Panatewaewae Stream and there abouts

This weekend is a western Tararuas mop-up expedition.  There are a few random spot-heights behind Otaki and Manakau that have not quite managed to be on the agenda for previous trips. Unfortunately there are no obvious ways of joining them to form an elegant weekend trip. 

After a couple of days of letting ideas kick their way around the brain pan, the plan resolves: two one-day trips, one located around the Panatewaewae/Waikawa Stream and another around the Waitohu Stream. Efficient if not aesthetic.

What:     Day one of two one day navigation trips
Where:   Back of Manakau - Panatewaewae and Waikawa Streams
When:    30 September 2017
Who:      Solo
Why:      Mopping up orphan spot-heights
Map:

A bit of Sunday's trip appears in the bottom right

After an early start and drive up the coast, the Waikawa DOC campsite has a few empty vehicles scattered around in the dark.  First up - a quick reccy to see what it will be like to camp overnight - the ground is boggy but the shelter should pass muster - even with the hole in the roof.

It's an overcast Saturday and 7am as I wander the short distance up Manakau Road to the first gate. Soon after, an old 4WD track on the left looks viable - the blackberry is threatening a resurgence but it's good today. This sidles up and around to a pylon and a spur which climbs at a steady pace through misty pines.

At the top, a large brown bird explodes out of the undergrowth and hurtles off into the clag - I can only guess that I'm looking at the south end of a northbound pheasant but haven't seen one around the Tararuas before.

The ridge top is flat, so to confirm bearings I pop along to the Panatewaewae track then retrace my steps to take a bearing to point 509 through mucky bush.  There are a surprising amount of foot prints going that way but not a lot to indicate why - still, one spot-height down for the day.  The rest of the trip up to 635 is unremarkable - damp, claggy and a little familiar. The turnoff from the logging trail onto a foot trail up to 635 is well marked (9:20am).

Typical part of track up Panatewaewae ridge

Turn off to 635 and beyond - orange tape is obvious

From 635 I'm looking for a spur running southish down to a fork in the Panatewaewae Stream.  It takes a bit of thrashing around to find the top but once on, it's a fairly straightforward ramble down, although the supplejack which will haunt the rest of the weekend makes itself felt. The spur becomes a bit indistinct towards the bottom but I'm pleased to come out bang on the forks.  There's some rubbish remaining from a hunters camp but nothing of note apart from the rather energetic noises the stream is making. It's 10.30 so progress is about on track.

Panatewaewae Stream - could be slow wading around in that

My route is downstream about half a K. However the stream has cut down into the valley bottom and soon drops through a chute - not overly dramatic but I decide to take a handy log across with dry feet. After that it's slow work scrambling along goat tracks on steep banks above the stream (you could probably just bite the bullet and get very wet and may be a little bruised).

Bridge

About 20 minutes later, at the next forks another old hunters bivvy is rotting into the bush (do they ever take their crap out!). Across the stream the hillside is precipitous and festooned with supplejack and kiekie. I find what looks like a spur up stream a little way which takes me onto a clear knob before disappearing. Then it's just plain hard yakka for the first 100 vertical metres before the bush opens out.

Hunter's rubbish

Time for a breather - damp but still cheerful

I'm hoping one of the ubiquitous logging trails will turn up, but no such luck until a series of clearings up the now gently shelving spur make the going much easier. At one point I step out of the forest edge to see two deer staring intently at me from 40m away - the tableau holds for a full half minute before they trot into the bush.

Lots of pigs here abouts

The rain has mainly been holding off, but the scrub around the clearings is saturated and, pretty soon, so am I. At the top of the spur though I join a route I have travelled before and am back in forest on a respectable track.

Old - but still marked

At 12:20 (at 600m contour) I'm contemplating leaving the track for what is likely to be the trickiest navigation of the day as there are no clean spurs. I'm aiming to drop to a fork in the stream up valley of the old mill site and pretty much do so, although manage to lose the spur towards the bottom so have to bash down a creek a few  hundred metres up stream of my target. Then it's time to start climbing ... again. 

A bit of supplejack to contend with ...



And a little bit more

The trail up starts from the stream junction and I'm expecting it to be marked and well travelled as it is an obvious route. Sure enough there are markers (not by DOC, but markers none-the-less) and there's no navigation required as I pick up the next spot-height (490) on the way to the ridge 500m above. The markers are ones I have seen before on the ridge - I think they mark a nice little loop trip from the Waikawa Stream with the option of a popping up to Waitewaewae.




