(last updated: 29 March 2005)
Full list of Photographs of the trip, chronological
Links to high/low lights:
Clear Lake, Nelson Lakes area. Altitude 1500 m, view from the North Side of the Waiau Pass (1870 m). Trail to the Blue Lake Hut down scree slope (see person for scale) and up the cliffs left of the lake halfway.
Yesterday we reached the Nr. 4 (Locke) Hut just in time at 16.30 h. The weather looked threatening all day but it wasn’t until half an hour after we got in, the pouring rain started.
It kept on raining all night. Streams may now be too high to cross. DOC (Department of Conservation) is not responding to our calls on the two-way radio to give an update on the water level for crossing the Taramakau, Otehake and Otira Rivers.
At least 6 hours of wet bush and several tricky stream crossings to get to the road on this last day. At nine AM it suddenly stopped raining and the weather cleared. We left at a high pace.
Crossing the Otehake River.
How to get to New Zealand for just a mountain trek? Given the distance it seems hardly worth it. However, pristine places always tend to be at least 24 hours traveling from Europe, e.g. Nepal, Newfoundland, Kamchatska, Namibia, Alaska, Greenland, Spitzbergen and Patagonia. Exception are Norway and Scotland.
New Zealand has an excellent hut system with comfortable and clean mattresses, clean (rain)water and wood stoves to dry out clothes and boots. Most huts are not serviced except on the popular great walks and you will need to bring your own food and fuel. Most of the trails maintained by the department of Conservation (DOC) are well marked with orange triangles.
The popular Great Walks are crowded by young anti-trekkers, “chicky babes and boys” in their mid-twenties crisis, with their typical, half open mouth, tatoes, dropping pants and available look, searching for a reason of existence and a very hard to get fun job. They are exploited by commercial operators and it is advised to go to the less popular ones to enjoy the unique New Zealand nature and meet the real trekker. The trails are dominated by very motivated Australians and mostly single European trekkers who are very experienced and in very good shape. A hut pass of only 90 dollars a year gives you free access to all the huts, except the great walks which you should avoid anyway.
To go to New Zealand from Europe comfortably, the solution is the “triple 7” (Boeing 777) of Singapore Airlines. Good food, reasonable leg space and low noise engines. Sixty movies (in February 2005 included the Lords of the Rings Trilogy) and hundred TV programs will get you through the two 12 and 10 hours flights Amsterdam – Singapore – Christchurch and back. Quality is almost KLM business class at economy prices and most important, stewardesses will not bother you when you do not feel like having interaction.
For the romantic, tough guys, there is the movie “Casablanca”, even they will drop a tear, and on the nature programs shrieky outdoor babe Holy Hunter will take you on “Treks in a wild world” with her typical one-liners, e.g. “it so cold”, “oh yak”, “this is so scary”, “these guys are so tough”. You can also catch up on “Sex and the City” for those who have never seen it like myself.
The program “Great Players” featuring Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank, is a relief in the commercial program collection. It shows how a successful and very rich banker is extremely motivated to help the underdeveloped world using an alternative approach, i.e. have the world bank personnel live and work where the problems are and not live the indulgent expat live in Washington with high UN allowances, very appealing to the personnel from third world countries. This carries some learning’s for the typical or would be Bohemian Bourgeois (see Guardian) of the West or Westerners looking for fun jobs like the “chicky babes and boys” you meet in New Zealand.
Ticket price starts at 1200 Euros but you need to book very early as the flight is popular else you pay 1500 Euros like us or the flight is full. Using the Singapore Airlines website, you save another 80 Euros and more seats are available compared to travel agents or general travel web site..
The stop over in Singapore is 14-16 hours but here you could postpone the time difference between Europe and Christchurch by sleeping in a hotel before going on the second nightly flight of over 10 hours. You arrive at 10 AM and it feels like 10 PM given the 12 hour time difference. More time difference is not possible I told a young taxi driver back home but he gave me with a “non capito” look.
At the airport you can get a SIM card for a cell phone for only 6 dollars a week. Reception is limited, only in villages and you have no connection in the bush. A phone card may be just as good as there are phone cells everywhere but with a cell phone you now also have voice mail to stay in touch with your friends and family.
Extremely essential is sand-fly and black(house)-fly spray (“Bushmen”) and bite soothing cream (“Soov”), available in the drugstore of the airport located between arrivals and departures. You will get dozens of bites and they could itch for 7 days without a relieve cream. Advise is, do not scratch, but you often feel like a monkey covered in fleas and you behave like one when scratching for hours.
Christchurch is a small town of only 50000 people but very pretty. It serves as the South Island main access point by air and is the dominant town. Hotels can be fully booked as there seems to be an economic boom. The Millenium Hotel we stayed in was excellent but is a bit expensive at 300 dollars. Backbackers are 20-30 dollars a night, with the NZ dollar at 55 to 60 Euro cents this is a bargain.
Christchurch has a large botanical garden, a large park used mainly for cricket, a natural museum with an exhibition on the Maoris, Kiwis and Moas, and plenty of side-walk restaurant and bars. Dux (Lux), between the museum and main square, is a popular terrace café for young people with good but inexpensive food. A few blocks South of the Cathedral, there are three well-stocked outdoor stores but unfortunately they all close at 5.30 PM so you have to hurry to pick up essential goods for camping like bottles of gas after arriving in the morning by plane. MacPac, a well-known New Zeeland brand for outdoor equipment, is a must in your collection.
Buses and trains to different areas all leave early in the morning, between 7 and 8 AM. A good start is catching a the scenic train to Picton or to Greymounth via Arthur’s Pass as in a train you get the best view of the landscape.
The 4-5 day Queen Charlotte Track [1] along the Queen Charlotte Sounds in the Marlborough Sound Region is a easy start of tramping in New Zealand. Located near Picton on the South Island, it gets good weather in the summer. Wellington is only 3 hours by ferry [1].
The trail has been developed over the past 10 years and now every 4-7 hours there is a resort with good food and wine. The area has nice bays or coves [1] [2] and the hills are covered in dense forest. The area is popular for boaties and the coves are dotted with pleasure boats.
Queen Charlotte Sound, view to the West
Much of the land used to be farm country but after establishing the national park much of the land is now turned into a dense bush. Pigs, released by Captain Cook for a sustainable food cache [1], deer and possums roam in the hills. The kiwi is extinct in this region. Possums are marsupials from Australia and imported for the fur industry. Escaped animals spread around New Zealand and are considered a pest. Their fur is very fine and warm, and mixed in with the Merino sheep wool, is makes very soft and warm woolen hats, gloves and scarves, for sale in tourist shops.
The steep hills are around 400 to 600 meters high and the highest mountain is 900 m. Transport is by water taxis although there is a tarmac back road with gravel side roads but this would take much longer.
Most walkers have their luggage transported daily by boat, considering the 6-7 hour walk in the warm sun with 20-25 degrees Celsius temperatures too heavy. Sixty plus year old walkers dominate and there are only a few young backpackers although plenty of backpacker places are available. The trails is wide, well maintained and you could use a mountain bike but this is not allowed in the summer months.
We took the scenic train from Christchurch to Picton in the morning and a water taxi to Ships Cove which is the start of the trail. After two hours we reached Resolution Bay Cabins [1] and decide to stay as it was already 4 PM and it looked very inviting.
This is the most interesting resort in the area with its 30 years old cabins [1] in a lush garden setting [1] with many tall pine and fern [1] trees. Most walkers pass the resort as it is only 2 hours from the start at Ships Cove and only backpackers stay who love the place. The current owners inherited the resort from their parents who built the resort 30 years ago. They are in their late 30’s and only provide lodging, no meals, which explains why only backpackers stay. They seem to be just interested maintaining it in a simple way, not in making money and live a simple life. Their store has few items but we get zucchini, tomatoes and garlic grown in their organic garden. They also have sheep, chickens and pheasants.
