Ever since hearing about it, I've intended to get in and have a look. Not least because there is a beautiful looking spur visible from Bull Mound that runs down from the Beehives on the Southern Crossing. There are also a few spot-heights in the valley, and the river itself is probably worth a visit.
It's not the sort of place I want to go on my own with winter river flows so it's just been sitting quietly on the back burner annoying the hell out of me.
What: Navigation trip to earthquake lake, visit upper Tauherenikau and knock off some spot heights
When: 12-13 January 2018
Who: Solo
Where: Southern Tararuas
Map: NZ Topo map
 |
| Arrow indicates approx. location of the lake Have left off most of the boring track bits |
There are a few options for the weekend and I don't make up my mind until midday Friday - despite being packed. The support crew is nothing if not accommodating and agrees to an after work drop-off at Otaki Forks.
The trouble with being a bit disorganised is that you forget stuff. Arriving at the road end I discover it's my belt - a shoelace is called into service as an effective if not elegant solution. Later, I discover I also forgot my lunch cheese. Fortunately my packing list ensured nothing important was neglected.
 |
| Repurposing a shoe lace |
 |
| Posing for the camera - Judd Ridge to right |
The plan is to get to Kime Hut in the dark. Departing at 7.20pm I reckon I'll be there before 11.
It's a warm and calm evening as I amble on up. There's not a lot to progress but I know that when you get to the clearing with a view of Kapanui's rounded silhouette it's about 10 minutes to Field Hut.
The hut is empty and the log book full. I squeeze a few words in amidst some gormless twat's cribbage score inside the back cover and head for Kime. At 8:55 the light is waning but it should be better on the tops. Rounding Table Top though, there's clag on the ridge above and the wind is coming up.
Sometimes the Tararuas will give you a bit of a slap to see if you're paying attention. The clag thickens just above Dennan (1200m) and although not cold, the rising wind and mist whips heat away. To keep myself amused I've been thinking about types of risk (actual, perceived, managed, residual, acceptable ...) but the drop in light and temperature (and my glasses misting up) prompts a bit of a pause and attention to the risks at hand.
Hunkering down, I crack out the light and review the map. The route is very familiar but the pair from Te Papa that died in a blizzard are always front of mind up here.
The top of the ridge is wide and rounded. There are snow stakes with reflectors and a pretty good ground trail but there are also false trails and lots of scope to wander in circles. The clag is thick and the poles are only visible from about 10 paces away - with about 30 paces between poles this means pausing at each, taking a bearing and following the trail that leads in that direction.
It's slow progress but goes smoothly. I'm not aware that I've reached the hut until I blunder into the sign. It's 10:20pm and there are about 10 punters already in their pits. I get myself sorted in the vestibule and creep in to claim a mattress.
One party is up at 5am and away before 6. I'm a bit more leisurely and get away about 7:15 before the large group that came through from Kaitoke yesterday.
 |
| Kime - claggy but good visibility |
Half an hour later I'm on Mt Hector in the usual conditions.
 |
| Kime in its element |
Descending from Hector along the Southern Crossing I count the lumps. The second beehive is in thick clag so I take a bearing off the ridge and hope I'm dropping on to the spur. All good - the spur has some rocky knobs that can be scrambled over or sidled and fairly soon I've dropped out of a cloud ceiling at 1400m (with eddies dropping it to 1300m). The spur ahead is revealed and distant slopes catch the sun.
 |
| Looking down spur from just below the Beehives |
 |
| Looking back up the spur to the Beehives |
 |
| Looking down to the knob on the spur at 1280m |
There's a few rocky scrambles that require care but overall it's a delightful wander down with some ground trail in places.
There's a knob marked on the map at 1280m (a trail sidles to the south of the knob). The main spur continues but a substantive side spur splits off SSE - I suspect others follow the main spur although it looks very steep at the bottom.
My spur is clearly visible from above and there's even a faint marks in the herbs underfoot leading down. I pause to relate the terrain to the map and fix it in my head.
 |
| My spur |
 |
| My spur |
It's generally pretty good going - the usual occasional scrambles around deep pools and over log jambs. The plan is to head down stream to approach the earthquake lake from above and hopefully find a way through or around.
It's less than 15 minutes from the spur to the lake. The water level is a bit lower than when the photo on Stuff was taken but otherwise looks the same - steep bushy sides, clear deep water and a jumble of rocks blocking the river.
 |
| The 'Earthquake' lake The water used to be up to the base of the foreground rock |
 |
| Up to my waist in it |
The flow is gentle and the bottom clean. An exploratory wade determines that I won't get through with my pack on. By dint of feeling my way on tiptoe I get through with my pack on my shoulder and the water just below neck level. It would be a painful grovel to try to work through the bush.
The massive slip has blocked the river, with trees smashed in among the rocks. The river is slowly washing away its foot and the opposite bank but there is plenty more material to come down. Looking at the modest size of the 'lake' and the mass of the slip I don't think there is danger of a sudden break through, but with the unstable slip and huge gashes that falling rocks have ripped in the logs it's not a place I want to hang around.
 |
| The dam |
 |
| Last view of the lake |
 |
| Looking up the slip |
 |
| Log jumble below the slip |
It's almost 2km and an hour to my next junction. The river tumbles through deep pools and an occasional slot but it's all navigable. At the intersection with the stream off Hell's Gate it's 10:55 - I stop for a bite and to plot the next move. The aim is to get to 892 and follow the spur down to 686. The slope up to 892 looks steep and little delineated.
