Feeling 'The Pinch' on the Rangitata

“Rangitata Rafts was founded as a front for a drug smuggling ring in the 80’s”. Suddenly, everyone in the bus was all ears; this was not the intro talk we had expected. Jason Walker continued “none of the other farmers in the region could work out how this guy was making so much money when they were all struggling. Eventually the cops got suspicious and began to investigate. They discovered that he was flying his chopper over to the West Coast, raiding cannabis plots, and then flying back to Waikari Hills station”.

The bus rolled around the sharp bends of the gravel road making it difficult for Walker to keep his balance. This made it tough to stare him in the eye and establish whether or not he was telling the truth. You can’t trust these rafting guides too much - only believe about 50% of what they say – except when you are on the river. Then they are totally professional.
Rangitata Rafts began in the early 80’s, as mentioned, for clandestine purposes. These days, it operates as a fully legitimate rafting company, running trips on one of the most exciting stretches of white water in the country. The Rangitata River is one of those great braided rivers that wriggle their way from the depths of the Southern Alps out across the Canterbury Plains.
The Rangitata emerges from the regal Arrowsmith range. The main product of meltwater from the Garden of Eden and Garden of Allah Ice Plateaus, it is located less than 40 kilometres from the west coast. Flowing first across the Mesopotamia Valley, the river has to negotiate the Moorehouse Range before reaching the straight forward slope of the largest plains in the country. The only way through is the tight pinch which is the Rangitata Gorge. This is where the river really gets interesting. Its braided waters compress to form a series of grade 1 – 5 rapids, a section so suited to rafting it borders on perfection. And this is why people line up for the experience. From October – April, the waters are dotted with up to 10 orange rafts a day, as guides expertly navigate the steep, jagged rocks which line the sides of the gorge. But it’s not just the excitement of the river which makes this trip. Paradoxically, the operation is incredibly relaxed and laid back – the complete compliment to the intensity of the river.

Before we left HQ, we were treated to lunch on the deck of the lodge; where clients often stay in comfortable accommodation (backpacker style) if they choose to hang out and enjoy the farm style setting for a little longer. It was refreshing to not be rushed into putting on gear, and then onto a bus (something similar operators in the country are guilty of.) Instead, we had the opportunity to chat with the guides and other clients, and do some carb loading for the big day ahead.
Even the first 30 minutes on the river were chill – a stretch of flat water - perfect for guide Cameron Ahlers to put us through our paces.
“Paddle forward! Back paddle! Jump left! Jump right! Get down! Back on the job! And reeee-laaa-aaax”. These were the calls that would be crucial to our success as we battled the rapids. The actions that accompanied them had to be drilled into us before we got to the serious stuff. We hopped from side to side, crouched down, and paddled in every direction - our own little aerobics class within the confines of the raft. The first rapid up was ‘Glacier’, a grade 2 section of water perfect for “wetting” our appetites, and the rest of our bodies. The river grading system works from 1 – 6, with grade one been a small ripple, and grade 6 being ‘unnegotiable’. This term needs to be applied loosely as grade sixes are frequently paddled these days, although none are rafted commercially. The Rangitata Gorge is perfect for rafting - the rapids work up from grade 2, to 3 and culminate in two grade 5’s - allowing confidence levels to build for the big finale. The two grade 3 rapids were awesome, ‘Pencil Sharpener’ and ‘Tsunami’. Ahlers screamed calls at us as we bounced our way through the splash. “Paddle forward! Jump right! Jump left! Paddle back!” I’m pretty sure I didn’t perform the correct action once, my paddle flailing around in the air like I was waving to someone on the shore. Still we managed to get through. I turned around to see the rest of the team wide eyed, soaking wet, and grinning from ear to ear. As is customary with every grade 5 rapid, we hit the shore and analysed the scenario from above. This also gave any worried punters the chance to bail. ‘Rooster Tail Pigs Trough’ - yep, that’s what it’s called - is a quick drop of about one and a half metres. The water channels between two giant hunks of rock, making for a powerful piece of river.
‘Not a bad drop’ quipped Raana Setterington, another guide with Rangitata Rafts. His nonchalance and toothy grin reveal his expertise – this is nothing to these guys – they ride these rapids every day, and often in far more intense circumstances. The river that day was running at 70 cumecs (cubic metres per second). However, they will raft the river at up to 200 cumecs, anything higher and it becomes too dangerous to take clients. This kind of flow will turn small rapids into raging torrents. Looking at the faces of some of the rest of the group, this was big enough for them. With the lip of the drop quickly approaching, Ahlers rallied the troops.
“Paddle forward! Go go go go! Get down!”
With that the crew crouched down in the raft as it dropped over the rapid. For a brief moment the whole raft seemed to fold in half, water flowing over the top. Then suddenly we popped up again, floating in calm water, ‘Rooster Tail Pigs Trough’ a small distance behind us.
The second grade 5 of the trip was The Pinch, 400 metres of froth framed by tall rock bluffs. Made up of five individual rapids; Mousetrap, Arlenes, Hellsgate, Pink Floyd’s The Wall, and Son of Harry’s (these names are the legacy of guides gone before). The Pinch is the Rangitata’s signature ride. After another quick inspection, the crew were back in the raft and amping for action. Any apprehension from earlier in the day had now evolved into adrenalin and confidence. The Pinch flew past. In what felt like 10 seconds we had ploughed through 400 metres of fierce white water action – the Rangitata River at its finest – and emerged out the other side, panting and out of breath.
“That was sweet” Ahlers chimed, “You guys nailed it”.
How we managed to do a good job of paddling I’m not sure. I had heard our guide screaming as we bobbed around like a cork in a washing machine, but I’m not sure that anything he yelled had actually registered. I think he was just stoked that no one had fallen out.

The Pinch was the end of the graded rapids but we still had some action left. A couple of rock jumps, and a float down river in the freezing water wrapped up what had been a magic day.
All we wanted now was a hot shower and a barbeque; and that’s exactly what waited for us back at the lodge. An hour after we had got off the river, and the whole group were still hanging out and laughing about the day, assisted by some great pictures from the company’s photographer. This area is a superb yet undiscovered part of New Zealand. And rafting the Rangitata seems like the best way to experience it.