Punga Cove [1] is 8 hours from Ships Cove and 6 hours from Resolution Bay cabins. You could stop half-way at the Furnaux Lodge [1]. The Punga Cove Resort is a luxurious resort with a restaurant view the quality of travel magazines [1]. A swim in the bay ends quickly, the water is still cold, around 14-15 Celsius.
Here we meet the Canadians Keith and Patricia [1] from Winnipeg in the backpackers. They are outdoor enthusiasts, doing regular canoe and walking trips in the border region of Manitoba and Ontario. E.g. Keith recommends the 6 day Mantario hiking trail, a 6 day bush walk where you may meet no body and have to be fully self sufficient. Patricia is originally from Picton and she stayed in Canada starting a family during her (third) world trip which is a New Zealand tradition before you get a real job back home. Her father, now in his late eighties, used to hunt for Captain Cook’s pigs in the hills with his bare hands, a dangeours sport.
Between Punga Cove and Portage Bay we overtake two Australian couples. The Australian men are an accountant [1] and a retired business man [1] who bought a beef farm for his retirement as he is a farmers son. When Ruud tells them that he trusts me with organizing the planning and food for a heavy 10 day trek in the mountains, looking at skinny body and the big, heavy red rucksack, much bigger than Ruud’s, they both use the same worried words: 'I wouldn't trust him'.
The accountant has worked for the sultan of Brunei around 2000 or 20001, and did the books for the 6 star Empire Hotel I stayed two year ago. He recommended they should turn of the scenic light of the 18 hole master’s golf course at night, a waste of energy as no body played at night. Indeed, in 2002 they would only light the course with a minimum of 20 players.
Today we walked for almost 8 hours and being tired carrying the heavy rucksacks, we decide to get a room instead of backpackers beds, and we check into the luxurious resort at Portage Bay [1] [2] . Portage Bay has a harbor for pleasure boats. The water is shallow and the water fine for swimming, around 18 Celsius, but there is a sign that a sewage pipe ends in the bay some 500 meters from the shore.
Between Portage Bay and Anikiwa we meet Nina, a German girl on her own. She is a medical student in her final year and about to go back to Germany. Unclear why she has two months to spare.
At Anikiwa [1] the trail ends and at the beach the sand flies are out, our first encounter. You barely see them but they bite. Nina recommends her “Bushmen” spray which has a high concentration of DEET. Between 3.30 and 5 PM water taxis arrive and we go back to Picton. Nina is flying back to Germany from Auckland in 3 days.
The 1 PM mini-bus takes us from Picton to St. Arnaud through Blenheim in only 1 hour and 40 minutes. It would be nicer to walk through the Richmond region but this is not a popular tramping area except for the cross New Zealand walkers, see www.teararoa.org.nz/.
St. Arnaud has a few hotels and a single shop at the gasoline station. The Alpine Lodge has good backpackers facilities. The tea room annex restaurant inside the backpackers building has good food and is very busy. The Alpine Lodge is run by an Austrian (man) – Dutch (women, from the Hague) couple. They used to have a hotel in the Austrian Alps but moved to New Zealand 15 or 20 years ago.
The only shop is relatively basic but has sufficient backpacking food and even freeze-dried outdoor food. I fail to spot the packaged tuna and powdered milk all trampers carry and dismiss the canned tuna as too heavy and clumsy to carry because of the tin.
After some hesitation from my side, Ruud took a while to convince me being more result driven, we decide to go South to the Lewis Pass, crossing the difficult Waiau Pass instead of a round trip back to St. Arnauds. At the DOC office a warden gives me directions how to cross the pass and assures me it is doable as the trail is clearly marked by metal poles. He may have been impressed by my outdoor look, especially the outdoor felt hat, and I seem to qualify. Caroline River Bivy, a simple 2 person bivouac, is the only reachable accommodation between the Waiau Pass and the first hut at the St. James walkway but from the Blue Lake Hut to the bivy it is a remarkably variable 8 to 11 hours. I assume we will do it in 8 hours but still feel uneasy as the direction sheet clearly states: “ For experienced trampers only.” An internet report of a New Zealand tramper who walked the length of New Zealand, said that he never felt so scared going down the pass as he had to do several 3rd and even 4th degree rock climb descending the pass, see [1]. Also see below at References.
Our real target was Arthur’s Pass, a continuous North-South route of some 200 km from St. Arnaud,
Map
of route from St. Arnaud to Arthur’s Pass, see heavy brown line
(map from [1])
Satelite
image of route from St. Arnaud to Arthur’s Pass, see heavy red
line. Click on picture for full view. After Google Earth.
also described in the same internet report. I estimated 6 days for St. Arnaud to Lewis Pass and 5 days for Lewis Pass to Arthur’s Pass skipping 2 days by taking the road at the St. James walkway and getting supplies at Maruia Springs which has a nice hotel with hot springs. This excluded rainy or rest days. It would require skipping several huts and we would usually have to walk around 7 – 10 hours a day, saving at least 5 days. As we had only 10 days left, we would first try to reach Lewis Pass first.
The terrain in Nelson Lakes is very rugged and the trail through the ancient forest keeps on going up and down with slippery exposed tree roots, mud pools, fallen trees and small stream to watch. Any mud pool could be knee deep so never trust a step in mud.
We skipped the first three hours along the Rotoiti Lake by taking the 8 AM water taxi and met Collin, a 67 old, now retired High School principal from Hamilton (near Wellington), and his friend Henry, a retired extremely fit looking mountain walker. They did some walks together in another area but Henry would go back today as he ran out of time. Collin would spend another 6 days at Nelson Lakes on his own. He had a heavy rucksack and was well-equipped, carrying good food, even puddings.
Valley
South of Lake Rotoiti. View to the South. Mount Traverse in the far
distance.
We walked through the valley along trails with high grass[1] and later on through ancient forest. We had lunch at the John Tait hut and reached the Traverse Hut located below Mount Traverse at 4 PM. The 8 hour walk was heavy carrying a full load of food for 7 days. Just the two loaves of bread and package of muesli, each 750 grams already gave me an extra weight of already 2.25 kg but later on it proved to be worth it. My rucksack must have been close to 18 kg. Below Mount Traverse, snow avalanches killed trees [1].
The Upper Traverse Hut [1] is new, sleeps around 20 persons and even has running water inside. Here we meet Elad, a young Israeli and a German couple, Wolfgang and Britta who were camping outside. Elad is a very talkative and he just left the Israeli army after four years of service. He now has a girl friend in Australia and wants to leave there, calling Israel a dreadful place to live,
The next day we crossed the 1787 m high Traverse Pass and had a view at the 2338 m high pyramid of Mount Traverse [1]. After a long descent down to a 1000 meters, we finally reach the West Sabine Hut at 1.30 PM. Collin keeps on trailing us, walking more slowly but taking only small rest breaks of 10 minutes he calls “Union breaks” for his “comtemplations” but we take breaks of 15 to 30 minutes, Ruud complaining about his knees and back. We saw Elad for a while in the far distance while going down. At the West Sabine hut Elad is waiting for us for already an hour as he wanted to join us going to the Blue Lake Hut, another 3 hours. Collin comes in 30 minutes later and will stay here. A young new New Zealand couple comes in, the man carrying a high powered telescope riffle for shooting deers. He said he had a range of a km. Warden Veronica arrives at the hut. She found a plastic bag on the trail and is looking for the offender, prepared to give a fine. Not us, we tell her, we came from the Traverse Hut.