At the first stream off the side of the side stream (following me?) I take a bearing and scramble up through the bush. It's the usual mucky lower level but pretty good going higher up. I note there are lot of Phyllocladus sp in the understory - I'm not sure which, but assume it is Mountain Toatoa. It's an interesting tree as the leaves aren't (they are flattened stems).
On the spur at 892 (11:55) I could imagine that people have been down this way but it's not that obvious and it is often necessary to take bearings as the spur top is wide in places and the shape not that obvious.
 |
| Typical bush on the spur |
686 turns out to be on a wide flat top with an open under-story. Every now and then a passing patch of sun lances down to the floor - time for lunch.
From here there's little to choose between headings as the spur end is rounded. I opt for the most direct route down river. It's easy going as there are an awful lot of animal trails.
This is the one of my assessment points - the river is likely to be much bigger and could be challenging - so much so that it could force a retreat back up a spur to Bull Mound. I peer through the trees to see what it looks like as I approach the bottom (1:14). It's noticeably larger but the valley floor much wider with a gentler slope so Plan A is go. The trick now is to count the side streams and not miss Josephson Creek.
 |
| The Tauherenikau looking much more river like |
 |
| Pt 596 |
It's about 2pm as I clamber into the mouth of Josephson Creek to find a spot to start climbing the knob. Animal trails zigzag a way through the unclimable bits but it is hand-over-hand up through low scrub onto a sharp spur. Very steep but within my comfort zone.
Part way up I just about run into a deer rear. The stag is about 5m away and my 'Hey!' doesn't cause it to run away - it just turns to look, pauses and then ambles off. I hope they never forget they are vegetarians as it was a lot bigger than me and had the advantage from the terrain.
The top of the knob and a sit down. No view but there were some nice wee spots on the way up. I don't fancy down-climbing what I just came up so take a bearing south to swing around onto another spur where the bluffy bits seem to open out a little. It is a steep scramble through forest but again, animal trails help me avoid a creek slot and get me to the bottom.
 |
| The final crossing |
Normally, the top of the spur provides the best travel but it is quite rounded and I can't see any evidence of people so I watch where the animals have been and follow, despite the somewhat meandering course. It seems to work well - particularly in the lower reaches where they have worn benches in the shingly floor just off the spur. However, I'm not feeling so sprightly and avoid looking at watch or altimeter.
After a long while, the slope lessens and rounds and the trees shorten and are interrupted by bands of scrub. Still no sign of human trails. Eventually the direction of the slope is barely perceptible and I break into a large clearing (huge) - this look familiar - the track must be around here somewhere.
It's nice to be out of the bush. I can see the Beehives and Mt Hector lurking in clag and cloud is piling in from the north west. It is sunny in the Wairarapa and calm here. Bull is a rounded top ridge below the bush line but with extensive boggy herb field and stunted bush. It's a good place to spot deer and I startle two today. My spur from this morning comes into view.
 |
| Hector in cloud, Beehives just to left The knob at 1280m is at centre (faint 'A' in the middle of photo) My spur is the left arm of it |
 |
| North along Bull Mound, Tararua Peaks on horizon Neill Ridge in middle distance |
Fortunately Bull Mound has reception, although my cell phone is a little sulky about the moisture from the lake (despite a clip seal bag). A few texts to the support crew confirms the plan change. Right - it's about 5pm - I need a drink, a bite and a sit down then better get going.
The change in plan means that the water that would have seen me easily to Alpha is less than needed. A trickle draining the swampy hill crosses the track near 1107 and provides the solution - albeit, like Muldoon's view of Auckland in the '70's ... somewhat browner than I would wish.
DOC has done a great job of clearing the Marchant track - branches and deadfall have been cut through and vegetation cleared. A bit of mud but as near perfect as you could wish. I nurse the body along watching the time.
NZ bush will usually have a few blowflies hurtling about - most noticeably on hot days. There are a few about now and for some reason they find my head irresistible. Possibly all that delicious sweat - or it might be that the ripeness of my bush shirt is a carrion call they just can't ignore. Either way, the recurring pattern becomes the sound of a fly blundering past then a brief pause as it's tiny brain registers - 'Hellooo, what was that!' and it swings around to attempt a landing from behind. It's too hot to wear a hat and soon becomes infuriating. Must be tired.
 |
| Last of the sun catches 656 on the Dobson loop track (probably) |
Finally, the long Marchant is over and the track turns sharply left to sidle and drop to the Dobson turn off (a lot of windfall cleaned out through here). Then the interminable saunter down from 650m to 500m. The evening sun slants in through the trees accentuating the greens and golds.
From the final descent at Pt 529 the track hasn't been cleared so there's a bit of gorse to contend with. It gets dimmer and dimmer but I'm determined not to get the headtorch out, just making it through the last forest section by Kiwi Ranch in the gloom. 9:20pm - and all milestones met.
Wrap up
A tiring day at 14 hours but very satisfying. The 'earthquake' 'lake' is hardly spectacular but is pretty much exactly what I anticipated. The level of the lake is likely to vary and I wouldn't rely on being able to wade it (it should be an easy pack-float though). It's great to have got to it and the upper Tauherenikau is well worth visiting.The three spot-heights were a bonus that tested navigation and agility. As for the morning's spur - it's almost tempting to repeat that part of the trip. Plenty more spot-heights yet though.
Relatively few injuries but a full day afterwards making old man noises every time I moved. Kit all performed well with the exception of my 'new' gaiters which, at the current rate of depreciation, seem likely to last 5% as long as my last set.
I think I feel almost as exhausted just reading this. Awesome account of the trip though.
ReplyDelete