A brief summary of a week down South – not at Aoraki/ Mt Cook as originally planned (due to stormy, gusty and avalanche prone conditions) – but at Methven and the Lewis Pass, to follow the good weather.
Day 1 – Pudding Hill
(4.5 km, 1 h)
- Fly down to Christchurch, play Tetris in order to pack all our bags in the car.
- Head to Methven (Cedar Chalets) for what ended up being 5 nights.
- A little warm up, up and over Pudding Hill – cruisy bush walk.
Day 2 – Mt Hutt
(9 km, 1,000 m elev gain, 5h 30)
- Get up early in order to arrive as soon as the ski field road opens.
- Confuse parking wardens when we asked for the lower carpark (“but you can go further up, you know right?”)
- Walk 100 m and put crampons on. Slowly make our way up a steep slope and along a ridge as the wind picks up.
- Dodge some skiers as we navigate our way up to the top of the ski field, at about 2080 m.
- Alpine views and cramped bothy bag break, for respite from the wind (see next WTMC album cover attached).
- Too windy. Head back down. Get off the road before the Peak to Pub race starts
- Nap in the sun at the chalet and meet Scotty the cat, our new cuddly trip mascot.
- Cheered the Peak to Pub runners on as they came through, and headed to the Brown Pub for our own “Peak to Pub” experience.
Day 3 – Te Araroa section along Manuka Hut and Double Hut, along the expansive valley flats
(27.5 km, 700 m elev gain, 6h 30)
- Late start (8.30 am) and checked in with our new friend, Bill, from Cedar Chalets, to extend our stay.
- Went straight to Emily Lake along a muddy but easy track, with views of the pointy peaks of the Arrowsmith Range, then onwards to Manuka Hut for lunch.
- Plenty of traps and dead possums along the way. Anne took it upon herself to release the dead bodies (dramatic flops included) and reset the traps. As per recent DOC campaign, “She’s doing her bit for conservation, are you?”
- More flat track led us to Double Hut – another cute historic musterers’ tin shack.
- This was the end dry feet for the day, as we crossed Swin River.
- We then soldiered on into the wind towards Lake Heron, where we hoped we’d be picked up after 27 km walking, with another 8km of gravel road to go (in cold winds).
- Against all odds, one of us got a ride and then picked up the car and got the others.
- Light touch car hut bagging – Home Creek Hut and the historic Somers Hut.
Day 4 – Pinnacles Hut and Mt Somers plateau
(20 km, 1,700 m elev gain, 9h 30)
- A warm bush walk. After a few sharp and steep sets of stairs, we followed a classic tramping track to Pinnacles Hut, which included some scrambling and bits of rope to help climb the steeper sections.
- Highlights included a magical waterfall, rocky outcrops and nice scenery.
- (If you were wondering whether the Pinnacles Wardens Hut counts on Hut Bagger, it does not).
- Headed to the saddle, and it felt like we would never arrive. But we did – it is at 1200 m elevation.
- After a team brainstorm, we decided to drop our alpine gear and head up to the plateau for the views. Followed the rocky/scree-y poled route to the top.
- Patches of snow with great views of the Winterslow Range and Hakatere Range.
- And then back the way we came, with more wind and an efficient descent at a good pace.
Day 5 – Sleep in, brunch and hot pools
The title says it all.
Day 6 – Travel and car bagging
- Relocating to Lewis Pass to escape the storms and gusty winds.
- Brief stops at Coopers Creek Hut and Jim Adams Memorial Hut.
- Purchased matching colourful headbands in Rangiora for our group.
- Short walk in Hanmer Springs to the Dog Stream Waterfall before heading to Boyle Village for two nights.
- Please note: it is Han-mer Springs, not Ham-ner Springs.
Day 7 – Faust and soft snow. More hot pools
(14.5 km, 1,300 m elev gain, 9h)
- A rest day for Jamie who was sick, while the rest of us took the alpine and avalanche gear for a walk.
- Heading up the spur and finding soft, fresh snow from about 700-800 m elevation.
- Once at the bushline, more fresh, dry powdery snow, the kind you don’t often see in New Zealand. Also the kind that calls for snowshoes rather than crampons.
- Slow travel postholing along the ridgeline towards Faust, observing cornice-like formations on the ridge. Lots of holes.
- Majestic views of Mephistopheles and mountains for days, snowy tops as far as the eye could see.
- Lunch at the summit, and back down we go. Even softer snow, as it had begun to melt.
- Rapid descent to pick up Jamie and head straight to the Maruia Hot Springs for a warm soak, sauna and cold plunge (and baked camembert). A late Friday night out in Lewis Pass. In bed by 10.
Day 8 – Lake Daniell
(17 km, 300 m elev gain, 4h 30)
- Slow start, packing and cleaning up. And heading to Lake Daniell for a flat but long enough day walk.
- More car bagging – Palmers Lodge and the Boyle Base Huts.
- Walking the family-friendly track along the lovely Alfred River led us to Manson-Nicholls Hut in exactly 2 hours.
- The hut (bookable) is very fancy looking and modern. Includes composting toilets designed by Maruia School.
- After debating the option of a little off-track detour, we kept to the track and called it a day.
- Note: the Alpine Fault walk (from the carpark) is not worth the 50 m walk. Underwhelming.
- Drive to Hanmer Springs for a few hops on the Jumping Pillow and a protein & carb-heavy dinner.
