Bushwalk Australia

It was a bit over 2 years ago that we travelled to New Zealand and did a quick tour of North and South Island.
The report was here: http://bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=5854

Last April we went for another 2 weeks, but this time we restricted the driving and did a loop from Christchurch on the South Island.
There were 4 of us travelling together in a hire car and we were booked on the Routeburn track first up.
Weather was always a concern, and we had left a lot of things unbooked in order to be flexible.
However, despite the weather reports suggesting significant days of rain, the clouds seem to clear in front of us for most of our trip.
After catching up with some church friends first stop was Tekapo via the Rakaia Gorge, then down to Queenstown for tickets and supplies before staying the night at Kinloch.

We had admired the Clay Cliffs at Omarama from the main road last time, but this time we made sure to have a walk around them.



Kinloch was a delightful setting on Lake Wakatipu, and our hostess urged us to check out the various streams converging on the Dart River mouth.

So after a short amble at Kinloch it was off to Routeburn Shelter to start the 4 days we had booked on the track.
We had engaged a car transfer group to get the hire car to the other end.

We had expected to walk the first day in the rain - but it turned out a glorious sunny day.
We admired Bridal Veil Falls high above us and then headed off immediately crossing the Routeburn River.


The track enters a rich green forested world and climbs above the valley floor. Higher up we crossed a bridge where a canyoning group were preparing to descend a deep cut watercourse.
The track climbs to a narrow spot where we met up with the the Routeburn River again as it cuts through some high cliffs and begins its steep descent to the Shelter.
From here on the track gives great views and the occassional access down onto the river proper - with its delightful blue waters.

We crossed the Routeburn again before getting to the Flats where we had a lunch break and checked out the views from the hut.
The robins on the track are very friendly and one gave us a close checkout here as we ate.




After lunch we took the steady climb up to the Routeburn Falls hut - getting in late afternoon.

There was still enough light to explore the adjacent falls. I found them a bit confusing. The big drop on the map appears to be in the section below the hut - but there was no clear view of it - even from the valley floor - where it looks like a number of large cascades at various points.
However, the drops just above the hut are very pretty as the river divides into a few different sections as it comes down this slope.


The next day was meant to be a good weather day and I had hoped to get somewhat off track to see Lake Wilson.
But a thick layer of cloud descended on the mountains as the day dawned, and we ended up ascending inside a white world.
We happened on a female DOCS ranger at a curious boulder arch. She was observing a group of Keas stripping the bark off a native deciduous tree.
They were quite OK with our presence and one came up right next to the camera to see what we had on offer.
[see April photo comp] http://bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=13539

We could hear the river, but saw very little, and I was getting anxious that we would get any view of Lake Harris at all.
Climbing up to the bluffs above it, we eventually broke out of the cloud and took our time with breaks and slow walking in the hope it might clear for a view below.
It was still a magical place with the mountains rising out of the sea of cloud below us.


Approaching Harris Saddle we re-entered a total whiteout which persisted all the way to Harris Saddle Shelter, so we had a cuppa there before heading up Conical Hill to see if there was a view.
The cloud was intermittently streaming over the top of the mountain and there were great views of the Darrans and the Hollyford valley.
But we lingered on and on and eventually the cloud below broke up giving us our first views of Lake Harris.

It eventually cleared right away from the immediate area and we could even glimpse a little of Lake Wilson below Mt Erebus


We descended to the shelter again for lunch - but I took the time to go back to the saddle proper for a closer look at the lake and particularly up the Valley of the Trolls to the waterfall off lake Wilson.

We still had to get to Lake MacKenzie, so it was off on the high level traverse around Ocean Peak high above the Hollyford Valley.

The track finishes with a short climb up the final ridge above Lake MacKenzie before a long zig zag descent down.


The lake is an emerald green and due to the very leaky moraine that dams it, its water level can vary a lot. It was particularly low, but still had great reflections.

The large boulders near the lake are covered in a very thick layer of moss. The amazing greens and thick mosses in a number of different forest types were a real highlight of the walk.


The next day was another in which I had intended to go off track, but instead we took a leisurely stroll around the side of the lake, and making use of the low water level we explored the far end.
There is a walk here that goes to a phenomenon called Split Rock - a large cracked boulder that you can walk through from one side to the other.


We saw a number of birds on our trip - this was a cute fellow that was hard to get as the light level was low and he was very quick.

So we started the walk proper to Lake Howden late morning, and again the rich greens of the forest were a delight.


