Powerband

ΩWhile spending time with my family in Northland over the Christmas period I went and checked out the sporadically-hyped but generally-ignored Wairere Boulders near Horeke in the Hokianga. What did I find? Boulders, many boulders; big boulders, small boulders, lichen-covered boulders, boulders with trees growing on top, slabby boulders, steep boulders, boulders with arete features more prominent than JP’s nose. You name the type of boulder and there was one there. OK, there wasn’t one that looked like a dinosaur, sorry Pete.

As I wandered through these boulders scrubbing up quality problems, I wondered internally why hasn’t this area already been developed by the masses from Auckland, those who hath no rock to play on? No answer was apparent. I surveyed the other options open to those who populate the Supercity:

• There is bouldering at the Quarry. But that isn’t actually bouldering, it’s wimping out of route climbing. Also, it’s currently closed.
• Then there is Waiheke Island, which sounds nice but a little limited, rather small looking from the photos and a bit annoying to get to.
• The next closest bouldering, as far as I know, is on ignimbrite in the central North Island. This would be a great option if you didn’t have to share it with Aucklander-hating central north island types, or if bouldering on ignimbrite was in any way good.
• Then there is Waitomo limestone, which I know very little about, but as far as I can tell isn’t good enough to draw you away from somewhere else that is good. Certainly the other limestone in that area is far from impressive.
• Then there are the hundreds of boulders littered over the slopes of Mt Ruapehu, but that is another story…

So, given that it is as close as anywhere else that is decent and that it has the potential to be better than decent, I find it a little surprising that this area seemingly lies dormant. There are a few negatives; it is enough of a drive that a day trip would involve getting up early, there is a $10 entry fee, the boulders are dirty and require cleaning and there is some rock of poor quality. However, there are plenty of positives; some stonking lines, plenty of passable rock and the absence of any Auckland-hating locals. Furthermore, I suspect the entry fee is less than it costs to go bouldering in a gym or to ferry to Waiheke, and the only reason the boulders are dirty is because you haven’t cleaned them and climbed their first ascent yet! All boulders need cleaning the first time, even the immaculate alpine boulders of Castle Hill need to be scrubbed and washed before they are clean enough to properly climb on, so I can’t think of a reasonable excuse.

So, if you live in Auckland or nearby and consider yourself a boulderer it seems you have little choice but to get psyched and go there, where you will have the opportunity to climb the first ascents of some good boulder problems. What more could you ask for? Go here for details. Oh, and be nice to the landowner Felix, he might just turn out to be Father Christmas.Ω