Waitewaewae Ridge line - turn off to spur is well marked

The spur emerges onto a wee knob on the ridge into tall regrowth and familiar territory - it's 2.45 so time is still good but a fair amount of territory to cover. I turn right (south-west) and potter along paying little attention, but giving a nod to the route from a low saddle to West Waitewaewae stream from a previous trip. The markers stop after a bit and it becomes easier to wander off the ground trail until it pops out on the well travelled old logging trail at pt 730 (3.45), for what I am thinking will be the last slightly tricky bit of navigation.

The second spot-height 490 for the day is off down a spur somewhere to the right of the road - the tricky bit is finding the spur as there are no views. This means estimating how long it will take to get to the approximate location. My minimum guess turns out to be wrong as a quick thrash onto a too rapidly descending spur determines. A hundred or so meters later there is a wide logging trail leading away providing fast travel down a broad spur through spindly saplings. Soon another one bites the dust.

To 490 - easy travel

Just before Thompson (4:50) there's a junction that 4WDs obviously frequent - it's fairly churned up. Left (southish) is a sidle road down towards the Waitohu Stream and country I will be frequenting tomorrow, right is down towards the Waikawa Stream and Manakau Road end. I go straight ahead to find an overgrown track to the top of Thomspon - where another track heads southwest down the crest of the spur. This place is riddled with trails.

I continue over Thompson to a 4WD road on its north face and views over a sunny Kapiti Coast. It's 5pm and just the long downhill on 4WD tracks through active forestry. I head off down the wrong road briefly until an unexpected gate gets me checking the compass for a quick back track to the correct road. There are old signs in a few places but no marking to be seen.




Kapiti Island - from near Thompson



Just short of pt 595 I reach a junction where I took a right to reach the Manakau Road end last time - this time I hang a left for the DOC camp ground.




Junction before 595 - right to Manakau

And left to the DOC campsite and carpark

View north to the Panatewaewae Ridge (route from this morning - but dry now)

I briefly follow a large modern logging road for a while before determining it is heading the wrong way and isn't on the map. A bit of backtracking and the correct route has the decency to be faithful to the map for the rest of the way down. 

At 6.40 a couple are enjoying the afternoon sun outside their tent after a claggy day and another chap has a fire going in the shelter. Rather than camping fare I decide to find a local pub for dinner - Shannon provides a meal of a quality consistent with the price and the décor. I don't even bother asking about craft beer (what a Wellingtonian).

Back at the road end I tiptoe across the bog and lay out my mat in the shelter where it is least likely to get rained on. A chap has a fire going by the carpark with his stereo on and three or four other vehicles indicate others are spending the night - a surprising number of people really.

There's a bit of rain during the night and, as I discover the next day - lots of mosquitos.

Postscript

The near country has recently cut and still clear 4WD tracks. Some trails are still accessible by vehicle and 4WDers have cut these up (and left rubbish).  Further back, many old logging tracks remain - on some, the ground is still clear as the rock has offered little purchase for regrowth - these can offer delightfully fast travel through a tunnel of thin trunked trees competing for canopy space. Over time, dense groves of saplings, punga and ground fern start to colonise as the trail starts merging back into the bush.

These trails are found on many spurs and can be quite steep. They seem to thin out significantly above about 500m. Animals tend to adopt them so there is often a good ground trail to be had and the footing is much better as they are clear of the older rotten logs. Water will often also follow them so sometimes the bank on the down hill side will be where the clearer animal trails are.

Although useful, you can't rely on them going where you think they might be going as some will leave a perfectly good spur to dive into a gully - presumably dead ends to rip out logs from everywhere remotely accessible. Another endearing trait is to lead you on an easy path upwards with no view spots and gradually swing around the slope to approach the high point from an unexpected direction. Lesson: keep an eye on your compass.

This isn't my favourite catchment in the Tararuas - but it does have its isolated corners and offers ample challenges for off track navigation. It is also a good gateway for some more interesting places like the Waitewaewae headwaters.

Waitewaewae headwaters

The trip plan is a little audacious - explore as much of the Waitewaewae river headwaters as possible in a weekend. The design is efficient whilst leaving some scope for future exploration (i.e. the east branch which looks a bit daunting).