At 2.30 PM we leave for the Blue Lake Hut and the overcast is slowly increasing. We stop rapids [1] at the river after 1.5 hours and later on near a snow bridge formed by snow heaps in the bank of the river from last winter. Here here is also a massief rock slide [1]. At 5.30 PM it starts to rain lightly and 6 PM we reach the Blue Lake Hut. I quickly take an Eskimo wash by splashing a bit and using my water bottle in Blue Lake [1] as swimming was too cold.
The Blue Lake Hut is a large, old hut that sleeps 16 persons and an Australian dentist and a “simple living” young American couple from Vermont [1] stayed here already last night. The American has a heavy violin with a case but he plays the violin very well so I could see why could not do without it.
At 7 PM Britta and Wolfgang came in, Britta looking happy but Wolfgang looked tired and later on started nagging at Britta, “Kanst du dann gar nicht richtig machen”, after she failed to light the hard to light gasoline stove producing yellow flames not realizing we could understand them. They were carrying their camping gear and had heavy packs, the 10.5 hour trip must have been long.
At midnight the weather finally comes down and it keeps on raining all of the next day, with intermittent heavy to light rain. The metal roof enhances the noise and this keeps me awake.
We were well-sheltered in the comfortable hut not getting up until 9 AM and lighted the wood stove to dry out the boots that got wet yesterday. We also kept a full pot of hot tea on the wood stove for most of the day. Outside it was 10 Celsius, inside around 20 Celsius.
Outside, the trails were full of puddles of water, the bush very wet and it looked grim at 10 Celsius.
At 12.30 AM, three bushwhackers from Australia suddenly burst in, Mark, John and Allan [1]. Allan is most impressive, around 65 to 68 years old, tall and looking strong and very fit. Mark and John are in their late 40s. Today they crossed the 1870 m high Waiau Pass from the South in stormy weather. Yesterday they camped sheltered by trees at Waiau River Forks but despite the nice camp site got very wet by the heavy rain as they only carried a tent fly. They had no choice but to carry on to our hut crossing the pass or go back 2-3 hours to the tiny, uncomfortable Caroline Bivy which did not seem appealing. The sand flies at the camp site could also have chased them away, only inside huts you can almost avoid them almost but there are always a few inside biting you at night.
They crossed the pass in only 5 hours and looked very tired, complaining about the 4th degree rock climb going up the Waiau Pass, a stormy wind at the pass at only 5 Celsius, a long scree slope going down and the awful last piece 100 m up the hill South of Clear Lake which was poorly marked and visible [1]. They were cold and very wet, inside out, wearing Gore Tex Parkas and shorts. The wet boots did not seem to bother them. “Waiau Pass is for experienced trampers only”, the brochure from DOC said, I got the message. They used a “dead dog bag” [1] inside the back pack to keep their stuff dry. An excellent precaution as the bag is fully waterproof and will not tear.
At 1.30 PM we have another surprise and could pour another hot cup of tea for a visitor. Collin enters the hut, the old devil being soaking wet, inside and outside, wearing a Gore Tex parka, shorts and gaiters. The weather, intermittent light and heavy rain at 10 Celsius, could not stop him. It must have been extremely slippery on the trail, a 3 hour trip.
He will only stay an hour and did not take off his wet clothes and boots as they would get wet again when he goes back later. Gratefully he accepts a cup of hot tea and tells us “I decided to check if you young guys were still fine and guess I have no time to see Clear lake”.
Elad is restless and will go back with Collin [1] [2] to the West Sabine hut through the rain. To avoid his boots getting wet again, he will wear his Teva sandals [1].
The weather cleared last night after 24 hours of rain but it was a cold night, around 2-3 degrees Celsius, even inside the hut it must have been around 8 Celsius. Britta, sleeping outside, was cold. The dark, nightly sky was lit with the numerous bright stars of the Milky Way and you could see clouds of faint and bright stars in the sky. The cold night finally deactivated the sand flies inside the hut.
Everybody is anxious to get out. Some will do the over 1785 m high Moss Pass which is said to be steep, with a small bit of a grade 4 rock climb. From here you go North again to Lake Rotoroa,
We leave early, at 8.25 AM and it is still cold, 5 Celsius. The grassy trail is very wet and our boots are soaking with water almost instantly. Gaiters could have postponed this. After 45 minutes we reach Clear Lake, a large lake above the tree line in a glacial valley surrounded by over 2000 m mountains.
Cliffs in the lake force us a 100 m up. It is not easy to spot the trail as it is little used and overgrown by high grass. The going is rough along the steep slope with high grass and slippery rocks. We often loose the trail as several markers have fallen down. The Australian bushwhackers who crossed the pass yesterday in pouring rain, also complained about the poor markings but they also had poor visibility in the rain.
Finally, the trail leads back to the lake, down very steep, 4th degree, slippery shale slopes, the steepest part of today. Finally we reach the lake shore and the trail follows the lake shore and is now level but not comfortable due to lake shore cobbles. At the lake head you can already see the large scree slope leading to the Waiau Pass [1] on the left side. This section was the slowest and most frustating part of today as we had to go up the cliffs due to only a few tens of meters of vertical rocks at the lake shore that could not be crossed below.
Valley
leading to Waiau Pass, trail goes up the scree slope on the far left
to the small rock pyramid.
Going up the 400 m high scree slope is heavy. On this 30 degree slope, every step is uneven and may only take you half-way up as you slide back. Looking back, we have a scenic view at Clear Lake [1].
At 1 AM we finally reach the Waiau Pass and have a view at the main Waiau River valley [1] to the South and the ridge with the Thompson Lake pass [1] to the Sout-West. So far so good. Temperature 8 Celsius, nearly blue skies with a mild wind.
Ruud complains about an empty stomach. I tell him that I am fine as I had a big breakfast with ground oatmeal and powder milk offered by the American couple as they had too much and wanted to get rid of some weight. I must have eaten a triple portion. When you are hungry and have hours to walk, oatmeal is smart food.
Going down along the steep quartzite rock beds is hard [1] but the steel rod and rock cairns are numerous and very clear. There is only a single 5 m high grade 4 rock climb (descent). At 2.30 PM we are finally down in a grassy valley and take a tea break [1].
Going down to the Waiau River Forks, the grassy trail is poorly marked with sparse cairns and often invisible in the dense grass. Cairns will remain sparse until Caroline River bivouac and you dearly miss DOC’s orange triangles.
Near the tree line, the trail now leads through low juniper bush [1] and is hard to follow. You often fight your way through the thick bush as it is mainly used by animals like deer so it is mostly overgrown above 70 cm. Only 2 persons a week on average use this trail and only in the summer according to entries in the book of the Blue Lake Hut. The trail is not maintained by DOC and resembles a typical rough animal trail in Newfoundland, remembrance of treks past. The hard going is rewarded by a scenic waterfall.
Waterfall, North side of the Waiau Pass in the juniper low bush near the tree line.
At the Waiau Forks, crossing a stream Ruud looses a ski pole. More worried that he tumbles in the fast flowing stream on the boulders, I do not pay much attention to the pole but on looking for it a few seconds later, see it disappearing in the far distance at a speed of 3-4 km per hour. I cannot go after it as the deep stream and thick bush prevent this. The pole is lost, not realizing Ruud’s sun cap is also attached to it.
Further down, at 5.45 PM we finally do the Waiau River crossing [1] [2] which is freezing cold, a few hundred meter South of the very nice Waia Forks camp site which is sheltered by high trees.
