OUR GUIDES — Why us?

“You’re a Canyoning guide?? I LOVE Canyoning!!”

This was the first conversation between founders Grant and Koryn during a vertical ropes course 3 years ago.

With over 40 years of practical and instructional experience between them, these two vastly experienced outdoors people have come from quite different outdoors backgrounds to form Big Rock Canyons. However, these two backgrounds when combined are exactly the skill sets that are required for Canyoning. Waterfalls and white water, technical rope skills and the love of sharing what we love! Combine these skills with the worlds most beautiful scenery and the ability to not only guide but teach participants the fundamentals of Canyoning, we will help our guests expand their own personal confidence and technical skills while having a fantastic and fun time!

Grant Prattley

Grant’s background is mountaineering and vertical ropes. He started his outdoors career as the youngest Operations Manager of the (Aoraki) Mount Cook National Park Search and Mountain Rescue. He helped develop the Search And Rescue Institute of New Zealand (SARINZ) and is still their lead instructor and course co-ordinator. He travels the world Canyoning and teaching and instructing vertical and cliff rescue. In fact, when it comes to anything to do with ropes and rope techniques no one knows more! In his spare time he scours topographical maps for the lines and contours that could indicate a new canyon to explore… then of course, he goes and checks off another amazing first decent!

Koryn Gould

A “career out-door guide”. Koryn has spent the last 20 years sharing most of the world’s greatest river trips with literally thousands of people. He has commercially guided and kayaked in 19 countries worldwide. He has instructed guides and rescue courses from Australia to Israel, Nepal, Japan, Borneo, Mexico and Switzerland. He has led multi day rafting expeditions, first descents and was a NZ representative in freestyle kayaking. He is a rafting assessor in New Zealand, Switzerland and for the IRF (International Rafting Federation) the worlds most recognised rafting standard. For the more recent decade, he has helped shape the New Zealand Rafting Associations, River Rescue Workshops, undoubtedly the most credible River Rescue training available in the world. He also runs the rafting programme at the West Coast Polytechnic (Tai Poutini).