Day 1: D’Urville Hut to George Lyon Hut – Weather: Sunny, no wind, 16 degrees C
DOC travel time: 8 hrs/ Group travel time: 9.45 hrs /Pace: Slow – medium
After arriving at Lake Rotoroa campsite at about 10pm Thursday night, we slept fitfully amid the roar of stags from the local deer farm. Prior to catching the 8am water taxi to D’Urville Hut, we stopped for breakfast and to complete ablutions. To make the most of the beautiful weather and views of the surrounding hills, we travelled up the wide, easily navigable flats of the D’Urville River for the first few hours, making multiple crossings, never higher then knee deep, on the way. This slowed our travel considerably, but was a nice contrast to the bush which made up the majority of the day.
Wasps, which were to become a major feature of the trip (see chart below), made themselves known early. Also up early were robins, tomtits and fantails, which were frequently seen on the track. We stopped for an hour at Morgan Hut, wonderfully positioned in a huge grassy field, and sat in the sun on the broad wooden porch for lunch. The hut was clean and tidy.
We walked the last hour in the dark, and about 20 minutes before reaching George Lyon Hut, we encountered a large bog. One of the party walked through the centre, and became, well, bogged, and was only able to free themselves after 20 minutes of digging by hand. George Lyon Hut is almost two huts joined together – unfortunately both halves are without heating as at the time of writing this report. The Hut is in good condition and there is ample room for tents outside. Our group had sole occupancy, except for a possum who resided in the tree by the toilet.
Day 2: Round trip to Upper D’Urville Hut – Weather: Sunny, no wind, 16 degrees C
DOC travel time: 8 hrs/ Group travel time: 9 hrs /Pace: Slow – medium
The track follows the river, never undulating more than 20-40 metres, and continues to become narrower the further up the valley one travels. There are many narrow edges that, while not particularly precipitous, may not be suitable for those suffering from acrophobia (fear of heights). It is at times overgrown, with young birch and grasses whipping and scratching and there are a number of small track diversions due to river encroachment. On 2 or 3 occasions the party fumbled around for a few minutes, looking for markers or cairns.
Upper D’Urville Hut sleeps 2 people, and according to the hut book, gets around 50 visitors a year – including our club mate Alistair S. While clean and tidy, there is no toilet. The wasps are stealth ninjas on this section of the track and attacked on multiple occasions, sparing few. The views of the mountains, including Moss Pass, were majestical. Back at George Lyon Hut, Tony found a large fry pan and made a deconstructed custard tart with malt biscuits, vanilla custard and tinned peaches. It was a culinary triumph.
Day 3: George Lyon Hut to D’Urville Hut – Weather: Overcast, no wind, 17 degrees C
DOC travel time: 8 hrs/ Group travel time: 8 hrs /Pace: medium
Wasps continued their guerilla warfare throughout the day. The air was redolent with white vinegar – the acidity of which helped neutralize the wasp venom. And antihistamines became the new trail mix. The cloud continued to lower throughout the day and we moved out of the gloom of the bush to the open river flats during the afternoon. We arrived at the hut in daylight, with a few spots of rain falling.
| Wasps vs WTMC – number of hits and location | |||
| Fri | Sat | Sun | |
| Tony | |||
| Monique | Leg 1 | Hand 1 | |
| Charlotte | Leg 1 | Leg 1 | |
| Regan | Leg 1 | ||
| Karen | |||
| Gina | Leg 1 | ||
| Jo | Torso 1, Leg 1 | Butt 1 | |
| Emma | Leg 4 | Butt 1 | |
| TOTAL | 2 | 8 | 4 |
Day 4: D’Urville Hut to Picton – Weather : Wet, no wind, 15 degrees C
We had planned to walk the Lewis Creek Goldfield Track, accessible from the St Arnaud-Kawatiri Highway, however it started raining, so we bailed in favour of brunch at the Alpine Lodge in St Arnaud. We later learnt that 50 properties in the Tasman district had been impacted by a tornado and thunderstorms that had torn through the region – so we felt the right call had been made. A side trip to Makana Confections (try the Macadamia Butter Toffee Crunch) in Blenheim capped off a day spent eating our way back to Picton.