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I looked up - there were three, maybe four quickdraws left on the route before the anchor. The slight wedgie from my harness reminded me that I was already closer to the anchor than I was to the ground. My arms were pumped. The sounds of the Tuis were all around, and below me I could hear the crunching of Dorritos from my climbing partner, Jim. At the pace I was climbing, he probably could have read The Lord of the Rings and I would still be up on that rock.

He was nice about it though, so I gave it my best shot to finish the route....but I just couldn’t. The route was a grade 17, and it was just a stretch too far for me that time. I’m more comfortable with 15s or 16s, well at least on a good day anyway. For every route I couldn’t finish, he had to climb it twice to clean the route. Sorry my shitty climbing, bro.

How to get there

This was our first time climbing together. We chose the Mangorewa Gorge because it was only an hour and a half’s drive from Whakatāne, along SH 36 between Rotorua and Tauranga. From home we took Te Mitai Rd (just before Te Puke), which takes you through farmland. If you’re coming from Rotorua, you can go through Ngongotaha or Hamurana Springs. This was our route home, which took us to the other side of Lake Rotorua - more scenic but a bit windy.

I’m notorious for getting ‘lost’ on my adventures, so I was pretty proud to find the car park AND the track that leads down to the river. We parked at the Mangorewa Ecological Park car park, if you’re coming from Tauranga, it’s on the right. The start of the track is just up the road - walk towards Tauranga and cross the road. Keep walking until you see two 35km signs and a small bridge. The start of the track is on the right, just before the bridge. A short walk down a well used track takes you down to the Mangorewa River. You’ll see wooden steps on the other side of the stream, which leads you to the start of the track (follow the pink or red tape).

Don’t feel defeated just because you didn’t finish a route. if you push yourself to climber harder routes, it might mean that you don’t send it, but you’ll also get better.

Rock climbing

Having never climbed at the Mangorewa Gorge before and only armed with notes I made the night before, we weren’t really sure if we’d found the crags we were looking for. Turns out that we had stumbled on a project wall (unnamed), Sector Sang and Wonderwall. Jim climbed as lead on what we thought was a grade 16 - a route I couldn’t even start! There was a lot of moss and little me struggled to even make it to the first quick draw. After a bit of exploring, we found more routes that looked more promising. Well, kind of.

I still struggled, although I did manage to get about ¾ up the route, while Jim ate his Dorritos.

So, we decided to walk a bit further up the track (about 15 minutes) and found Bush Ledge, Bush Wall and the River Wall. We also found more climbers, yay! What a place to climb, aye. Bush Wall had mostly 17-19 routes, around 20m. A decent climb for a single pitch, especially in the scorching sun.

Jim lead on The Chickenator, a grade 17 route around 20m. When I seconded, I got about halfway before I got too pumped to keep going. “Don’t feel defeated just because you didn’t finish a route. If you push yourself to climber harder routes, it might mean that you don’t send it, but you’ll also get better.” Did I tell you that Jim’s a teacher? His pep talks reminds me of pep talks I used to give my dancers. It cheered me up a bit, especially as I didn’t send a route that day.

After heading down to the river and cooling off in the water, Jim climbed a couple more routes before we called it a day. He sent Speedcross, a grade 19 around 20m. It took him a few goes to figure out the crux sequence, taking a couple of small falls and testing my belay skills. You climb harder if you trust your belayer, and that trust is earned over time.

We started making our way back to the car around 5pm by walking along the river. After about ten minutes, I decided to head back onto the track as I found walking along the river too slow and harder on my knees.

I saw Jim sitting on the other side of the stream as I came down the wooden steps. We had crossed the same stream earlier in the day and the algae made it so slippery that I was literally skating along the rocks. “You’re a dick, Jim,” I yelled as he and I laughed at me looking like a gumby giraffe that had just been born. After skating over to the other side, I sat down for a few minutes to enjoy the Mangorewa River before we walked back to the car.

If you’re not into climbing, the Mangorewa Gorge has a nice half-day trek and there are plenty of sections where you can walk along the river. It’s close enough to either Rotorua or Tauranga, so if you want to escape the crowds, make sure to check it out.

Photographs by Ronna Grace Funtelar | Camera: SonyA6000

fivefootronna is Ronna Grace Funtelar - a thirtyish adventurer, graphic designer and spoken word poet.
A woman with a curious mind who lives for hiking mountains, outdoor adventures and eating pizza. She has a unique brand of optimism that is a combination of her great enthusiasm for life and cups of coffee during the day.