It is still a few hours to the Caroline River Bivy and a light rain starts making the bush wet but the gortex coats and pants keep us dry except then boots. The trail stays close the West side of the river and is poorly marked by cairns but in the forest it is even worse as it is heavily overgrown and poorly visible. We loose it several times but staying close to the river you always find it back. We also crossed several very rocky land slides. Only close to the bivy, it is used more frequently by cows and now well visible.
At 8.15 PM, 30 minutes before darkness, we finally reach the bivy [1] It is not too well visible, sitting some 50 m inside the forest [1] and camouflaged by the darkness and rain, but there are some markings on the trees. It is 300 m South of a main West side river you cannot miss as you have to jump to get across. The bivy is tiny, only 2 by 2 m, has no foam mattresses but two canvas beds [1] [1] [1] [1] [1]. Still, it feels like a 5 star hotel [1] as it is a dry shelter and outside it rains.
This was a 12 hour day, DOC information said it would take 8-11 hours, I estimated 8 hours. What did we do wrong? Too many and too long lunch, tea and contemplation breaks?
Today we are very slow in getting up being tired from yesterday and do not leave until 10.30 AM. The weather is nice and the long grass [1] is almost dry by the warm sun. We also take a bath in the Waiau River but the water is too cold. It could have given me the cold I developed the next day.
South of Caroline River Bivy the Waiau River valley is broad and covered with grass rimmed by forests on the slopes [1] [1]. Several herds of cows and young bulls dot the valley [1] [1]. They are curious, approach us and run away [1] [1]. The older bulls have the most courage, keeping the shortest distance as if they will try to charge us but still run away without any threatening body language . Their instinct is still strong, staying together in herds and a dominant bull guarding them. The dominant bulls [1] also show their strength in head-on push and shove battles that look harmless.
Reminds me of Musk Ox herds in Northern Canada, the difference Mus Ox's keep a larger distance before running away, and the bulls will hold their ground and will charge when you get to close, using warning signals like snoring and digging their hooves in the ground. Even 2 or 3 wolves will not scare them.
We stay West of the river for the first few hours. After crossing the Waiau River [1], which is wide but only knee deep, we pick up the 4WD trail marked on the map which connects up to the road to Hanmer Springs to the East. Now we can go fast which we badly need as we still need to cover a large distance today. The small Lake Guyon Hut used mostly by fishermen on the East side of the river would save two or three hours.
This is beef farming country with some 2000 piece of cattle, the local farm hand we meet explains. He drives a pick-up truck with a large purple-stained tank, stuff to kill the weeds, he tells us. There goes my hope for organic meat but the cattle seems to have an active and happy life and there is room for exploring their instinct for at least 2 years. Much of the trees and shrubs near the 4WD trail are also dead, probably sprayed. Following the 4WD track it takes us to an easy ford crossable by trucks.
At 5.30 PM we are at the Ada Flats Homestead (farm) while crossing endless grass land [1] and in the West valley [1] we can soon faintly see the Christopher Hut which has a smoke trail.
Endless
grassland, far distance Ada Flats and homestead.
Crossing a knee deep stream, I show Ruud my river crossing trick, Gore-Tex pants (gaiters would also work) closed tightly around the boots by the elastic bands inside, and a run in two swift but knee-deep steps through the river. Works. No need to take off the boots. Practised in Northern Canada [1].
It takes us 8.5 hours to reach the Christopher Hut [1] [2] at 7 PM. The 5 Australians in the hut are the first trekkers we meet in two days. After last nights bivy, the large hut feels like extreme comfort.
It is still a full day to the road at Lewis Pass and another 5 or 6 km along the road to the hotel in Maruia Springs but hopefully a car will give us a ride saving us 1 hour. Here we need to stock up food as after 6 days most of the supplies are finished. We only have a single day of food left over which is not much in New Zealand when the weather comes down, and it will very often.
Ruud is unhappy about the food, mainly bread, crackers, rice and pasta, as it has mostly carbohydrates, little protein and no sweets. He misses snacks like muesli bars. A snacker has a hard time living on three meals a day when he has to walk 9-10 hours a day with a rucksack of 15 kg. He keeps on reminding me what the two Australian man on the Queen Charlotte Track said independently in response that I was organizing the trek including the food looking at skinny and fit body and the big and heavy rucksack, 'I wouldn't trust him'. Also, the so-called “Health-farm” which this trip to New Zealand was suppose to be, felt more like a “Hell-farm”. I was eating muesli every morning, long lasting energy for the day, but Ruud declined finding it tasteless, eating crackers in amounts as if he was on a diet. To me, this did not seem like a good start of the day walking 8-10 hours.
After 3 hours we reach the Ada Pass Hut. The trail was very gentle and Ada pass only around 900 m high. If it wasn't for the sign, you would barely have noticed you crossed a pass. Here we have lunch but despite the nice weather, are forced to stay inside as the sand flies are out in large numbers. Even the wind doesn't blow the bugs away.
At the Cannibal Gorge Hut, 8 wardens are painting the hut. They have plenty of food, flown in by a helicopter. Ruud looks eagerly at an apple about to be eaten by a warden. The apple is for sale, he says, for the highest bidder.
The trail along the Cannibal Gorge is high up on the West side, has a steep side of a few hundred meters and you have to pay attention for one or two hours as the trail is narrow. At 5.30 PM we finally reach the road. A big hotel meal is waiting for us.
The highway is fairly busy and we start hitchhiking. While walking along the road, we are picked up by a woman who tells us we are not allowed to walk along the highway. Cars are driving at a remarkable speed of nearly 100 km per hour along the winding mountain road and I feel sorry for cyclists. She and her husband have a whale watching business in Kaikoura and they have 5 children. She must be around 35.
We are dropped off at Maruia Springs which only has a single hotel, no shop or any other building, so we cannot buy any camping food. The hotel has hot pools fed by hot springs, is a bit old but fine and the food is excellent. We get the last room. A New Zealander living in Australia we meet at the bar an hour later cannot get a room as the hotel is already full. Lucky us. The New Zealander has a farm in Australia but is now also in the cooking oil importing business and back for the first time since 1980. In the late seventies, he lived on a boat in the Fiord Lands, hunting for deer and catching crabs (?). A profitable but lonely existence. He decides to drive a bit down the road, go into the bush off the road and roll out his sleeping bag. Good luck with the sand flies.
Initially we planned to go to Arthur’s Pass by bus the next day, through Greymounth. We would like to but still hesitate to do the 5 day Harpers Pass crossing from Lewis Pass to Arthur's Pass as we only have 4 days left.
What to do? No food and the closest shop is at a distance of 15 km, at Spring Junction.
Overnight we develop a cunning plan. We will need to leave tomorrow, get food in Spring Junction using the bus in the direction of Nelson at 11 AM, go to the start of the trail using the 12.15 PM bus back to the direction of Christchurch and walk the, hopefully no more than 6-7 hours from Windy Point to the Kiwi Hope Hut, getting in just before dark at 8.30 PM. This will save a day but we would not have a rest day tomorrow.
For the Harpers Pass crossing to Arthur’s Pass, it will be essential to reach the point of no return, the Nr. 3 Hut, after two days so we can do it in 4 days. Poor weather or bad and slow bush could force us back to Lewis Pass in the first two days as we only have a single spare day.
At 1 PM the bus drops us at Windy Point, the start of the trail to Arthur’s Pass. It is sunny and warm today, around 18 Celsius, and we start walking at a high pace crossing the Boyle River swing bridge [1]. Sitting down at a few panoramic viewpoints, we have a nice view at the Hope River [1] [2] but we never stay long as dozens of black flies find us within minutes and chase us off. They have sneaky bites, leaving a small wound.
