As we pass Franz, then Fox, the valley sides get steeper and our necks crane harder to see the mountain tops. Rivers are the defining feature of every valley: glacially opaque or spring fed clear; meandering, braided or charging? The rain we had further north didn't touch the sides here, so the Turnbull is low and so is everything. We do the usual key chase for the Turnbull road and give up. Gareth rides his bike, boat over shoulder...
Monkey Puzzle Gorge on the Martyr in hot sunshine is a physical chess game. More canyoning than kayaking, it gives us a new view of this river flowing through conglomerate rock. Back at DoC, we discuss the Cascade and the relative merits and drawbacks of 'wilderness areas' preventing kayak access by banning helicopter landing areas within map boundaries. I point out that the boundaries seem to take no account of river-based recreation, that helicopters taking in people who travel solely over river beds create hardly any impact. But 'Wilderness Area' is a high designation and not likely to change. The heart-clutching beauty of the Cascade River makes the argument important.
I travel back a week later to the Waitoto, this time with rafts and kayaks aplenty. 2 Hughes 500s shuttle us in quickly and we set off to enjoy this scenery float. My birthday is spent with some old and new friends camped at a confluence, enjoying the finer things in life that rafts carry (Ledaig, in this case). 