Lunch was had at the Orchard - a natural grove of the native deciduous trees getting their autumn colour.
There was a curious pond here which was surrounded by a large area of very squishy spagnum moss.
It was dangerous to try and even get close to it, but it looked like a lot of deer used the area.

The biggest falls of this trip are the Earland Falls which come directly off a cirque lake, and the track allows some good views on the approach from this direction.

It was then a lovely late afternoon amble down to the hut at Lake Howden. This time the branches of the forest were draped in a lovely brown moss.
The lake itself was a nice place to stop. There were a number of birds flitting through here and we saw a number of the diving ducks on the lake. Very cute when they seemed to disappear and reappear as if they were synchronous swimmers.




There were only a few staying at this hut, as it is so close to The Divide.
The elderly warden here was very knowledgable and he gave as a book detailing the history of the area. I was particularly interested in the reasons for the Eglinton name - Eglinton Valley, Eglinton River, Mt Eglinton.
That's the family name and it turns out that it was given in honour of the 13th Earl of Eglinton [who happened to be a Montgomery]
He had held a rather infamous joust back in England [it was the last joust held as it was at the beginning of the industrial revolution], and a young man who had attended the event had later come to New Zealand and named a lot of features after that event.
Not only the Earl Mountain range, but a number of peaks in the area were also named after notable folk who had attended that event.

Again - we had expected heavy rain on the last day out, but were greeted by fine weather. We had climbed Key Summit before, so this time we made quick time through to the waiting car at The Divide.
[We had used Routeburn Relocators (soon to be Easyhike.co.nz) and it was a very well done and assisted our trip a lot]

The weather report had been for snow even, but it turned out that the snow was all to the north of us.
We had not managed to get off track apart from a stroll around Lake MacKenzie, but it had been a delightful trip in amazingly good weather. About 38km and 1750m of climbing.


The rest of the trip was a bit more touristy, but we still put in roughly 28km of walking.
We had fine weather last time I was at Milford Sound, so I was expecting to see it in the wet this time. Amazingly fine again.

The next day was gloomy but dry. After a foreshore walk we headed out.
Did a very cold walk at Lake Gunn - but this was one of the greenest forest walks we had been on - which is no small praise given the Routeburn forests.


Decided to check out the Glow Worm caves at Te Anau. This involves a boat ride across Lake Te Anau and the caves and glow worms were quite good.
It was getting much colder and we could see it had been snowing on the ranges to the north.

We got into Queenstown after dark, and woke to quite a good cover of snow on the Remarkables.
It was a quiet Sunday and we went for a drive up Lake Wakatipu looking for a lost hub cap from our drive to Kinloch.
No luck - but some good views over the lake.

We also checked out Arrowtown where the autumn colours were stunning. Probably a lot like some parts of the USA in fall.
In the twilight we did a short walk along the Shotover River to a gorge section which included a tunnel built into the river to harness its flow by the miners.
Next morning had been the day to attempt Brewsters Hut, but we had been lured by the snow and drove up onto the Remarkables instead.
The trig point lookout gave us the best views for the day. It was a world of white as we climbed through snow and mist to Lake Alta from the snow fields car park.
I had hoped to go up the adjoining ridge into the adjacent basin and up to the lookout high on the ridgeline before following the chairlift down.
The views would have been spectacular, but we had a bit of a struggle up one steep section, and in caution at the icy conditions under foot and the realisation that the cloud was not clearing, but getting worse, we turned back. At least we had built our snowman.

We got sidetracked in the Kawarau Gorge and checked out the Chinaman's Village in the old goldfields amongst some rain showers and ended up getting into Wanaka late.
Next morning saw us heading off into bands of thick fog and past a moody Lake Hawea before crossing The Neck to a grand view of peaks with fresh snow caps over Lake Wanaka.
The sun kept shining through the Haast Pass where we visited the salmon at Blue Pools and Fantail Falls.
Near Fantail Falls, it was with a slight sense of loss that we looked across the serene shallow waters of the Haast River to the start of the Brewster Hut track.
This was a great contrast to the raging torrent and thick low clouds we saw there 2 years before.
If we had kept to the original plan, we would have been descending down in bright sunshine at that time.

After lunch at Haast we did a short walk at Ship Creek. This is an area of coastal lakes and dunes.
The west coast is littered with driftwood and it was a delightful walk along the beach and back through forest.




We were pushing hard with an eye on the clock as we had booked ahead for a chopper flight onto Franz Joseph with some extended glacier walking.
Making it with minutes to spare, we were advised that the cloud had dropped too low, so the flight was cancelled.
Rejigging our plans, we did the walk to the face of the Franz Josef Glacier only to find that the main snout was blocked by a large rock.
The 2 big glaciers here vary a lot year by year, and we had happened on it much bigger only 2 years before.

