The ending on the banks of the Meutehekau as it enters its gorge is extraordinary, and there really are not words to describe it. Something happens and it affects us deeply. We are privileged to be alongside Macfarlane as he arrives at the conclusion (or maybe just a significant waypoint in the flow of his life and relationship with the river) but we can only understand wordlessly. An extraordinary ending to an extraordinary book. 

The only slight quibble is I didn't like the epilogue back at the nine strings. It was mawkish and unnecessary.