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South Island 4 Arthur's pass Part A The west

South Island 4 Arthur's pass Part A The west


Postby past my sell by date » Fri Aug 07, 2020 3:44 pm

Date walked: 26/12/2002

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Having managed to get up Aspiring and Aoraki, I though the rest of my time in New Zealand would be relatively relaxing - hut to hut walking - tramping as they call it there - along forest trails :D .
I was soon to learn better :o :o
I'd originally met Steve and Tam in Austria on a hut to hut tour of the Stubai. they were living in the UK and had flown out with just a rucksack each that they carried the whole time. i think Steve's weighed around 25kg and Tam's about 18. Each sack included glass jars of their favourite jams and at one point on a snowy plateau the first thing Tam took out was an enormous bunch of (climbing) wires :lol: :lol: :lol: - They were prepared for anything :roll:
Perhaps this should have forewarned me of what was coming :lol: :lol:
Anyway we met again back in the UK, and they invited me to use their house in Auckland as a New Zealand base which was really nice - and arranged that we go for a tramp in the 1200km2 National Park around Arthur's Pass (739m) - a North South road through the mountains about 130km North East of Aoraki. They also had access to a Bach - a simple beach cottage very popular in NZ (and pronounced batch) - At the mouth of the Rangitata river South of Christchurch.
I picked them up there on Boxing day in my hire car, and we continued to a motel at the top of the pass where we stayed the night
A01.jpg
Northern part of South Island
A02.jpg
General map of the route
The original plan was a ten day tramp, starting at Klondike Corner - 8km South - circling roughly clockwise on the West side, before ,crossing back over the road and continuing round the East. In the event we shortened it by a couple of days

Day 1 Klondike corner to Carrington hut

A03.jpg
Day 1 map
New Zealand huts are generally quite simple affairs - they have bunks with mattresses, running water and a composting toilet somewhere nearby , but everything else you bring yourself. So on the first morning we set about packing ten days of supplies into our sacks. Steve wasn't impressed with the volume of my Karrimor , and every time i thought it was full he would find another bit of space and stuff in another pack of pasta or whatever :lol: Needless to say they carried far more than I did :)
Eventually it was done, and leaving the car at the motel we took a bus to Klondike corner and set off. The route follows the wide braided bed of the Waimakariri river crossing it several times.
AP01---The-Waimakariri-river-bed-from-Klondyke-Corner.jpg
The Waimakariri river bed from Klondike corner. In the distance the Shaler range ( Mt Murchison 2408m is the highest point in the park
AP03---Beside-the-river.jpg
Beside the river
The water is crystal clear, the bottom gravel and the flow relatively smooth. We set off along the North bank but after a few hundred metres the bush became quite impenetratable and we had to cross.
AP02---Into-the-river-for-the-first-time.jpg
Into the river for the first time - No - you don't take anything off :o - you'll be in and out all day - the sun dries you out and your boots drain overnight . I don't think it was much more than mid-thigh deep here
AP04---The-Track-enters-the-bush.jpg
Eventually the track settled on the South bank, passed Anti Crow hut and continued through bush to the Carrington hut
carrington hut.jpg
The Carrington hut library photo

Day 2 Carrington hut to the Julia hut
AP04X.jpg
Day 2 map
From the hut the route climbs beside the White river and then crosses it to climb the Taipoiti river valley to the 1321m Harman pass - on the divide.
AP05---Above-the-Carrington-hut.jpg
Early morning - White river stream bed above Carrington hut - we had no difficulty crossing
AP06----Steep-stream-bed-below-the-Harman-Pass.jpg
Taipoiti river below the pass - we all thought it had a "Lake District" feel to it - a bit like White Ghyll in Great Langdale
AP07----At-the-Harman-Pass-just-below-the-mist.jpg
Harman pass - a break in the clouds allowed a view up to the 1753m Whitehorn Pass
AP08---Mary-creek-on--the-N-side-of-the-pass.jpg
Mary Creek descends the other side and becomes the Taipo river further down. the vegetation is much more luxuriant on this side of the divide. Southern Beech (Nothofagus) has given way to more mixed forest
AP09---Hebe-bushes-abound-in-this-area.jpg
Hebes, heaths and mosses abound in this area where the branches of Mary Creek converge
AP29x---Hebe-bush.jpg
Hebe bush in full flower
AP08R.jpg
Snowberry bush
AP08u.jpg
L Angelica montana - Maori Anise: - R Hebe Canterburiensis has curious flattened stems
AP09x-----Edelweiss.jpg
The silvery flowers of Leucogenes Grandiceps - New Zealand Edelweiss ( quite different from the Swiss plant) and Euphrasia Cuneata - Eyebright
AP11---Mary-Creek-around-the-bush-line.jpg
Looking back up Mary's Creek: we had to cross it several times: the Julia track comes out into the open at a rockslide before heading back into the bush
AP10---On-the-track-tyo-the-Julia-hut.jpg
The track to the Julia hut continues for about 3km to a bridge just before the hut
AP12x---Mountain-foxglove.jpg
Ourisia macrocarpa - New Zealand Mountain Foxglove