The Waitewaewae is one of those rivers whose story is subsumed by a larger river. Most people never get near it as there are no tracks or huts marked. On the map the whole system looks like a rose - the flower consisting of three tributaries: Prout Stream in the middle with the East and West Waitewaewae Rivers curling around on each side and delineating two spurs between. These join to flow south down the stem - about 5km to be swallowed by the Otaki river.

I've pottered across the top of the catchment on a couple of previous occasions but it's time to get off the tops and have a good poke around.  And it went mostly to plan, the bit that didn't was accommodated within the contingency plan and provided a useful reminder about confirmation bias.

What:    Weekend tramping trip in western Tararuas
Why:     Navigation and hut bagging
Where:  Waitewaewae headwaters
Who:     Solo
When:   8 and 9 July 2017
Map:

It's pitch black at the second gate at the Manakau Road end - a couple of pig hunters are collaring their dogs by torchlight. They set off ahead while I fluff around with a recalcitrant head light. At 7am the light is necessary as I stroll along the road, over the slip and to the, now isolated, road end.

Road end clearing

I continue straight past the redundant bollards. A short way along an old sign marks the turnoff to cross the river and climb the spur to Mt Thompson (where I came down a couple of weeks back - but turned down river and missed the crossing in the evening light).  

The track drops to the stream bed just before the Panatewaewae forks. Crossing with dry feet is easy followed by a few meters up to a clearing at the foot of my target spur. A track heads off up the true right of the Waikawa stream valley but I quickly find an unmarked route heading directly up. There's an obvious trail.

The pig hunters are polite when I catch up but, I imagine, not best pleased that a tramper might disturb the game. They are heading for another spur though so hopefully not too much loss.

After a bit over an hour on the go I reach pt 708 and veer SSE to keep climbing - this is clearly an old route with one of the markers embedded deep into its tree.

The climb is steady but not steep - I'm enjoying the exercise and the prospect of the unknown territory ahead when suddenly I'm conscious that my sense of my surroundings has altered. There is sometimes a breath that you take when you start on a trip - by the time you've exhaled, your awareness has shifted from driving and work, to a wider landscape and the sounds and smells of the bush. It's not always noticeable but it's pleasant to be conscious of the change.

Just past a turn to the ridge to Thompson, I'm on Waitewaewae, still not much to see but at 0900 it's a good start to the day. 15 minutes more pt 969 gives some views and marks the turnoff to the convoluted ridge into the headwaters that I'm after.

There is no obvious track to start with but as the ridge forms, a trail of sorts comes and goes. It's generally pretty good going. There are a few clearings giving views north and east. It's irresistible to pause and identify the ridges and points from two weeks back in the near ground; and behind ... Oriwa, Waiopehu; and beyond again, the peaks of the main range dusted with snow.

Pt 955 in the near ground with ridge to Panatewaewae running left

A little further on windows open southwards; Judd ridge and Hector on the horizon with the characteristic jagged Tararua peaks to the left. Periodically a flock of whiteheads twitter in the low stunted trees - I chirp at one of them and it comes over and we cheerfully shout at each other for a bit. Occasionally a kereru blunders loudly off. There's little wind - a perfect tramping day.

Probably one of the Pt 1030's in near ground - southern and Tararua peaks behind

Main range on the horizon

By 11.25 I've followed my nose with no significant problems to pt 957. The ridge top is fairly flat here so the start of my spur NNE is not immediately obvious but with a bearing it soon starts shaping up. There is a bit of trail and occasional pest control markers, an old vegetation tag and some other Venetian markers with measurements on them. All quite old but clearly DOC has been in the area. 

The trip down the spur is pretty straight forward - it gets mucky at the bottom for the final drop into Prout Stream, about 40 minutes from the top. Travel upstream in the tight, dim and damp valley bottom is somewhat different.  However, Prout stream is pretty - mossy with a few minor water falls and pools but pretty navigable.

Prout Stream

I follow up the diminishing stream until it starts getting clogged with mossy logs then take a spur up to just short of pt 969 - the climb is pretty mucky and I'd have to say it's not until I'm on the ridge heading west towards the top of Waitewaewae that I actually know exactly where I am. At 2.25pm I'm on Waitewaewae ... again.

The spur isn't obvious immediately but before long I'm pottering along with sporadic views towards Kapiti Island. I expected the trail on this ridge to be more obvious but I'm not sure that it is really. There are the usual trails that could be animal or tramper so I keep an approximate line with the compass.

