Start of the Trip - CollingwoodKaramea - Heaphy TrackRolling River, WangapekaMurchison, New ZealandLewis passArthurs PassRakaia RiverLake Clearwater, New ZealandLake Ohau, New ZealandWanaka, New ZealandArrowtown, New ZealandTe Anau, New ZealandTuatapere, New ZealandTe Waewae Bay
 | walk4kiwis |  | A long walk to Save the Kiwis |  | Lake Clearwater, New Zealand |
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Feb 21 2010, 05:42 PM
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Lake Clearwater, New Zealand
Anyway, back to where we left off last update, camped on the side of the Rakaia River. My plan was to ford the river on the Saturday but during Friday night a screaming nor-wester blew up and heavy rain fell in the Alps, enough to force the rerouting of the Coast to Coast race which was held that day. We should have realized that something was about to happen from the cloud formations the day before.
The wind was such in the morning that we could hardly stand up in it, let alone waddle across a river. So being the intrepid couple that we were, we headed into Christchurch once again, this time to get my boots fixed and pick up Phil Soole who is going to keep me company for the next 2 weeks. Phil and his brother Pete did the Wangapeka with me a million years ago. Some people never learn.
The boot repair job was a success and once again when I explained to the boot maker what I was doing and he didn’t charge me, so if you are in ChCh and need boots repairing, go to Ferry Road Shoe Service, 188 Ferry Road.
We picked Phil up and headed up to the southern side of the Rakaia opposite the Wilberforce confluence and headed up the Turton’s saddle at 1120m.
We could see the weather coming in from the NW and the forecast didn’t sound too flash but not too horrendous either. This was amazing country, huge sweeping Canterbury high country.
We didn’t see any stock anywhere but lots of native skinks and believe it or not, great flocks of black-backed seagulls, even up at this height. They gave the impression of being vultures circling around.
As we dropped down into the Turton’s basin towards the Comyn’s hut we could see the structure stuck out in the middle of nowhere which from a distance looked like a long-drop. As we approached it, we realized that is just what it was, They obviously expect a lot of strong winds down this valley.
For the last hour and a half walk down to the hut, we had to put our raincoats on – for the first time in over 4 weeks. We got to Comyn’s hut which was built in 1957 to replace the original one built in 1890. This is listed as derelict and Boy, they are not kidding!
The new one is made completely out of corrugated iron which is all proudly labeled ‘Made in Ebbw Vale, Great Britain" nowadays I imagine it would all be labeled’ Made in China’.
The mountain forecast that night again didn’t sound too bad, just showers and high winds. We set off the next morning at first light and by 10 to 7 had our boots full of freezing water crossing the first of 37 stream crossings. We climbed up towards the Clent Hill Saddle through thick tussock interspaced with matagouri and wild Spaniard, two of NZ’s wonderful alpine species so welcoming to trampers. We got to the top of the saddle at 1480m where we were told that on a clear day you could see for ever.
At this stage we could see the valley floor and that was about it. At the top of the saddle it took us quite some time to find the downward track marker. It was well to the right of the top of the saddle and half way along the 400m scree slope we had to sidle along.
It was about here that things started turning to custard.
The cloud that had been further down the valley was suddenly upon us. It was a lot thicker and wetter than what I had experienced on the Waiau Pass. We really couldn’t see from one marker to the next and had to repeat the experience of one staying by the marker while the other set out to find the next one. As a lot of this track was along narrow ridges we really didn’t want to head the wrong way. The temptation of course was to drop down and follow the river valley but after consulting the map and seeing the gorge which was half way down the river, we didn’t think that was such a great idea. Occasionally the cloud would thin enough to allow us to see the next marker which we would then make a beeline for. I imagine that on a fine day the views from there would be absolutely spectacular. We could barely see our boots! We battled through this for some 2 ½ hours. The thing that concerned me the most was that after checking the GPS regularly was that we didn’t seem to be dropping any altitude. We were still at 1400m. Eventually we did start descending and the cloud started thinning so following the markers was much easier. We finally caught sight of Lake Heron and the huge basin below us and descended rapidly.
A relief to be out in the open again and out of the tussock, matagouri and spaniard and onto shorter grass. We stopped and had a good look at the map and saw that instead of coming down the Swin River valley as we’d assumed we would, we did in fact come along a parallel valley. An hour and a half walking along the flat we spotted the Mother Ship parked right where it should be. We started smiling and the pace picked up in anticipation of the fresh scones, hot shower, cold beer and steak dinner which awaited us. We were not disappointed!
This piece of track was a real wake up call to me personally as the last 2 legs of the trek had been a piece of cake, easy tracks, wonderful weather and good visibility. It is very easy to become complacent and blasé about tramping in fair weather and then, suddenly things can change dramatically. I wasn’t unduly worried about our safety as we both had all the right gear, survival bags and good warm and waterproof clothing. Even so, I am damn glad we didn’t have to spend the night in the open up there.
The next day dawned magnificently. Calm, warm and clear and Lake Heron was a picture to behold.
Phil and I only had about 20 km of flat road walking to do today so it was a leisurely start in the sunshine with a 5 star lunch stop looking back at the Pass we’d struggled down yesterday now crystal clear against a blue sky and looking most inviting. But we overcame the temptation to retrace our steps of the previous day!
And that brings us to Lake Clearwater and a paddle across the Rangitata.The walk up here gave us the most incredible views of Mt Cook and the Southern Alps.
The plan over the next couple of days is across the river, overnight at Mesopotamia Station (one of the biggest high country stations in NZ), over the Two Thumbs Range and down to Lake Tekapo, where, hopefully, the Mothership and back up crew will be waiting on Monday evening with more hot scones and a smiling welcome! The weather forecast sounds pretty good so here’s hoping.
Will let you know how it went soon. Take care and keep smiling.
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