Landsborough River
Also known as: The Landsborough
One of NZ's most scenic and wild rivers; parallels the Main Divide; glaciers, Harper and Solution ranges, Zora Canyon, turquoise water
Is there water?
Whether there is a river here on your dates, and what kind of water it is.
Glacier/snow-fed; Roaring Billy gauge: 50-85 very low, 85-100 low, 100-150 moderate, 150-250 high; daily snowmelt variation in spring
Nov-Mar; spring snowmelt elevates and varies flow
November-March (commercial); stable summer windows
Cold glacier-fed turquoise water; drysuit recommended
Notoriously fickle West Coast weather; rain quickly raises gorges to Grade V; committing and remote - plan a stable window, carry beacon, contingency food
Grade & who can come
A river changes grade with its level. These grades describe a normal flow - in flood the same run is harder, and often a different run entirely. Check the gauge before you commit.
III/IV (Grade 3-4); Upper Gates Gorge IV; V at high flows; commercial raft rated 2-4
Rafting; kayak; packraft
Portage Upper Gates Gorge (IV) for solid Grade III teams; skip higher Zora gorge; guided vs self-support; walk-in vs heli
Advanced only; requires solid team with fast swiftwater rescue; not for new paddlers; guided packraft option (Packrafting Queenstown) for competent paddlers
The run
Upper Gates Gorge (Golden Point-Harper Bluff): Triangle Rock, Stoat Trap (forces one of three uninviting gaps), Hellfire; angular blocks and sieves; all portageable at river level unless in flood
Sieves in Upper Gates Gorge; siphons in Zora/WTFAWDH gorge (more continuous/consequential than Gates); everything portageable at river level unless in flood; strenuous boulder portages; strong afternoon valley headwinds on lower braids
Upper Gates Gorge (IV, Golden Point-Harper Bluff); Dechen-Creswicke (II/III+); Creswicke-Harper Bluff (III/IV); Harper-Clarke Bluff (I/II)
Remote wilderness; low traffic; Hooker-Landsborough Wilderness Area; solitude
Access & shuttle
Mt Aspiring NP / Hooker-Landsborough Wilderness Area; DOC concessions for commercial heli-rafting; no heli landings inside wilderness boundary. Confirm current concession holders/fees.
Permits and operators change - confirm before booking.
No road to put-in; heli from take-out to Kea Flat (upstream air-access limit at wilderness boundary) OR walk in via Broderick Pass (3+ days); take-out Clarke Bluff at Landsborough/Haast confluence off SH6
~260 km road shuttle (Lake Ohau road-end to Clarke Bluff); leave car in Wanaka and hitch/local shuttle; heli ~15 min from take-out
Riverside camps Toetoe Flat and Harper Bluff (commercial); walk-in huts Monument, Brodrick, Creswicke Flat; DOC hut fees / Backcountry Trust donations
Whitewater PFD and helmet, drysuit, distress beacon on person, spare paddles, extra food; no reliable comms - carry PLB
Wanaka; Haast; Makarora
Hazards & exits
At least 3 drownings recorded in Upper Gates Gorge; sieves/siphons; remoteness; headwinds can blow boats away on lower braids; high-flow escalation to Grade V
Very limited - no walking tracks for most of the valley; loss of boat serious; carry PLB; fast self-rescue team essential
Guided commercial rafting (Hidden Valleys, Water By Nature); private trips need advanced self-sufficient team; guided packraft via Packrafting Queenstown
This profile is desk research, compiled from public sources - not a first-hand river run report. Coordinates are approximate.