Daylight is waning as I get to the flatter sections below pt 650 - the key, I figure, is to head more east and not pop out on the edge of the gorge on the West Waitewaewae. I drop into the head of a wee stream and follow it down to the top of a cliff over Prout Stream and eventually find a place to scramble down. A little after 5 and it's pretty dim.

The game plan now is to head downstream to Island Forks (Prout and West YTYY), through the gorge and up East YTYY to Island Forks hut. Except in the dark I miss the West branch confluence and bowl through the gorge and past the East confluence.

In retrospect it probably took 25 minutes to get from where I dropped into Prout Stream (for the second time) to the East branch forks but confirmation bias ensured I shot past looking for something that wasn't there. I just assumed that I'd dropped into Prout Stream further up and had traveled slower than expected so just kept going.  Eventually the penny drops but by now I'm a fair chunk of the way to the Otaki confluence so figure it is best to keep going to YTYY hut.

Sure enough, about 7.30 a large river joins from the left and I know it's a short stint downstream to find a swing bridge and the track to the hut.

At 8.10pm I'm pleased to arrive and not too disappointed to see I have company. A father and son have a radio set up listening to the All Blacks draw with the Lions and another chap has already turned in. I eat dinner, and warm icy feet by the fire before also turning in.

Otaki river from the hut

In the morning the third hut guest turns out to be a chap I shared Elder hut with one night over a year ago. To his credit he makes the connection first. It's good to catch up.

I'm first away a bit after 0800 - the advantage of the extra distance last night is that I can nick up to the ridge behind the hut and follow it north to a spur I've had my eye on (it was one of the possible permutations for the weekend). I head along the track towards Otaki Forks leaving it about 10 minutes later when it climbs to it's highest point on the spur. The top of the spur has a long, wide top that is easy to get mislaid on with lots of very large, old logs scattered about. Once it starts climbing it's easier to follow but there's not really much of a trail.

At 0940 I'm on the ridge and turn north (after notifying home command of the plan change by text). I've come down this ridge before but it looks completely unfamiliar - no snow for a start. The trail is easy to lose and there's not much view until further north. I'm keen to keep moving as I don't want to be caught by darkness too far from the road end.

Tantalising glimpses of ridges from yesterday

This ridge forms the true left of the Waitatapia stream in the valley below (west). At the top end there are a few clearings and it's easy to find yourself struggling through leatherwood rather than under a high canopy. Still - the clearings give great views west.

Tangata Maunga Ridge with Kapiti behind

Towards the top end of the ridge I find a trail on the east side which avoids the leatherwood. It get's pretty flat and a bit hard to tell where my target spur starts to diverge but someone has thoughtful laid some pink ribbons out and I follow them north east, through a clearing and down through open bush as the spur gradually forms. It's taken about three and a half hours to get from the hut to the turnoff to the spur.

The ribbons seem to be relatively new but are a bit sporadic so I keep an eye on the compass and manage to follow the somewhat messy spur down to the flat top near pt 650. From here it's steep and I can't really tell if I'm on a trail or not. Whatever - I'm chuffed to emerge at the top of a bank bang on the forks. An hour 20 from the top.

Waitewaewae Forks 

Island Forks hut is about three minutes up from the forks. It's a tidy little number - low door, bunks and bench. That's pretty much it. There's a loo in the bush behind and a picnic table and fire place out front. The five visits recorded in the hut book in the last year might explain the tidiness - not frequently visited.

Island Forks hut

After a bite to eat it's only 10 minutes before I'm heading out again and, in 15 minutes, through the gorge above YTYY forks - a much easier proposition in daylight.  A pool that was up to my midrift last night proves to have a shallow pass on the other side.

Not-really-an Island Forks

The rivers must be low as island forks island is connected to land. The reason I missed it in the dark becomes apparent - West YTYY feeds into a deep quiet pool which I must have just assumed was a backwater. I scramble around on the true right and head up into the next gorge.  

I head up the valley counting the side streams, painfully aware of the time but not wanting to rush on the lethally slippery rocks. The weather is  overcast with patches of sun - precious little of which reaches the valley bottom. Like Prout Stream there are scrambles up little water falls and some quite deep pools to sidle. A few large slips and log jambs are reminders of how active this landscape is.

At long last the stream rounds a bend and takes a bearing that I am waiting for - it's 3.40pm and time to look for a route up to a low saddle above the Waikawa catchment. A tree in the river bed has an old marker and there are more on the bank - there's not much trail and the markers run out but the slope is not too steep or high so before long I'm standing in the lowest point on the ridge between YTYY and Thompson.