AP12z.jpg
L Wahleburgia albomarginata - New Zealand Bluebell : R This epiphytic fern Asplenum Flaccidum looks almost like plastic :D
AP13.jpg

AP13a.jpg
The Julia hut a cosy place for six people, and (below) the modern hut: both library photos
AP13AA.jpg
A Weca outside the front door: - they are very tame - and partial to sandwiches as I discovered later :lol: :lol:

Day 3 Julia hut to Seven mile hut
AP13b.jpg
Day 3 map
On day 3 the route follows Mary Creek - now the Taipo river - past Mid Taipo hut to Seven mile hut ( now called the New Dillon hut)
AP12---Wire-bridge-near-the-Julia-hut.jpg
First adventure of the day - a wire bridge over Tumbledown Creek
The track stays on the East side of the river until just before Mid Taipo hut where you cross on a suspension bridge
AP14---Another-view-a-little-further-down.jpg
two views looking back up the Taipo a few km below the Julia hut: wading the river below here was a daunting proposition - fortunately there were bridges or cableways
AP15---A-long-suspension-bridge-over-the-Taipo.jpg
This bridge takes you over to the West bank where the track continues to Mid Taipo hut
AP16---Trees-and-grassland-on-the-alluvial-flats.jpg
The track heads through meadow and forest on the West bank
AP17---Three-giants-of-the-forest.jpg
Three giants of the forest
AP18---skeleton-tree-trunk.jpg
Looking back upstream - skeleton tree trunks over the river
Steve wasn't sure whether the next crossing - Scotty's cableway would be in operation, so we attempted to wade at a point where the flow was not too fast.

A note about crossing rivers
The first thing is to be certain that all the possessions in your sack are in an absolutely watertight bag zipped or tied up - so that if the worst happens and you fall over your kit remains dry. i am told that if this happens, you should get the sack off ASAP and hold it in front of you like a lifebelt - fortunately I never needed to use this advice :D :lol: However when the water gets above the crutch, i'ts unpleasant, and above the waist when your sack starts to act as a buoyancy aid, downright scary. Poles are useful for judging the depth ahead, but you have to put them in angled way upstream so that they are roughly vertical when they find bottom. Also in a group you form a circle (triangle in our case) holding on to the next person's shoulder straps on each side and cross as a single unit .


In this case we got nearly halfway over when Steve decided against it. However in the hut that evening three hunters appeared who had clearly managed it - a little local knowledge obviously helps :)
A bit further down we climbed up to "Scotty's bluff and found we could use the cableway. :D :D
Scotty.jpg
As this modern photo shows it's now a "piece of cake" but at that time there was a sort of sledge that you sat in one by one, and levered yourself across using a pivoted bar. it was slow and very strenuous :( . There is a similar device in Glen Etive, but it's a fraction of the length and much closer to the water :lol:
AP19---On-the-other-bank.jpg
Safely back on the East bank
AP20---Seven-Mile-Creek.jpg
Crossing One Mile Creek
AP22---Outside-Seven-Mile-Hut.jpg
Cattle grazing in the meadows outside Seven Mile hut
AP21---Trees-around-Seven-Mile-hut-(1).jpg

AP23---Tree-outside-Seven-Mile-hut.jpg
Tall trees outside the hut
AP23U.jpg
Seven mile Creek hut -now the New Dillon hut: We initially went to the "old" hut a couple of hundred metres on, but were re-directed by a rather surly man and his equally surly dog :lol:

CONTINUED IN PART B https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=98637
past my sell by date
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