We were staying at Fox, but based on the previous time there, I thought we might be able to sneek in a scenic flight before sunset.
Having got the go ahead, we had a long wait for the pilot to turn up, but all was good as the cloud continued to lift the longer we waited.
It ended up being a sunset flight and the cloud had cleared a lot giving some amazing views over the mountain tops as well as over the glaciers.
The pilot took us north to the small Middleton Glacier where we landed for a brief stroll at 1900m high before flying back over both glaciers.
The sun was setting as we landed.

Next day we hiked up onto Fox Glacier for a glacier walk, and again the weather held off. It only began to rain at the last part of our walk.


Before leaving Fox we did a brief walk for a view from Lake Matheson. The lush mosses here were a feature.

The sky was still clear as we headed north in the late afternoon. But it became very heavy and soon we were in heavy rain as we turned inland towards Arthurs Pass.
This was the worst weather of the trip, but being dark, we did not miss out on any views.
Staying overnight at Arthurs Pass, we got an indication of how widespread the fallout from the Christchurch earthquake was.
The owner queried us on how easy it was to get accommodation at Christchurch. It had been fine as we were staying out towards the airport, but it appears there is little available due to the numerous trades people in the city.
There was also someone staying out there who had lost their home. They were not handling it very well as little had progressed in 2 years.

The weather was clear in the morning, but we had a tight schedule to get to the airport.
We visited the Arthur Pass memorial and then slotted in a quick walk to the Devil's Punchbowl Falls


Then it was off through the mountains with a pause at Cave Creek.
Its a fascinating place where extensive limestone has been shaped into numerous large boulders and the river has left its watercourse to drill through underground.
There is a walk you can do through from one end to the other, but you need to know what you are doing as it can be dangerous.


A little further on, another breakout of limestone makes up Castle Hill.
We could not stop, but the maze of boulders and cliffs are impressive against the backdrop of snow covered mountains.

After the drop off at Christchurch airport, my wife and I had 2 more days around Christchurch.
Getting around was not straightforward as the place is still greatly affected by closures and changes from the earthquake.
We eventually got up onto the Port Hills early next morning after 2 road blocked attempts the day before.
Despite the sinking feeling from driving up into thick fog, it was well worth the effort as the fog was breaking up on the southern side of the hills and gave great views over Lyttelton Harbour.
We could also see over the clouds to the snow on the Southern Ranges to the west.




The rest of that day was a long drive out to Mt Hutt in the hope that we could play in some more snow. It was all good till we got to a locked gate about 3km short.
We tried to walk it but the wind was so strong we were getting blown off our feet, so we gave up.
This was our second time past the Rakaia River Gorge which is at the foot of the mountain, and it is a very pretty spot.

fan frigging tastic, especially the helicopter trip....

Wow, what a trip so beautifully captured for all of us to enjoy. Thanks for taking the time to post these fantastic photos and notes. It makes logging on in the morning worthwhile.....

Lovely! Love the Routeburn tramp- it's one I'd be happy to do over & over (3 times so far)
Cheers
Lizzy

Nice pics and report eggs, thanks for sharing!

You make me want to move to UnZud rather than back to Tassie . . .

Mate I love those shots.

K.

Great posts Brian! Thanks so much for the big effort you put in. You've brought back so many fond memories of our trips to those places over the last decade. I'm jealous of your weather on the Routeburn. We've walked it twice, and still only got the vaguest of impressions of Tuteko and the Darrans from the Hollyford Face.

... and obviously your Pentax is in good form Congrats on the picture of the month wins!

cheers

Peter

Thanks all.
Yes NNW - there was a discussion about which was better - NZ or Tas.
I prefer to think that they have different attractions, but it has been nice to see a bit of NZ.
And the next step will be to take a tent and try something other than a walkers highway.

Peter - We have been very fortunate with weather on both trips.
And the Pentax has been doing OK. I have a new 15mm prime that I am trying to use as the standard lens. The trick has been to ensure a reasonably high aperture for crispness across the width.
The ability to take HDRs without a tripod has been magic, and I was very pleased with the Lake MacKenzie reflection shots with only a mild HDR.
And we loved Kinloch Lodge the one night we stayed there.

I guess I really should prove we built a snow man at Lake Alta.



We also found fresh bird tracks and some interesting NZ cushion plant up there.

Loved all the photos Brian. I remember gazing in awe across to the Valley of the trolls.. Sunset on the glacier must have been amazing to witness.

All beautiful photos Eggs, thank you very much for sharing!