West YTYY upper headwaters - a bit messy

There's a spur running down from near the saddle so I sidle around and take a bearing down. It's a little hard to follow at first but some very old ribbon soon appears, almost invisible but enough to keep me in the right direction.  I lose it toward the bottom and end up in supple jack but eventually bash down to a stream and start following it down.

There are occasional terraces which could have had old logging tracks on them and once I get to the Waikawa this is more common although there are still periods in the river. It's worth casting around for them as the pace is considerably faster than the stream bed.  There's an old sawmill site marked on the map - I find a large grass clearing with lumps on it but don't hang around to see if any of these are old machinery. The track is now reasonably well formed and each time it opens out I'm hoping it's the clearing where I headed up yesterday morning.

It is well dark under the canopy but light enough in the clearings so I keep plodding without a torch until I reach the original clearing. From here on it's more open and I'm on familiar territory again so I eschew the light to arrive at the car in the pitch black just before 6pm.

Post script

The Waitewaewae head waters caught my intention some time ago and I had heard about Island Forks hut, but didn't really have the confidence to take the trip on until now. A few previous trips near the area provided the necessary familiarity (and possible escape routes) and the weather indicated low flows and no rain - perfect for thrashing around in gorgish streams.

Missing the forks in the dark is a salient reminder that if you're relying on reaching somewhere and stuff your navigation up you could be in big trouble. In this case I knew the river route was navigable, had considered the possibility of travelling to YTYY hut, knew how far it was and where it was (although about 1cm off the bottom of my map) and was therefore quite happy not to turn back when I finally realised what was going on.

Despite the lesson (and discovering a wee gash on my forehead when I got home - apparently from head butting a log), it was a really pleasing trip - a little bit of unfinished business in the shape of East Waitewaewae river but I have to say it doesn't look entirely pleasant ... maybe I've seen enough of the reclusive Waitewaewae headwaters for now.

Panatawaewae

The lack of daylight at this time of year makes ambitious day trips somewhat fraught - with a high likelihood of finishing in a thrash down a strange spur or stream in the pitch black. So the trick is to find something where this is possible - but avoidable with a bit of application.

The weather forecast indicates tops and rivers are not a great prospect this weekend so the options rapidly dwindle to the area around Panatewaewae which, although not high on my bucket list, is one of the larger areas of real-estate in the Tararua's I haven't blundered around at some point.

The idea is to try to get around the edge of the Panatewaewae and Waikawa catchments in a day and pick up a couple of bits of business left unfinished the last (and first) time I was in that neck of the woods - namely, find the plane crash site I didn't find and not find the wrong spur off Waitewaewae I did find.

I reluctantly give up the idea of traveling anticlockwise which, although a more interesting proposition, would be just a little rash given available daylight and ability. 

What:    Circumnavigation of Panatewaewae and Waikawa catchments

Where:  Tararuas behind Manakau (north of Otaki)

Why:     See if it's doable - new ridgeline and hopefully find plane crash site

Who:     Solo

When:   24 June 2017

Map:     Map

The Mighty Red Gallant by dint of still being within its warrant period has survived to see another road end. This time I hang a right across the railway line just north of Manakau and follow a narrowing road south east into the Tararua foothills. It's raining and so claggy that it is still dark at 7.30am.

The road turns to a potholed track with a grassy mid-strip after the first gate. The car handles it ok but after the second gate it gets a bit hairy - at one point a wee uphill rocky patch sees the tyres spinning and scrapes the mudflaps - I hope there's somewhere to turn around on the other side. About 1.5km after the second gate there's a small slip over the road and no way through - after reversing half a K or so there's a spot wide enough to do a multi point turn and park the car off the track.  Lesson - park at the second gate.

At 7.50am and wrapped up against the rain I head along the road and past the first slip (missing the bottom end of the ridge track on the way as I find out later). The road drops down a bit and very shortly comes to a massive slip that has taken the entire road and chunk of hillside with it - DOC won't be repairing this one anytime soon (ever).

A sort of track scrambles up across and back down to the road on the other side for a short walk to the original road end. The toilet is still there and both ends of a loop track.  My map is a bit vague on the details so I follow the loop up the hill figuring that there will be a way to get on to the Panatawaewae ridge track. There is, but it isn't that pleasant.

