Planning for Patuna Chasm

I’ve been wanting to do the Patuna Chasm walk for a really long time and I finally got the opportunity this summer. It was beautiful. A super unique experience, reasonably priced, and easy to book. Here’s what you need to know.

Getting there

Patuna Farm is about a 1 hour 30 drive north of Wellington, near Martinborough. It’s well sign-posted and easy to find. There isn’t any public transport as far as I know, so you’ll need a vehicle to get there. The end of the road is gravel. Don’t forget your lunch, something to drink and warm clothes.

On arrival

Check in with the team and they’ll sign you in and give you a safety briefing. You can park onsite and there is a toilet. The team takes you out to the chasm walk in their vehicles that tow the passenger trailers. It’s off road, bumpy and dusty so wear appropriate clothing and hold on! You can take your own four wheel drive out there if you have one but you have to follow the convoy, you can’t drive across the farm on your own.

The walk

Is three hours. You;ll be dropped at the meeting point and picked up with everyone else later so there’s no need to rush! Climb the fence to get started. The first part of the walk is uphill.

Parts of it are quite steep and narrow. Patuna Farm says a medium level of fitness is required, you’ll be walking over farmland, through native bush, along the river edge and through the river. There are some cool things to see along the way like rocks that have been formed over 1.3 million years, the white rock look out, and views from the top.

When you start heading down, the track gets very slippery and there are parts where you need to hold on to a rope to get down the steep path. Take care here. When you reach the bottom, you’ve reached the chasm where the river is. Even though it’s summer, the water is cold, get ready for that!

The chasm

This part can’t really be described. It’s incredibly beautiful. You’ll be walking through water, stopping to take lots of photos. The day I went the water level was quite low, it came up to my thigh in some parts but was ankle deep most of the time. There are places to swim if you like, and places to eat lunch. At the end of the chasm you can either swim out, or hike back up to the meeting point, it’s not far.

Pick up

The team will pick you up at the agreed time and take you back to your car. I recommend bringing a spare pair of shoes and socks, I couldn’t feel my feet by the time we were done. And also bring a towel to sit on in the car if you haven’t got a change of clothes.

The review

5 stars. It’s truly unique and 100% worth getting wet for.

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