Rainy River - Richmond Range

A long weekend - a Sounds Air 10 trip to Blenheim to use up.  Richmond Ranges it is.

Where:  Wakamarina / Pelorus Bridge
When:    6-8 October 2023
Who:      Solo
What:     Wander over the ridge between Wakamarina and Pelorus Bridge

Previous trip along ridge through pt 1330 in blue

It's tiresomely familiar now - the access into the range from Northbank Road is largely closed so it's going to have to be something in the Pelorus area.

The plan:  Start at Butchers Flat at the end of the Wakamarina Road (from Canvas Town), pop over the ridge and drop into Rainy River, follow down to the Hoiere/Pelorus River, pop out at the cafe by the Pelorus Bridge.  Iona and Col are trapping in the bridge area on Sunday so we have an elaborate plan for cars and pick ups.  

It's a hot Friday afternoon when I park at Butchers Flat.  The campsite has a toilet, lots of grass for camping and one occupant.  It's on a terrace at a bend in the river and the DOC signboard tells its (post European settlement) history as a mining community.     

Gary comes hurrying over when he sees me arrive and is immediately full on and ever so slightly unhinged.  He expounds at length on the evidence he has been finding in the surrounding bush of Māori fortifications and weapons, and his theories about how they repulsed attackers.  He enthusiastically shows me a range of pieces of wood that show careful crafting by Māori carvers to fit the hand for stabbing.  They look like bits of driftwood to my untrained eye and the landforms seem to bear the imprints of colonial engineering.  But what would I know.

He's from Auckland and is camped up with his van, his dog, and his gold mining equipment.  He shows me a tiny amount of gold in a vial - it doesn't appear to be a lucrative enterprise.  I get the impression of someone that has not had an easy path but is eager to engage with others.   

I head up the road and around 1pm pass the DOC sign to Wakamarina Track - it promises 7km / 2 hours to my destination - Devils Creek Hut. 

It starts as a 4WD track and is easy travel all the way.  I pass a few couples and an Outdoor Pursuits group coming out and arrive to an empty hut around an hour forty later.

It's a standard hut in a large clearing - an ideal spot to chill out for the afternoon.  I have the luxury of a can of beer and a snooze in the grass, disturbed only by a goat sneezing loudly at me from the shelter of the trees.

Doom Creek

Perusing the log book I note that Gary was through a couple of years back and had a wee story about giving up the smokes to join the army and leaving his phone number in case someone had work for him.

Saturday - over the top

It's a quiet night and a bit damp in the morning.  The order of operations is to drop to the river, find a way onto the opposite spur and grind my way upwards. I get underway at a leisurely 7.40.

The slope at the end of the clearing is navigable - in retrospect I wonder if it would be easier to follow the track to the swingbridge on the side creek though.  I cross the river with dry feet but a route onto the spur isn't obvious.  I just make my way up as best I can - zigzagging to find the least manky faces and testing every foot hold with care.  

Wakamarina River

Mouth of Devil's Creek

Then it's just climbing - initially quite steeply then easing considerably.  I'm definitely not in shape so take it easy.  There's the odd ribbon to be seen and a few white triangles in strategic places - I assume these are from the Outdoor pursuits center - there is probably an easier way onto the spur for those in the know.   There is some foot trail in places but mostly just picking your way up through the usual mix of forest but without any bluffs to worry about.  

Around 9.10 I am probably around pt 585 as I come across an orienteering marker with a hole punch.  It's a bit of a surprise but I figure it is further indication that the Outdoor Pursuits people frequent this route.

Taking a short break I can hear a pig grunting - it sees me and heads off but stays nearby making noises.  There's fresh sign about and as I get underway again I flush out a couple of piglets. It was probably mum that I saw so I keep a weather eye out and move out of the line between her and the disappearing piglet tails.

Around 11.00 I come across another orienteering station so I guess I'm at point 1211.

When the trees take on that interesting stunted look with moss and a few rocky outcrops I take a lunch break before hitting the tops.  It's 12.30 and somewhat drizzly.   

At 2pm I'm on pt 1330 - it's taken 6hr 40 to climb 1200 odd meters.  Not fast and I'm feeling the burn.  

I have phone reception so take 20 minutes to sit down and knock off a couple of priorities (doing Wordle and texting home). As I sit the clag clears and I can see where I've come from and also that the spur on the north side of Banks Creek looks eminently navigable - probably all the way from Butchers Flat.

