FOX RIVER MISSION TO THE BALLROOM OVERHANG: HIKE IN, PADDLE OUT STYLE

Jo Taylor
Jun 4
6 min read

Updated: Jun 19

After a practice run that morning, carrying my paddleboard up the Pororari River and paddling out, I was ready for my take two - my overnight hike-and-paddle adventure that afternoon on a sunny day in April.

Enter the Fox River track up to the spectacular Ballroom Overhang - a popular 8km hike into the Paparoa National Park following the river up to camp up in this special spot. Most people then hike out the same way they came, but I was so keen to try paddling out through this stunning gorge with my paddleboard. I teamed up with my mate Caleb and his packraft - the lightweight sensible option for hiking with, but you know me, I love a challenge!

Hiking up the fox river to the Ballroom Overhang

The Ballroom Overhang is an impressive limestone outcrop and a special camp spot, where you can sleep with the sounds of the river, crackles of the fire and twinkles of the glowworms up above you.

The hike in is a popular walk following the Inland Pack Track at the mouth of the Fox River, in the Paparoa on the West Coast of New Zealand. It was April though, so we only saw two people on our way out - the rest of the time, it was just us - yay!

The first stretch takes you through bush, native forest and braided riverbeds. You can follow the orange triangles on this marked route, keeping the river on your right, then crossing over to keep it on your left. (This is also the Fox River Caves track). When you hit the Dilemma Creek confluence in the heart of the gorge, the track ends, and you can just follow the Fox River upstream until you see the Ballroom Overhang - and trust me, you can't miss it!

The walk in was pretty, with glimpses of the river for our paddle back out (we wanted to check out the Rock Garden which would be a bit more technical). I took my Moana board this time, as it is wider and performs better on whitewater. The pack was the same set up as on the Pororari, full, pretty heavy but I had managed to get it sitting a little higher on my body. This was more comfortable, but now my main issue was catching the top of the pack on overgrown trees on the walk in knocking me off balance!

The last section of the hike involves a lot of river crossings, so do be careful as some parts can be strong. It is always best to cross at the widest part of the river, never go above thigh height and link up with someone else for stability. We needed some teamwork crossing in a couple of places as I am not the tallest and had a heavy load which affected my footing, but it was all very manageable!

The Pororari Gorge I just paddled through on my SUP — The Ballroom Overhang Camp spot, Fox River

camping at the ballroom overhang

This is an incredible camp spot and even better to have it all to ourselves. It gets quite busy here in the summer but in April we had it all to ourselves. It's a damp spot, with wet firewood, drips and echos, and the sounds of the river gushing past but the limestone horseshoe overhang is very blooming cool with vibrant rock colours. The best bit? Glowworms in the overhang! We layered up, pumped up the board and packraft for the next day, munched a Real Meal and shared adventure stories around the fire.

paddling down the fox river

The next morning, we packed up the tent and got ourselves ready to jump on the river! And we had a stunning bluebird day so the water was just sparkling! The river levels had dropped to around 20 cumecs we guessed, which wasn't ideal as there were some boney sections for my fin to enjoy catching on! The first section down to Dilemma confluence was just the most beautiful gorge to paddle down with 200m high limestone sides - like the Pororari river but steeper/closer to the river so it felt more impressive.

A couple of spots needed walking around where they were a little too shallow for me. There is one section you can spot from the river track on your walk in and suss it out - the boulder garden. There is a boulder choke in the middle which creates a small grade III section which you can portage around. After a recce, we chose our line and both paddled this - I was nervous but it was fine with the low water we had. The rest of the paddle was grade II, and it was beautiful!! As we got to the lower section, the river started braiding and we had some shallow bits to navigate. We stopped in the sunshine for lunch before I tried out Caleb's Alpacka packraft for the last section, and secretly kinda loved it - although I much prefer the views from standing on my sup. Annoyingly, he jumped straight on the SUP down a rapid without ever really paddling one before, and aced it!

Before we know it, we were 8km downstream and paddling back into the mouth of the Fox and back to the cars. Here we dried off all our gear in the car park - it was a kit explosion everywhere - before a well earned pint in Punakaiki, a quick visit down the Truman's Track beach for sunset and then a drive back to Nelson.

Another epic trip with my paddleboard.... can't wait for the next one!

route

PADDLING INFO for the fox river

RATING

Easy Hiking, Intermediate Paddling

ROUTE & conditions

The hike and paddle is about 8km each way. The walking track is a little overgrown and can be muddy. There are river crossings upstream from the Dilemma Confluence - do not attempt to reach the Ballroom Overhang if the river levels are too high to safely cross. The trail is marked until the confluence in the gorge, then follow the riverbed upstream. .
The paddle back down is on moving water (Grade II) – which is a low gradient river, that tends to run clear after heavy rain. We estimated 20 cumecs, with the nearest gauge at Mawheraiti River at Atarau Road bridge. The river needs some more flow to be floatable in the lower sections that are quite wide and braided so if paddling in these conditions, you may need to use your paddlecraft for the river crossings on the way in.
There is one section, the Boulder garden that is a Grade III section that you can portage, or easily get out and recce first before choosing to paddle.

WHERE TO PARK & LAUNCH

Start & End Point: Fox River Car Park — located just off SH6 between Westport and Greymouth.
We hiked in from the car park and launched the next morning from just below the Ballroom Overhang (you'll see a little beach area).
From the Fox car park, check out the egress point on the river to see where you’ll finish your paddle - follow the small track down to the riverside.

WHERE TO EAT & DRINK

A must do is to order the famous takeaway roast chicken from the Punakiki Rocks Hotel and Garden Bar - just ring through your order the day before. And check out live music here and meal deals most nights.
Pancake Rocks Café is a solid choice for food and coffee after your adventure too, famous for pancakes and pizzas - but watch out for greedy and fearless wekas!

WHERE TO SLEEP

Ballroom Overhang! Epic camp spot with fire pits, lots of sheltered flat tent spots and even a DOC compost toilet.
The launch point at the Fox Car carpark is also a freedom camping spot for self contained vans if you wish to stay before or after your mission.

LOCAL INFO

This paddle and hike is in Paparoa National Park, so check the DOC website for track updates and closures before heading out. A section of the hike was closed with a detour marked at the time of writing.
Don’t skip a visit to Pancake Rocks for some epic blowholes especially at high tide, and head down the Truman Track just five minutes drive away at low tide, especially spectacular at sunset!