Bedford Stream
- Stijn Van de Ven
- 30 jun
- 4 minuten om te lezen
After a couple of days of well-deserved rest following our trip to Hauroko, we still had time for one more canyoning mission. However, there was only a single weather window of around four days before our team members would once again scatter in different directions.
We spent plenty of time debating which objectives were worth attempting and which should be left for another day, but in the end we settled on Bedford Stream. It wouldn't be a first descent, as the canyon had already been descended in sections back in 2015, although no one had completed it in its entirety since then. Fortunately, the original team had left behind a topo and a detailed blog, giving us a solid guide for the descent.
The plan was to hike to the bottom of the canyon on the first day of clear weather, set up camp, and scout at least the lower section of the canyon and the approach so we could begin the descent the following day. That plan quickly fell apart. Kevin and I still had to visit the Australian immigration office to arrange our transit visas, and Pepijn's wallet had been stolen the night before. Those delays cost us almost an entire day, and by the time we finally started hiking it was around 10:30 p.m. and completely dark. We reached our campsite around midnight and postponed the scouting mission until the next day. The scouting ended up taking almost the entire day as well. We rappelled into the canyon several times to check whether the bolts placed by Andrew's team were still in place and, if so, whether the anchors were still in good condition. Some were; others weren't. Based on what we found, we decided to attempt the descent with a team of four, supported by a three-person standby rescue team that would travel along the rim of the canyon in case anything went wrong or we became stranded.
Pepijn went in first with the drill, since he had rappelled into this section the day before and already had a clear idea of how he wanted to equip this narrow part of the canyon.
I followed him in and stayed at the first anchor for about an hour and a half while Pepijn bolted the second and third drops, both of which required him to cross the flow in order to descend them safely. It’s a shame I wasn’t able to take any photos while managing that anchor, because at times it looked less like canyon bolting and more like overhanging rock climbing or acrobatics. Pepijn was leaning far out over the flow, drilling well above his head at the very limit of his reach, placing bolts on the far side of the stream under a small roof.
He ended up creating a hanging anchor that led to a rappel with two deviations on the far side of what was comfortably reachable. We had to carefully control our line during the descent to avoid being pulled into a roaring flow like I had rarely seen before.
Once past this rappel, you reached the final pitch, which dropped straight into the same torrent, only slightly lower down, from an anchor set in a roof. The moment you made contact with the water, even briefly, you were pushed outward into a pool with a considerable siphon. At one point, due to a miscommunication, a rope bag even disappeared into it for a while. Swimming in to retrieve it, however, turned out to be surprisingly entertaining.
This section of four pitches took us about four hours to complete initially, but only about an hour and a half on the repeat descent with the standby crew, while Pepijn and Kevin ran up the mountain to scout the upper gorge.
On day two, we ascended to around 1000 metres and dropped in just above the largest and most beautiful roostertail I had ever seen. I would even go as far as saying it was one of the most impressive canyon views I have ever experienced. From there on down, it was beautiful rappel after beautiful rappel, with sunlight filtering in at just the right angle to create a picture-perfect atmosphere through most of the gorge.
We started with a more open section of about three rappels before the walls began closing in again.
After an almost twelve-hour day of hiking and canyoning, we reached the first pitch of the lower section we had descended the day before just as the sun was setting. This forced us to exit the canyon and make our way back to basecamp on foot, leaving the full descent for next year to complete.
With the way we had bolted it, it should now be feasible to do the entire line from 1000 metres contour, down to the exit in a single day.
Sponsors
This expedition would not be possible without the support of our sponsors.
CE4Y (Canyoning Equipment For You)
Ce4you produces the strongest and most abrasian proof canyoning ropes in the industry at this moment, and is constantly developing and improving their gear, such as their Shield Jackets and their brand new 7.6mm rope v2.
Tebylon Innovation and lightweight materials for the serious canyoneer. If it can be lighter without compromising safety, Tebylon makes it happen.
CanyonZone
CanyonZone is a Dutch company where canyoneers from all over the world can find their equipment, whether you're just starting out or looking for something very specific. Behind CanyonZone is Gert Jan: a canyoneer and speleologist with a huge passion for the sport. This is where canyoning comes together.
The Canyoning School
The canyoning school is what connects most of us. It’s the place where we come together, can use equipment, and where the foundation of this expedition team was built. They organize canyoning meetups, trips, and courses, ensuring that knowledge, experience, and people continue to connect, even far beyond the canyon.
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