Hope
River Valley, view to the West
The trail through the forest is winding, up and down and rough and you have to watch not to loose the track. It is much slower than expected and we taking us 3 h 45 m to reach the Halfway Hut at 4.45 PM. The 6 bed hut doesn’t look inviting and is only used as a shelter for bas weather. The floor planks have open spaces and the black flies freely come inside the hut.
We get restless as we do not know if we are only half way or even further. Past the hut, the trail leads down into grassy meadows and we now quickly cover a good distance. Crossing the Hope River swing bridge, the chicken wires hooks up to a zipper of the top pocket f my rug sack and my camera drops out, barely not dropping off the narrow trail and in the river. At least that was my initial thought but perhaps I simply forget to close it at the last short rest break.
At 7 PM we already reach the Hope Kiwi Lodge which is much quicker than expected as we only took 3 rest breaks of 10 minutes, the black flies keeping us on the move. The hut is a new, very comfortable hut with a concrete floor. A 4WD track runs to the hut from the road on the South side of the Hope River, our trail through the forest running on the North side. We have the hut to ourselves tonight. The last entry in the hut book is Gary, from the English Lake District. He left this morning to the next hut in our direction and he was the only visitor last night.
The next day we follow the grassy trail South for the first hour, followed by two hours in the forest. Riding horses have killed much of the trail turning it into mud pools. The swing bridge across the Three Mile River has been removed and we saw it lying next to the 4WD trail this morning, pulled out by a helicopter. We need to wade through the knee deep river. At the other side we sit close to a wasp nest while putting on the boots and quickly walk off. The forest is full of buzzing wasps feeding on the honeydew produced by black fungus on the birch trees. Wasps and birds compete for the sweet substance.
At 12.30 we reach Lake Summer [1], a very scenic lake among high hills. It takes us another two hours to cross the flat river valley [1] and the wide Huruhui River using the 80 m long swing bridge [1]. Crossing it, I take a wrong turn, should have gone East and I loose the trail in the bush quickly. At 15.30 h we finally arrive at the Huruhui Hut which is much later than the planned 1 PM.
The Huruhui River is some 30 m wide and in places a meter deep so I am very happy we do not have to ford the river. I dismiss the shorter 4WD track in the valley as we may have to cross the river. Later, we hear a truck coming back from the West along the trail ant it must have been reasonable, no doubt less than knee deep, so we could have saved us two hours going to the Nr.3 Hut along the 4WD track.
We have to take a decision, carry on another 3 to 4 hours to the point of no return at the Nr 3 Hut or stay for the night, being forced to walk more the next day. Ruud, despite his sour knees, decides to carry on as he is target oriented and has character, more important than a fit body. I still hesitate as so far the trails were disappointing. I hope we get there at 8 PM. We leave right away.
After 45 minutes, an old sign indicates 2 hours to the Nr 3 Hut. The trail avoids the river bends cutting in the forest, and we are forced up into the forest [1] where the trail is very uneven and muddy. The river valley looks much easier for walking [1] but the forest also has its charms like giant mushrooms [1]. The trail seems endless as we already walk for 7 hours. Finally, at 7 PM we reach the Nr. 3 Hut [1]. The old sign was not too optimistic, it took us less than 3 hours at the sign but in those days the trampers must have been more fit and would not take two 15 minute rest breaks.
There are two cars at the hut and we meet around 10 wardens, two volunteers and two kiwi scientists, apparently well-known, staying in the hut to study kiwis. Last night they saw none. Most wardens go out tonight again to try to find kiwis.
We meet Charles from England [1] and he tells us Gary carried on to the next hut as the wardens carried to much food and displayed it abundantly, not a good sight if you cannot participate in the feast. DOC has a policy if not sharing the food as trampers are suppose to be on their own, enjoying the “Health Farm”.
We could have taken the 4WD track also used by their cars and this would have saved at least 2 hours. The Huruhui River may have been wide and deep near the Huruhui Hut with a swift current but upstream it must have been more braided getting shallower passing several side streams.
In the morning I am late getting ready as I have a conversation with one of the female warden on the Maoris and sand flies. When the Maoris visited the Fiord Lands in the South, they felt respect for the hostile nature: inaccessible mountains, heavy rain of 8 – 15 m per year (Holland gets 80 cm) and zillion of nasty sand flies. They felt the rough nature was good as it would preserve the pristine nature. This also applies to other regions she said, “It keeps the tourist away, and we like this”.
A good trail takes us to Harpers Pass, We pass the small Cameron Hut [1] where Gary stayed and along the way there is our first wire bridge [1] [2], an interesting experience. The single wire you walk on is slippery and it swings. It seems best to keep the feet across, not parallel, also as the upper wires are not ideal to hang on with your arms.
The Harpers Pass Bivouac [1] is painted orange but not too visible as it is off the trail. Just before the bivy, I find a sandal on the trail, presumable Gary’s as it looks like a recently dropped item.
The trail up from the Harpers Pas Bivouac to the Harpers Pass through the juniper bush and high grass is uneven, very steep and overgrown [1]. It is a real effort and DOC cleared it a bit but left it in a challenging state presumably for us to enjoy New Zealand nature. It does work. “For experienced trampers only”.
At 1 PM we reach the Harpers Pass, 963 m altitude [1] [2]. The 1-2 hours to the Nr.4 hut on the sign sounds a bit optimistic, it must be at least 3 hours. In the far distance to the West dark clouds are grouping together but it doesn’t rain [1]. The weather has been threatening all day.
Down the Harpers pass, the trail is even worse, as Charles mentioned yesterday, the trail goes down steeply for 300 m over loose rocks and is hard being narrow and still overgrown in places. You should not take this trail during rain. After the swing bridge, we back in the forest and the trail is fine again. We reach the Nr 4 or Locke Hut at 4.30 PM. This is an old, scenic hut and well maintained [1] [2].
Harpers
Pass, view to the West.
Gary is inside and he asks me if I saw a sandal but he assumes I did not. I ask him seemingly ignorantly after putting the found sandal next to the other one secretly on the veranda on arriving, “Does it look like these the two sandals on the veranda?” He is pleasantly surprised there are suddenly two slippers. Shoes get wet during the day and without slippers a hut is not very comfortable. You also needs them badly for the river crossings else your feet hurt on the cobbles.
At 5 PM, while I take a wash in the river the rain starts, I am getting wet within a few minutes and hurry back to the hut. We make a fire to dry out the shoes and to heat up the hut.
Ruud and I get on each others nerves after more than two weeks being tired from the long walks for the last 6 days. Gary remarks we sound like couple. Well I answer: “Our relation is closer, we have know each other already for 30 years, the average couple will not reach that”.
It keeps on raining all night. Streams may now be too high to cross. DOC (Department of Conservation) is not responding to our calls on the two-way radio to give an update on the water level for crossing the Taramakau, Otehake and Otira Rivers. At least 6 hours of wet bush and several tricky stream crossings to get to the road on this last day. At nine AM it suddenly stopped raining and the weather cleared. We leave at a high pace. It is unusually warm today, 18 Celsius and very humid with dark clouds in the distance. Are we getting rain or even a storm?
Following the DOC orange signs, we cross the Taramakau River North and later on again to the South. Here it is already knee deep and fast flowing. I use a thin dead tree for crossing, Ruud using two ski poles. Already here, still far upstream, you have to pay attention not to tip over by the fast current.
Crossing
the Taramakau River, upstream of the junction with the big Otehake
River.
