K3 - Whangamata Bay Heads

Type

Altitude

600m

Part of

On the very southern tip of Whangamata Bay eastern peninsula, is a large series of cliffs. The south facing lower wall, is a rhyolite crag with a multiple crack lines.

Aspect

South

Lat/lon

-38.69931,175.904503, NZ Topo Map

Approach

Access is by boat only. There is no beach and you require a calm day or winds from the north. In a howling southwesterly getting onto the rocks would be fairly treacherous. Nevertheless there are a few places you can pull your small tinny (boat) out of the water and onto the rocks. Crash through the bush to the base of the cliff, 100m from the lake shore. So why bother? Well, this crag is in a fantastic location overlooking the lake and central plateau with some of the best crack lines around.

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Routes

Reference	Title	Grade	Length	Quality
	Open project, 25	25		0
P1 25 Trad Finger crack 2nd crack from the left hand end of crag. Hard.
	German Lessons, 19	19	35m	2.01
P1 19 25m Trad About 10m in from the left-hand end of the crag and the second obvious crack line. Climb up through broken ground then follow the crack through the steep wall above (crux). From here continue up to belay ledge at about half height. DB belay. (Pro CD, Wires, Hex) P2 17 10m Trad Step right from the belay and continue up the obvious crack and groove. Move left at the top onto ledge and DBC belay. [Pro CD, Wires, Hex]
	Finger Bridging, 22	22	70m	2.01
P1 22 50m Trad The finger crack and right facing corner immediately right of German Lessons. Start as for G.L but move right at 2m through broken ledges and into corner and finger crack. Sustained climbing to sloping ledge, either continue to top or belay here. The first ascentionist rested on gear in upper section. (Pro CD, Wires, & Wires) P2 18 20m Trad Continue up the crack through blocky ground then follow crack as it traverses right (crux) to large ledge, DB belay, 50m abseil. (pro CD, Hexs)
	The Fridge Block, 21	21		3
P1 21 Trad The centerpiece of the crag, the obvious crack line right up the middle of the face. Start up a small corner to gain the large ledge. From here just blast up the crack, no rests and few face hold makes for 25m of pure sustained jamming. At the top of the face continue up the crack for another 5m then traverse out right to the large pine tree (belay). (Pro CD, Wires, Hex). The name comes from the fridge size boulder I removed from the overhanging section just prior to leading the climb.

Comments

This place appears in

freeclimb.co.nz, 2023

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