The loop track veers left, climbs, veers right and flattens - shortly after flattening a pink ribbon promises access upwards. What it delivers is a scramble up a crumbling slope through rotten vegetation and supplejack.  Still, after a bit I'm standing on an old logging track which wends upwards in a most civilised fashion.

The rain rains and the cloud obscures everything at the occasional open spots. The track is wide and solid though so it's quick work to get to the ridgeline and some open areas under old pines. Someone has been up here on a quad a good wee while ago and there's a few foot prints showing the way.

There's one junction where the track continues downwards to the right but otherwise the route is obvious and the logging track continues well after it is marked on the map - in fact it's a bit below Pt 635 (around 550m and 09.30am) that plastic tape indicates a foot track on the right leaving the logging track to keep heading left to goodness knows where.

The markers disappear as far as I can see apart from some old spray paint on Panatewaewae (10.10am). The slope up to Pt 635 would be easy to get lost on on the way down and there are a couple of moments dropping into the saddle past Panatewaewae where the trail is not so obvious. The 'peak' itself is thoroughly unremarkable.

I have had no success finding where the name comes from - waewae is foot or leg, pana could be to evict ... but the most likely association seems to be with Te Waewae Kapiti o Tara rāua ko Rangitāne - the boundary between Ngai Tara and Rangitāne to which the name 'Kapiti' refers.  The nearby Waitewaewae hill and river system are surely related to the same roots.

Progress is satisfactory despite another bit of uncertainty finding the way off Pt 775 - I'm guessing that most people turn back at Panatewaewae.

After Pt 890 the ridge flattens and I start looking to follow around to my right - a single white plastic marker on a tree below the ridgeline indicates I'm in the right place (12.00). In theory this is familiar territory as I have been through once before. More to the point I am close to Pt 955 and the location of the plane crash - this time I am armed with a better idea of where to find it.

There are regular white plastic markers now and, on the way up to Pt 955 (at about 915m) I note a yellow one, and then a white one off the ridge to the north west. I follow these into a dip where a trickle forms and starts heading steeply down - sure enough there are a few more markers and pretty soon bits of plane start turning up.

You can read about the crash here. The short version is that an Air Oxford crashed in 1941 and was found by hunters in 1980 (the same type of plane crashed at Kaiparoro). Bits were removed and are in the Wigram museum but there's still a fair amount here, including the pilot; Selwyn Sinclair, aged 20. A bronze plaque was apparently set up but I couldn't find it.

The first substantive thing I find is a yellow aileron and a wooden cross - this must be where the pilot is buried. The cross was painted white once but the stainless steel plaque, once wiped clean is still neatly etched and easily read.  Nearby is a wheel assembly and northwards around the slope is a wee gully with a trickle and more bits of plane, including the remains of a radial engine. Other bits are scattered about, moldering into the landscape.

After 20 or so minutes I've seen enough and leave the wreckage to continue its slow dissolution into the headwaters of the Panatewaewae stream.

Pt 955

Back on the ridge I follow up to Pt 955 and the marker for the plane crash that I had briefly searched near to no avail last time (now 12.45pm). The route from here is reasonably easy to follow east along the ridge line with a brief moment of confusion near Pt 969 when I misread the compass and head off in the opposite to correct direction. This is quickly identified and rectified but is a reminder to be wary of confirmation bias and to check twice.

Waitewaewae

Waitewaewae is a welcome sight (2.05pm) with some canopy openings where the cloud can be viewed and an opportunity to take the correct route this time.

There are plenty of white plastic markers - one set looks to indicate a route south down a spur (I assume to Island Forks - noted for future reference).  Another indicates the 'Road End' can be reached by heading straight ahead and northish via Pt 708 (another candidate for exploration), whilst another indicates my route dropping down the ridge to Pt 739.

My direction is a bit overgrown with little in the way of markers until a section with splendid reflectors  adorning every second tree - the last marker from both directions announcing that fact in a very useful fashion (I think these mark a route from the spur up from Pt 490 along the ridge to the saddle either before or after Pt 673 - before, I think - but I wasn't really paying attention).

With the markers drying up again and the ridge being fairly broad there is a bit more casting about but it's fairly open so travel is good. The light however is starting to wane.

At Pt 730 I stumble suddenly onto a wide and solid 4WD track. Hopefully the going now will be open and quick. I turn right and trot the down hills.

4WD track and getting a bit dim

A bit dim?