The long grass along the trail makes our boots soaking wet within an hour, and I can feel the water moving in my boots. The orange signs tell us to cross the river again to the North but we decide to stay South as the cows on the grassland most likely have made trails on the South side so we only need to cross two more rivers, thinking only the Taramakau is the worry river, not the Otehake and Otira Rivers.
The cow trails are poor and at river bends we are forced in the forest where the going is slow. The weather looks threatening looking back [1]. I show Ruud a cat like jumps across a 1 m thick dead trees but this one is too slippery. I hit my right foot chins, slipping on and rolling down the tree. Just a bruise which will not bother me today but the next day it got swollen.
We pick up DOC’s orange signs again [1] and the official trail is back on the South side, already crossing the stream 4 times this morning. We saved two crossing going crashing through the bush on would be trails.
Near the Otehake River the sign tells us to cross North again and later we would have to cross the joined Taramakau and Otehake River further down. We do not do this as the river may be too deep and a 4WD should starts nearby on the South Side across the Otehake River.
The Otehake river is fast flowing, looks hip-deep at most and we carefully look for a less fast flowing spot above the rapids but walking up and down we do not really find a braided part with multiple channels. We hesitate, the narrow main channel has a swift current, is 15 meters wide and the depth till the hips is the absolute limit for crossing a stream. Taking off the boots we are attacked by dozens of sand flies so I hurry up.
I go first using a small dead tree I found near the river as a thick stick for support as you always need two support points for safety when crossing a swift river. A one foot support is too tricky, you get pushes over by the current. My right slipper break of instantly on the uneven rocks and now I know why you should use the sturdy Tevas. I put the tree stick in the water and first fixate the stick on a safe hold, move one foot while holding the other foot and the tree steady. Once this foot is steady I move the other foot. Most difficult is now to move the stick carefully and find a new good support point as the strong current pushes at the thick stick. Now the process is repeated. Step by step. It takes a long time to cross the 15 meters but luckily the water is not cold. In the deepest part my hips reach the water and the current is at its strongest and my briefs get wet.
This was a scary crossing. I wore my rucksack with shoulder belts only and no waist belt in case I would loose my footing so I could shake of the rucksack and swim out of the river and not drown helplessly like a turtle on its back. I now realize I could also loose the rucksack including my papers in the stream moving at 8 km per hour so there is no point running after it.
Ruud also starts his crossing but he is 3 meters further down, hitting a deeper part of the river [1] [2] [3] at the start of the rapids. Luckily he has two ski poles for support but is worried to loose his toe slippers and has to keep his front upstream instead of side stream which destabilizes his position. After crossing he complains about the sand flies that kept on following and biting him, even in the deep part of the stream. He also did not like me taking photographs of someone about to die in the river but I respond that these would be a memory for his parents.
We are relieved after the crossing, this is not the way to do this. You really need a 30 m rope for safety incase someone is pushed over by the fast flowing river, my 12 m rope being to short. It is also much safer to take off the packpack, put it in a plastic bag and just pull it over. Loosing a ruck sack is the least that can happen when you are pushed over by the current. The newspaper regularly reports on missing and presumed dead trampers that are caught in a swift river.
Crossing
the Otehake River, detail.
Crossing
the Otehake River, detail.
Crossing
the Otehake River, detailled map, we crossed below the Taverners Hut,
right side. DOC signs to cross are just East of the word "River".
This route was recommended by the Lonely Planet during rainy weather and said to be an easier crossing than DOCs Taramakau crossing down stream, so most trampers take it but I wonder if this was a good idea. The WWW has reports that the Otehake River is always deep even during dry weathers having a narrow single channel. We had two alternatives, follow the DOC signs which I now believe to be better although Charles (in the Nr 3 Hut) also complained about it. The 3 Australian bushwackers in the Blue Lake Hut clearly recommended to take the longer (at least one hour more ) route East of the Otehake River, crossing it at a swing bridge and follow a trail back down along a lake. The dotted line on the map East of the Otehake River did not seem appealing either but possibly they were right as they have a lot of experience tramping in new Zealand.
After the crossing we pick up a 4WD trail with fresh tire tracks which indicates it must be easy. The trail soon disappears in small side stream as the water level is high today. We crawl through a dense bush for 500 m but it would have been much faster to walk through the shallow streams on slippers.
The remaining part is an easy 4WD trail of two hours crossing several small side streams that now have a high water level by the rain and we are happy to be so close to the road. However, we are getting more and more wet [1] and the shoes are soaking with water.
The last stream to cross is the Otira River coming down from Arthur’s Pass. We could walk 4 km upstream to a swing bridge as at the orange triangles of DOC and the vague 4WD trail the river has a small but deep fast flowing channel. After a careful search, we find a wider braided part a few hundred meter upstream and here it is a bit more than knee deep but still fast flowing so we have to be careful.
I again use a thin tree and wear socks as protection against the rocks as I only have one slipper, the other one broken. With the tree stick, I look like a wizard from the Lord of the Rings [1].
After the crossing at 4 PM, a rain storm finally sets in after hours of light intermittent rain. A strong wind blows and there is a pouring rain. This is the explanation of the warm weather today. Within 15 minutes we reach the road but are wet inside out and do not believe anyone will pick us up in such a rain storm and being so wet.
Within 10 minutes a car stops, Kirsten and Sean from Christchurch, Kirsten working at the virology institute and Sean an enthusiast of long distance running, kayaking and cycling. He recently ran the 56 km Harpers Pass Trail till Lake Summer in 8 hours, the trail we just did in 2.5 days. They drop us off in Christchurch 2 hours later at the giant Crowne Plaza Hotel and we are still feeling cold wearing wet clothes despite a warm temperature of 23 Celcius in the lowlands past Arthur’s Pass. Thanks again for the ride.
The next day at breakfast we see a group of 20 tired looking sporty young men with tanned, deeply groved faces, all wearing white training suites with in small print “Black Caps”. I search in the paper what sport they may be doing but do not see a link. Later in the day I naively ask a taxi driver what sports they may be doing. He tells me they are the National Cricket team of New Zealand.
Yesterday, Sean and Kirsten mentioned that New Zealand was in a national crisis as their cricket team lost again.
There was also a small article on a river crossing in the Fiordlands:
Newspaper of March 7, 2005
The mountains in New Zealand remind me of Scotland, Norway and Newfoundland with temperatures of 10-15 Celsius in the mountains. An overwhelming nature, lots of flies as a good sign that nature is still pristine, but unfortunately it can have the wetness and stormy weather of Patagonia. Arthur’s Pass to Lewis Pass tends to get much better weather than the areas to the South like the Fiord Lands, Mount Aspiring and Mount Cook.
A pristine nature, rough and wet trails, mud sink holes, tricky stream crossings, sand flies biting all night inside the hut and even during river crossings.
One advise, whenever you visit New Zealand, just make sure you have plenty of time, go for 6 weeks as there is so much nature to enjoy and the weather is unpredictable. For that reason, also carry plenty of food in case the weather locks you up in a hut for a few days.
Below excerpts from trampers who walked across New Zealand, from north to south, the “Te Araroa Trail”, all web links from this site: http://www.teararoa.org.nz/ ,
Crossing the Otehake River, Dave Gibson: [1]
In short - it rained. The main hazards on the four-day hike via Hope Kiwi Lodge, the Hurunui River, and Harper Pass are the three rivers on the western side of the pass - the Taramakau, Otehake and Otira. If it rains heavily en route, those rivers can become uncrossable and block your exit - only the Otira has a footbridge some kilometres upriver from the route for use in time of flood.
