Most of the fun in Auckland can be found an hour"s drive away. There are canyons in the two main volcanic ranges of the region: Blue Canyon is in the rainforest-clad Waitakere Ranges, and Sleeping God Canyon in the Kauaeranga Valley of the Coromandel Peninsula. Taking the Scenic Drive off the North-western Motorway, one enters the settlement of Piha, shielded by the momentous Waitakere Ranges.
Canyoning is a fairly popular pursuit here, and involves donning a wet suit and harness, jumping down canyons via their aquatic tributaries, waterfalls and caverns in any way you can abseiling, walking, floating, scrabbling to traverse an otherwise inaccessible environment.
The area in which canyons was last visited by the pioneers who worked the canyon 100 years ago, harvesting the mighty, 3,000-plus-year-old kauri logs and flushing them from the hills via dam releases.
Blue Canyon has 18 waterfalls, ranging in height from 2 to 25 meters (7 to 82 feet). It is located in the heart of the Waitakare rainforest only 45 min drive from Downtown Auckland.The water has carved perfect pools into the dark volcanic rock, creating the most amazing shapes. Natural hydro slides, abseiling-rappelling down mystical waterfalls and getting some airtime with the awesome jumps into deep crystal-clear pools.
It is a unique aquatic playground with waterfalls, slides, jumps and abseils down a scenic gorge hidden in lush rain forest. It combines a fun day of adventure activities, with one of the best opportunities to discover and enjoy a cross-section of Auckland"s most distinctive natural environments, including sea, native forest and ancient volcanoes.
Report by the Mole
