Lee Stream Old School gets a "Modern-Classic" Makeover...

The steady rains of this brilliant summer have finally paid off with the first trip down the
Lee Stream, since June 1996, back then there were two and a bit trips done in three days.


31st Dec 2006 Just in the nick of time

After a couple of days of good rain the Taieri was up at 120cumecs, Pomahaka was up, the
Manuherikia was up! At last another crack at the Lee Stream.

In the days of Bandits, Turbos and 270s, we just made it paddling under the ford and that seemed good then, this time it was three and a half to four hand spans on the high side of the ford pillars. Guessimation, art and science of flow .

a quickflow check trip out to the Lee stream ford on the arvo of the 30th, showed that the water was all up, just hoped it would drop down to the level we did it at in 96'. One way to find out!

Plan to turn up tomorrow morning!


Round to Howie Wilsons (the regular meeting point these days) at 8am, the Taieri at Outram was now 220 cumecs, still hoping the Lee had dropped enough for us to get a crack at this creek, otherwise it would be another 1 hour dash down the Lower Taieri and back to town for morning tea.


It was all good, the sun was shining briefly, before the rain, well typical Dunedin pissy drizzle.

I wasn't sure what to expect, my previous experience of the first twenty minutes down stream of the ford involved getting hung up on a willow, being pinned and losing my paddle. Nice



The first rapid was a pearler in the old days.

Now it is called Gated Community

You feel as you are entering a hallway, with the water backed up on large rock, with the water heading around to the left. (this can be scouted on the right) from there you can paddle/ float up to the rock on river right side and jump out on to it, and take in the full commitment of your undertaking.

The drop has not matured for the better.

The drop is walled on both sides and has wood in it, the pool below has a large tree reaching like a gnarled witches finger in the run out of the drop, all this with the pool funnelling in to a large sieve.
After stepping on to the rock we entered the pool and made the first move of the day, a committing Class 2 ferry up around the witches finger to the river left. phew. Then jumped out and made the portage around the sieve.

Photo: Jo Kippax 1996
(Craig Adams on first drop of Gated Commmunity)

The gate for this community just clanged shut!

At theis point i was hoping the rest of the day wasn't going to be like that!.

From GC it felt like it opened slightly.

( Memory, a fickle thing at the best of times. but the Lee seems to be less clogged than it once was, nature in action in May 06 with a huge flood in the Taieri catchment it peaking at Outram at 660 cu.)

Still heaps of trees though. vilgilance!.

The boating is grand, lots of little drops, double drops, etc punctuated with bigger ones, and short portages.

Rim shot

Howie Wilson
Al Ritchie

Howie Wilson, tearing it up on a random drop.

Head High Tackle would be the next rapid of importance
This horizon line we scouted on the left, and has the river going under a head high tackle slab of rock.
Due to the large boulders we portaged high up on the left, the first of the adventure portages.

Balooga falls
An Awesome Double drop

Pencil Sharpner leads into

Pencil Dick Falls

is the second half of a rapid, a 4 or so metre drop, up against a big as rock, aptly named due to the angle of entry i had into the pool below last century

PD falls can be portaged on the left

Just after PD Falls there is

Pinball over the first drop and hook around to the right of the buffer with the sticky wood stuff in it , and hold onto your hat. It just makes you want to squeal like a girl....

Depravity, the downward slide...
Looks like a stonking first slide move heading right, well from portaging just right of it, it looked good.This has some seriously continuous drops as you can see. (looking up from halfway down)
The portage was brilliant, enough to make you want a lighter boat, and to feel like your having value for time invested. An all over body work over! love it.

This rapid (or parts of this rapid) definitely need further investigation

Back on the water and your nearly out, just some manky shallows, and choosing which tree lined nightmare to go down, actually did some quick portaging to avoid tussling with the trees.

There are some willows that have resisted encouragement to be torn out at the roots, that are seemingly thriving on the

abuse, lying across the main flow. The odd trap for the

casual floater.

Then float down on the last of the tea colouerd water and join the caramel thickshake of the Taieri.

5 1/2 hours back to the car.

Next trip down i will be getting the Camera out a whole lot more, and add them to the descriptions.

Lets all do a raindance!!!! it's so worth it!

The nod of respect to the old days
1st Descent
June 96'
Jo Kippax
Paul Pujol
Keith Riley
Rich Kersel
Beezal Robertson
Craig Adams

2nd Descent
Next Day
Paul Pujol
Tim Barry
Al Ritchie
Graeme Noble

3rd attempt
next day
Paul Pujol
Dave Liow

plus others

Third time unlucky, i think they walked/grovelled out due to low water at Gated Community, throught he blackberries ekk!.

Fact File
Length: 5.5 km

Gradient Average: 30 metres/km
Level: It so needs rain
Gauge: Can you paddle under the ford, or 3 hand spans on the pillar or wait for me to mark it.
Time: 5 - 7 1/2 hours
Map: Dunedin I44-J44
Put in: 10 km, from the Outram bridge, along the George King Memorial Drive till you drop down to the ford.
Take Out: Standard Lower Taieri, just before the Outram bridge.
Flava: Gorgeous ,Treed, Portages, Modern-day classic

Have been out to the Lee Stream Ford
again and this time i took a can of paint!
The Yellow Strip of paint, you can see it has some built in room for error.

If you are in the yellow it should be all good, if you are off the top of the paint then it could be more than you want.... not sure although i'm sure we will find out once it rains.




All the best and hopefully will see you there on the drop!