack rafters looking to branch out from the better-known runs.
One of the best aspects of this section is the variety of rapids on offer. There is literally something for everyone in this run. The level of difficulty can be very easily controlled by your preferred take-out point. Beginners can easily exit at the end of the Mammorth Gorge. Those continuing to the Horse Terrace Gorge will need to avoid some serious hazards, requiring solid grade III+ skill sets.
Thanks to Shane Orchard for the information and photos
View Larger Topographic Map
Access & approach on foot
If you are considering paddling the Horse Terrace Gorge, take the time to observe what you can from the Horse Terrace Bridge before setting off.
Due to its shortish nature this run is quite achievable for packrafters who may not have a 2nd vehicle or bike available for a shuttle. Either park at Horse Terrace bridge and walk up the road. Or, you can drive up and leave the bulk of the walking to the end (my personal favorite!). There is a small spot at Wheelers Creek where you can park a vehicle. If you have a decent 4WD, you can continue to within a few hundred metres of the upper river braids.
Brooks Road is a public road that generally follows the line marked on the Topo 50 map. Leave farm gates as you find them and look out for temporary hotwires that may be present, such as where farm tracks join the road.
Beyond the end of the formed road, a 4wd track continues steeply downhill following a series of terraces to a ford at Wheeler Creek. The track then climbs above the Mammoth gorge before opening out into a large paddock. At this point look for a faint vehicle track on the river side of the fence line and follow it until you see a metal gate on the bushline. Follow the slightly overgrown bush road beyond here taking the left hand option (towards the river) at a Y junction part way through.
Other access options:
At Horse Terrace bridge look for an Anglers’ Access track down to the riverbed. It is also possible to access part of the run via Mole Road on the true right bank.
On the river – Mammoth Gorge (II/II+)
Rivers change! Bear in mind, these descriptions were correct at the time of printing (summer 24/25)..Always make your own assessments and paddle conservatively until you know what you’re up against.
Most of the run offers an excellent grade II paddle, with a great variety of scenery and riverbed character throughout the 4 km trip. It begins at the last few braids of the upper Matakitaki flats which can be accessed on foot from Brooks Road.
From here the river leads into a series of classic grade II corner bend rapids with crisp eddy lines and also some great play waves.
A headwall style rapid announces the beginning of a high-sided gorge that adds a distinctly wilderness feel all within the first 30 minutes of the trip. Despite its ominous initial appearance, the gradient in this gorge is very gentle with mostly flat water throughout, making it suitable for a beginner group. There are also a few small beaches to stop on mid-way through.
The gorge gradually opens out and the gradient increases towards the Wheeler Creek confluence where there is a nice grade II/II+ boulder garden style rapid that can be scoped out on the walk in.
Further downstream towards Mammoth Flat the river turns away from the road and becomes more open with forest cover continuing on the true right bank and farmland on the true left. The rapids here are a mix of grade I and II boulder gardens, but keep a look out for some more great play waves! Grade II rapids become more commonplace in this section culminating with a wave train style rapid at the downstream end of Murty Flat.
For beginner paddlers this last Murty Flat rapid is likely to provide a suitable grand finale as it is relatively long and has a bouncy bigger water feel particular towards the bottom.
As Murty flat ends, you’ll see trees coming closer to the true right river bank. At a big pool, by the last bit of flat clear land, you can take out river right and scramble up to Mole Road. At this spot, you can also exit river left, and walk down the bank to the anglers access track which heads up the true left rim of the gorge to Horse Terrace bridge.
Horse Terrace Gorge (III+ with serious hazards)
Horse Terrace Gorge is spectacular, but it is fairly hazardous for the grade and not recommended for most packrafting groups… But for those who are keen, read the following description with a grain of salt, and expect things to be different between floods and/or in higher flows…..
From the grade II/II+ take out (described above), the Horse Terrace Bridge is located approximately 500 m downstream.
Four rapids come in quick succession with the last of these being the entrance to Horse Terrace gorge. In comparison to the grade II/II+ section (Mammoth Gorge) described above, these rapids all have more of a horizon line entry which requires good navigation to ensure you are on the right line.
The first and second rapids are in the grade II+ range but the first one is more difficult to read with several rocks and small holes to avoid in the flow.
The third rapid (“wide hole” rapid) can be clearly seen from Horse Terrace Bridge, together with its main feature which is a wide hole across the bottom of the rapid on river right. From a distance this looks like a powerful sheet of water feeding into an abrupt ‘stopper’ or recirculation at the bottom of the rapid. Although the rapid is short this feature puts it more into grade III territory even though the hole can be avoided by taking a line to the centre left. Another consideration is that the next rapid (entrance to Horse Terrace Gorge) is located immediately downstream with only around 50 m of water available to execute a rescue if you take a swim in the rapid above. Therefore, treat the ‘wide hole’ rapid seriously in relation to your comfort levels and consider place protection for a rescue just in case.
The fourth rapid in the series is the trip through Horse Terrace Gorge. This is a short intense piece of whitewater with at least three major features to negotiate and an undercut cliff to avoid on river right.
There is decent stretch of flat water (visible from the bridge) between the fourth and fifth rapid in Horse Terrace Gorge.
This is good, because the fifth and final rapid (which is out of sight from the bridge) is home to an extremely dangerous undercut bluff on river left. This hazard is not to messed with under any circumstances as a rescue could be extremely difficult with potential to get sucked completely underneath this bluff. ). In addition, the flow splits around a large rock at the entrance to this fifth and final drop. The right-hand is both easier and partly (but not completely) avoids the hazard. In any event, make sure you make the eddy on river right (see photo).
If in doubt it may be possible to portage the bedrock on river right.
After this rapid the gradient eases markedly, back to I/II water.
About 350m below the fifth and final rapid, keep an eye out on the right for the take out. Trees line the bank, but there’s a spot where you can exit to the kink in Matakitaki Road. This is public land, but is very close to the farm boundary, so stay upstream of any farm stuff!
At the takeout scramble up to the road or continue the roadside run “Upper” section of the Matakitaki.
And finally: remember the descriptions here could easily change after floods or in higher flows..
Gauge
As an indication, the photos on this trip page show conditions at 18 cumecs with the river running clear.
At higher flows the whitewater morphs to swirly water and seams. It remains intimidating and the undercuts are still a hazard. but there really aren’t the fluffy drops. I have only kayaked it, and we found that maintaining boat speed and paddling away from the undercuts worked. It lost popularity gradually and I hadn’t heard of anyone running it since the 1980s.