After crossing Harper Pass at 900 metres, heavy rain bailed up the Canadian at Locke Stream Hut for an afternoon. Next day, the rain had swelled the Taramakau River but Dave forded a number of times before coming up to the Otehake. Unlike the flat-bedded Taramakau, its single channel, has carved a u-shaped bed, and it was running high. Using a hiking pole to steady himself, Dave waded in:
"I got up to my hips, and the water was rushing. I got swept off both feet, but I was lucky. My left boot came down on a foothold, and right at that point I moved out of the main current. That was the scariest moment of the whole walk."
Crossing the Otehake and Otira Rivers, by Eric Martinot: [1]
Section J (Part 2): Lewis Pass (Windy Point) to Arthurs Pass (Aickens)
A published route description says "not an all-weather route by any means, with plenty of river crossings and opportunities to get stuck by flooded creeks." We had good weather, and the many river crossings, which I had feared in wet weather, were manageable with little trouble, and because I was not alone, the crossings were not at all stressful or worrying. We crossed the Taramakau back and forth perhaps 4-5 times, and then the Otehake. The water levels were never more than thigh-deep, mostly knee-deep, although the water was flowing fast and was quite forceful. I never felt in danger of being swept away, although careful, conscious stepping and balance against the force of the water was needed at all crossings.
The very last river crossing, of the Otira River, just 300 meters before the very end of the section, was the swiftest and most formidable of the entire section. Another route description says the river is "swift and may be over waist deep, even in dry conditions." After crossing first one and then a second shallow channel of the Otira River, I thought that was it. Not bad! But just before you climb up the bank towards the road, there is the fast-moving third channel! Like most tramps in NZ, surprises await the tramper, and the tracks won't let you finish without extracting some last concession beyond your original expectations! Tomo and I crossed the Otira together, arms around each other's waist holding on to the opposite side each other's packs. This created a very stable four-legged double-weight beast that allowed us to cross quite safely, facing the opposite bank, with the current against my left side in profile. There were always at least two feet on the riverbed at any one time as we crossed, and it was quite a stable configuration. Trampers early-on learn this technique, but it was my first time trying it.
All of the river crossings would have been OK by myself, in dry weather, with the exception of the Otira. I would not have liked to tackle any of them alone in wet weather. Had I come to the Otira alone, in dry weather, I would either have spent considerable time trying to find the absolute best place to cross, or might have opted for the long 3-hour slog along an overgrown track to an elaborate and beautiful "flood bridge." (What good is a flood bridge if it is inaccessible? DOC, please clean up that track access to the flood bridge so more will use it!) Had I come to any of the crossings (besides the Otira) in wet weather, I would have been forced to camp out for perhaps days, until the rain stopped and the river levels went back down. (Note: the draft Te Araroa route does not require fording the Otira, but rather continues up the flood track, passing by the flood bridge, where one could go to the highway to resupply, before continuing up the Deception River. Another reason to upgrade the flood track!)
Crossing the Otehake River, by Geoff Chapple: [1]
In the morning I waded the river and went on down the long Taramakau Valley. There'd been rain during the night, and the weather still threatened. Winds gusted from every direction, tugging the lucky hanky on my Leki now this way, now that.
There was no marked track, but as I headed sometimes over grassy terraces, sometimes into bush to avoid getting bluffed by the river, I was struck as I had been in the Waiau Valley, by the invisible companionship of a thousand previous trampers.
On an unmarked route, you solve the problems of travel your own way, but surprisingly often as you come on, a discernible track opens under your feet. Others have made the same decisions. There's a comfort about it, and I was always careful to walk where others had, on that faint pressed grass where others would also follow. A nascent trail.
I crossed the Taramakau beyond Kiwi Hut, and awaited the thunderer.
The Otehake had dug itself a trench. Its banks were jumbled rock and the danger of it was the channel, not broad and flat like the Taramakau, but U shaped, faster running. People have died here - once you're down in a river like this, its hard to regain footing. I adjusted the Lekis. I prowled up and down to spot the best cross-point. I waded in, and the water rushed to the top of my thighs, unceasing and hypnotic as I stared down at it, sliding each boot slowly to its next stable footing.
Mid-way across I stopped and raised my head to look. It's a tactic. The river stops rushing then, your view is suddenly wide, your balance confirmed. A plane of liquid light stretches back and disappears into the forest. The river ripples, has small standing pressure waves, the light bounces off it. It is beautiful, both motile and still. It is just a little awesome, but not fearsome. Not today at least.
I tramped on down, crossed the Otira, and came out on the Arthurs Pass Highway.
Crossing the Waia Pass, by Eric Martinot: [1]
Day Four. Up and over Waiau Pass. This route is not for those of less determined bent, and I wouldn't do it alone again. In fact, Te Araroa planners have real nerve including it in the Te Araroa route, even if it is still the only way to get from St. Arnaud south to Lewis Pass. The route is poled and reasonably well marked but doesn't offer much of a formed track. After climbing high above Lake Constance and then steeply descending again, with an uncomfortable traverse around the steep side of a gully to get around steep rocks in a stream bed (one of the worst parts of the route), the route returned far down to the lake shore. Then it was time for the main climb: 400 m of vertical ascent up a steep rock scree field, another traverse, and then a final 200m climb to the pass. Actually, all of this climbing up wasn't too bad. The lower half of the scree field was good walking. Towards the top, sometimes I would be "walking in place" in the scree as it shifted downhill under me, sending larger rocks cascading down (but they didn't go far and always came to rest again). At the top I ate lunch and basked in having good weather.
Coming down was significantly more difficult. A tramping book by Sven Brabyn describes the initial descent as over "easy rocky ribs" which translated, however, to several Category-3 (or even 4?) rock downclimbs of perhaps 3-7 meters height (10-20 feet), down cracks with no obvious footholds or steps. I found it possible to get down these climbs with my pack on and with great patience and care, but did have a cord handy in case I needed to lower my pack ahead of me. I was very aware that a fall down one of these climbs could potentially be disabling. This bit, for perhaps 45 minutes, was the closest I've come to technical rock climbing and the crux of the section for me. Rain would make the rock downclimbs very dangerous. Looking up at the steep "rocky ribs" above me, I genuinely marveled at how I could have possibly come down them. Later, the route became a steep descent over broken rock, dirt, and tussock fields. When it reached the river valley, it became a good dirt track on the ground but severely overgrown with bush, so each step had to be made while bush was pushed away and the ground felt with feet or poles for step-downs and obstacles--an extremely slow process. In all, it took about 8 hours of hiking, plus a half-hour break at the top, to go from Blue Lake Hut, elevation 1100 meters, to Waiau Pass, elevation 1870 meters, and back down to the Waiau Forks camp, elevation 1100 meters. The actual distance traveled was probably about 6-7 kilometers.
Section J (Part 2): Lewis Pass (Windy Point) to Arthurs Pass (Aickens).
Day Five. Very glad I had a tent for camping at Waiau Forks and didn't have to walk these 4 hours to Caroline Hut the day before! It started raining in the morning just as I was packing up--the weather for crossing Waiau Pass had ceased and I once again felt gratitude at the timing. The morning hike down the valley to Caroline Hut was very slow. The route follows the river downstream, crossing several large boulder fields and venturing into the bush now and then. The boulder fields are leg-capturing deep and full of large sharp and irregular boulders. One step at a time, testing each foot plant as it gets made. A few cairns marked points along the way, but otherwise the route was unmarked and finding tracks through the bush was a task in itself. A painstaking 1 km/hour walk made slippery by the rain. At Caroline Hut for lunch, I realized that the next place to sleep was Anne Hut, some 8-9 hours distant, as the route then crossed the St. James cattle flats and camping was not allowed on this private property. Also, the route to Anne Hut involved several river crossings, not advisable in such heavy rain even thought the rivers were fairly gentle. So all things considered, I called it another half-day and stayed at Caroline Hut.