Pt 1330

The route up - starting to clear

Ridge up running from left

Spur to Butcher's Flat on left

This is now territory I've travelled before.  Last time through I was pretty knackered as I tried to find a flat spot to sleep out of the wind.  This time - knackered again but at least it's downhill.

Leaving pt 1330 - pt 920 in cloud to right and target saddle on left

I head down the steep ridgeline towards pt 920.  There's a nasty moment at the bushline when an apparently solid boulder suddenly gives way - it smashes down through the bush but I manage not to follow it and get away with just a few bruises.  

The ridge through here is good travel - steep and the odd scramble or sidle but all fine.  Something silver catches my eye on one scramble and turns out to be a discarded walking pole.  It's been there a while but is perfectly functional and proves to be quite useful.    

I'm slow on the climb to pt 920 and sidle across the west face below the top to pick up the ridge running to pt 782 above Rainy River.  New territory again.

It drops steeply and there's some sign of travel.  A little before where the slope eases, white triangles mark a route north off the ridge.  I figure they must be going somewhere so follow them down hoping it's a clever Outdoor Pursuits route to Rainy River.  

It's steep and pretty rough going and there's little signs of use as I search out the next marker.  Eventually they deposit me in a dry water course and hook around a corner where there is a passable rock bivvy.  It would do at a pinch but I'm not ready to call it a day so I follow and lose the markers before finding my own way back onto the ridge where it flattens before dropping to the saddle.  

I take a bearing to leave the ridge and follow a spur down to Rainy River.  It's ok going in open beech much of the way but at the bottom there are some bluffy bits that require a bit of avoiding.  

Random bush on the spur

Rainy River

About 6.15 I'm at the bottom next to a pretty wee stream - Rainy River at last.  It feels like a long day and it's getting a bit dim so I find the nearest flat spot and set up the fly.  The Inreach fails miserably to get a message out from the valley floor. 

I sleep the sleep of the unfit and over extended.

Sunday - a bit of swimming

Away around 7.15, I have some concern that it might be gorgy or swimmy although the contours generally don't look too bad.  The contingency plans are not entirely pleasant prospects of steep climbs out of the valley or painful sidles. 

It turns out to be generally pretty good travel down river and I reach the major junction with a stream from the east around 8.20.  Half an hour later though I am contemplating my first swim.  The river has quite a few pools from here on down and I have a few more short swims.  

 

First Junction

First chest-deep wade

About 3 hour 20 after leaving camp the valley ahead opens suddenly into bright light and the Hoiere River.  Rather than try to navigate the narrow opening into what will likely be a large, deep pool, I scramble up the true right for a high sidle around to the face above the river before dropping down to the edge.  

Hoiere

It's mixed travel downstream. I start along the river edge and things are going fine until it bluffs off and I find myself swimming again.  I'm not so keen on this with the main current swirling a meter from my elbow so after this, look for points to clamber up the slope.   

   

Old road

It's a curious mix of bush bashing and finding old logging/mining roads that whisk you along before disappearing.  There's signs of wilding pine poisoning and pest control tape in places, but it's easy to lose the trails.  

Eventually I'm on a solid pest control trail that spits me onto the marked tracks from Pelorus Bridge to the waterfalls.  Things speed up and I see the first people.  I reach the first (from the carpark) waterfall around 1.40 and the carpark 25 minutes later after pleasant travel through the beautiful forest near the bridge.

Jean, Allan and Iona are enjoying homebaking and coffee by the closed cafe when I wander up and we have a good old natter as we wait for Malcolm and Col to make their way back from the K line trap circuit.  As well as the usual rats etc they've found a large and largely decomposed bird in one of the traps.  We pore over the grisly photos and conclude that it might be a weka chick ... or not.

Wrap up

It could be a weekend trip but plan your water.  I'd be inclined to follow the spur from opposite Butchers Flat.  There are flat spots but I wouldn't rely on finding something suitable on the ridge - last time I tried to drop to a stream at one point to get water and had to give it away.

There's always the Biv but the water course next to it was dry and I don't think the climb down and back is worth it compared to pitching the tent somewhere.

The spur down to Rainy River was ok.  I had to sidle right off the spur to avoid some steep bits near the bottom.  It didn't look like it was a route anyone used.         

All up, it was 6 hour 40 from the camp to get down Rainy River to Pelorus Bridge.  Rainy River requires some wading and swimming but it's not big water although I would avoid it in the rain and  I wouldn't think about trying to sidle it. The trip down beside the Pelorus was a bit mixed and messy but not difficult - it's not pretty bush and it gets a bit aggravating finding and losing trails as you just sorta wanna be out of there.