Crossing the Waia Pass, by Geoff Chapple: [1]
"Hmmmnn." The last weather forecast had said good until Thursday. Today was Thursday.
We made some rapid decisions. I decided not to climb Franklin. The weather was starting to look doubtful, and I wanted to move on. Stu wouldn't climb Franklin either. He'd come over Waiau Pass with me, then loop back via Thompson Saddle to the D'Urville River valley, where he had three huts to check.
We climbed away from the pocket-sized Blue Lake to the serious Lake Constance, one valley higher up. The weather was starting to break, and we donned parkas, beanies and gloves, pushing through tussock and Spaniard high above the lake, then down a crumbling path to the lakeshore. Stu came up from behind, holding a rag he'd found.
"Is this yours mate?"
"Oh - thanks."
Snatching at it. Holding it tight. Tattered and torn. Almost lost. My lucky blue hanky. We went on, past the lake. Two ducks flew down the draw, and we came to a sign that pointed sideways into the steep scree: Waiau Pass.
We climbed into cloud. Sporadic waratahs marked the route for a time, but visibility was down to 50 metres or so, and we soon lost them. The southerly was blowing, with gusts strong enough to shift our entire bodies sideways on the slope. We soon lost all sense of a trail, and came finally to a dead halt against a vertical rock buttress. We crouched in the lee of it, consulting the map. If we followed the rock up, we'd hit the pass - and we did, hauling slowly up the final yards, slinging off the packs.
Waiau Pass was the highest point yet on Te Araroa's proposed route - 1,870 metres. In my mind's eye I was to have sat down here, to have eaten cheese and salami, to have gazed with deserving satisfaction around the top third or so of the South Island.
Not. It was mid-summer, cold, and strangely dark.
"This is just a brief southerly front. It'll clear," said Stu. "The view from here has to be epic, and all we have to do is wait."
I waited, hood up, back to the wind like a cattle beast, the southerly soughing in the crags. Stu was off exploring, finding a snow bank, and returning full of energetic optimism.
"It's a lot lighter now than 20 minutes ago. It's clearing - look at that!"
"Stu - I have to say I think it's getting worse."
"You said you're writing about the trail route. If you can't see the view, how're you going to describe the pass?"
"When I come to write this bit, I'll just say Waiau Pass is considerably more beautiful than I have been able to describe. Let's get going."
We rock-hopped down the ridge on the far side, Stu calling back over his shoulder amidst the cold blast of the southerly and the streaming cloud:
"Everything condenses into one thing. Coming down the ridge and taking this all in. It's so good. It's so simple."
Then I found him stopped, one hand symbolically cupped.
"Listen! Insects."
A high glistening, right up there in the register where you can't quite tell if its tinnitus or small things rubbing their cuticles. Something other than ourselves - though we never saw quite what - lived and breathed on Waiau Pass.
Then we had to concentrate. The descent got steep. The iron waratahs drooped as if wilted by intense heat but in fact bent by winter snow avalanche. The ridge fell away, and I had a chance to see a South Island tramping tradition at work. After we'd followed one false ridge, and after we'd re-established the route by going back to the last waratah then searching out the next one 100s of metres away, Stu took time out to build a helpful cairn, intermediate between the two track markers.
We dropped under the cloud at last, then hit the bushline again and came on through low thickets of celery pine to a campsite beside the Waiau River. We lit a fire and cooked up a stew that absorbed the last of the sticky vegetables.
We talked some more around the fire. Stu Bennett had held down previous jobs at the Rugby Hall of Fame, and as a chauffeur at Sky City. He'd got the summer job as an honorary warden in Nelson Lakes National Park after a couple of years trying against fierce competition. When the holiday stint finished, he'd go back to Lincoln University where he was studying for a degree in Recreation Management in Parks.
In the morning we shook hands, and I off-loaded a bit of dehydrate.
* Strong Teva sandals that will not break by the rocks or you will not loose in the strong current during river crossings.
* Bushmen anti-bug spray for sand fly bite treatment.
* Fine muskito net for sand fly free sleeping inside a hut.
* Soothing cream for sand fly bites.
* 30 m safety rope and two ski poles each to assist in save river-crossings. 4 mm prusic rope is the lightest, 40 m is around 220 gram. If you do not have ski poles, break/cut up a 5-10 cm thick branch, there are always some lying around, use only one, the bigger the better.
* Waterproof bag for inside the rucksack. Australian use a "dead dog bag", we use a rafting/canoe bag
* Light weight gore-tex coat and pants.
* Gaitors, to have some protection for the morning wet grass.
* Shoe cream, apply every morning, will keep your boots dry for an extra 2-3 hours.
* Sufficient spare food like additional 200 gram rice or pasta packages (one meal) in case you get stuck in the weather for a few days.
* 5 or 20% magnesium salt against endless thirst when you do long and sweaty treks. Himalaya salt from Tibet has 5%.
* Small bouillon packages for additional salt to quench the thirst and to heat up.
* Fast drying clothes only.
* Good description of river crossings. Better, avoid and plan a longer route by using a bridge.
* Storm proof tent or fly or large sheet of plastic to shelter during a typical New zealand heavy rain storm.
![[1]](nz05p2240190picton.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p2210123bay.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p2200082resbay.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p2200083resbay.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p2200075resbay.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p2200092furnaux.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p2210116punga.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p2220158.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p2220167accountant.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p2220166beeffarmer.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p2220145.jpg){kind=link}
![[2]](nz05p2220161.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p2230168anakiwa.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p2250202avalanche.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p2250205travershut.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p2250230mounttraverse.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p2260244rapids.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p2260245avalanche.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p2270257bluelake.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p2270257bluelakehut.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p2270255bushwackers.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p2270260deaddogbag.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p2270258collinelad.jpg){kind=link}
![[2]](nz05p2270259collinelad.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p2280296waiaupasssouth.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p2280305thomsonlake.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p2280307waiaupassnorth.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p2280309attack.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p2280320waiauforkstrail.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p2280323waiauforksstream.jpg){kind=link}
![[2]](nz05p2280324crossing.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p2280325carbiv.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p2280341carbiv.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p2280327carbiv.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p2280329carbiv.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p2280330carbiv.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p2280333carbiv.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p2280334carbiv.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p2280338waiauvalley.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p2280346waiauvalleynorth.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p2280349waiaucows.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p3010361waiauvalley.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p3010372cows.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p3010375cows.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p3010377bullsdetail.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p3010363waiauriver.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p3010391thompsonvalley.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p3010405thompson.jpg){kind=link}
![[2]](nz05p3010402toiletsthompson.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p3030424boyleriverbridge.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p3030421hoperiver.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p3040452hurunuivalley.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p3040459hurunuibridge.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p3040468forest.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p3040463hurunuitree.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p3040471mushroom.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p3040472nr4hut.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p3040479cameronshut.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p3040476wirebridge.jpg){kind=link}
![[2]](nz05p3040477wirebridge.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p3050483harperpassbiv.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p3050489valleyhaperspass.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p3050490harperspass.jpg){kind=link}
![[2]](nz05p3050492harperspass.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p3050504nr4Lockhut.jpg){kind=link}
![[2]](nz05p3050505nr4lock.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p3050520taramakauriver.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p3060522trianglecrossing.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p3060531ruudwet.jpg){kind=link}
![[1]](nz05p3060534wizzard.jpg){kind=link}