Judging by the puddles and tracks the area is infested with 4WDs. There are also more roads than marked on the map but there's only one point (before the right turn near Pt 595) where I follow a dead end briefly - a gorse patch convinces me that my turn off is a little further along. Sure enough the correct turn has old signs in the bush pointing towards the road end.

There are more clearings and less canopy so I am treated to the sun setting fire to the clag in the west. The vehicle tracks are left behind and my route follows large grassy clearings down the spur (with the occasional side excursion before finding the correct route again). In the open, the track is largely grassed over and can be missed - it has had some traffic though.

Last of the light

Near the bottom the track enters the bush again and sidles down hill and up valley to drop into the stream. Standing knee deep I'm relieved that it is not too high despite all the rain but I can't see any indication of whether to turn left or right. For various reasons which seem sensible at the time I head down river looking for an opportunity to climb the opposite bank.

This doesn't eventuate until I reach what I suspect is the bottom of the big slip crossed in the morning. Getting out of the river and through the shattered trees to the toe of the slip then scrambling up the steep loose surface is tricky in the gloom but not being able to see the drop below helps. Eventually I grovel on my belly over a lip and roll onto the road.

At 5.40pm the car is still where I left it and it even starts. There's a bit of a graunch from underneath navigating the rocky bit but otherwise the trip out is uneventful. The speedo says 0.9km from where I parked to the second gate so it's really not worth the hassle driving in.

Just about time for the head torch

Postscript

The trip was an interesting challenge and it is somehow satisfying to have skirted the entire circumference of the headwaters of the Waikawa Stream with (in theory at least) dry feet. There is a fair amount of old logging tracks and a lot of ridge travel so navigation is not overly taxing. Just a few spots where you can wander off but I would think somewhat trickier in the opposite direction. I would pick a day with a few more hours of light though.

The roads and the age of the tree's provide evidence of the logging history, and I suspect for those with the eye, there will be signs of the impact of the 1936 storm. I can't say much about the views given the weather, but the highest you get is Pt 969 so there is no open tops. On a good day though I suspect you will get some vistas across the coast and of the surrounding hills.

The main problem with the day is that the area suggests plenty more interesting trips to be had.

Some links

TTC trip 
Start of ridge track
MTB ride down ridge track
TTC Footprints - Waikawa Valley

Length of the South - Day One

Go to:    Table of Contents        Next Day

Route

Slope Point to Roxburgh via Catlin’s back roads, Clinton, Clydesvale, Lawrence and the Otago Gold Trail to Roxburgh.

Day One Map

Distance: 217km

It’s still dark as we creep out of the unit and coast down the drive. About 20km later we’re at Slope Point. It’s reasonably well sign posted with access from a small pull-off area by a gravel road and a short walk down a casual path at the edge of a paddock. On the windswept headland there is a slightly shabby sign and a navigation shed. The sun rises and after a few photos the trip starts at 0615 hrs.

Where it all starts; sun-up at Slope Point

And he’s off

The Catlins’ roads are pretty much deserted. It’s mostly good gravel with a long sealed stretch around Waikawa before the route turns north up the Waikawa valley with a light following wind.

The valley is small with lush pasture hemmed by bush clad hills, it narrows until the road dives into beautiful bush climbing to a low saddle. There’s virtually no traffic for 55km as I follow my notes around gravel roads, through farmland, and past occasional stands of bush as I filter northwards.

Things start to get a bit busier on the Owaka Valley Road, and then the busy SH 93 gives a fast descent to Clinton just before 1100 hours and 91km; time for a toasted cheese sandwich at the café.

After a very short (and only) stint on SH 1, some arbitrarily chosen roads (mostly sealed) cover the next 20km to the Clutha River (labelled “Clutha River / Mata – au” on the maps). A few phone calls confirm that the historic Tuapeka Punt across the river is not scheduled to run between 10 am and 4 pm but that Fulton Hogan might be able to arrange something – at least they might have, if they ever answered their phones! The slightly longer Plan B means crossing at the Clydevale bridge (for reference, there’s a petrol station just off the main road near the bridge) and following the sealed road up the left bank. Crossing the single lane bridge it is good to look down into the familiar deep green river. If I was to say that I have a river I guess this one would be it.

I pop into the punt for a nosey and chat to a couple in a camper bus, who are taking their time exploring the area and look set to wait for the punt operator.

Disappointed punter

The day is cracking hot now, with little wind. The next road is on the itinerary because a) it wasn’t the main road and b) who could resist the promise of a name like that.

Dunno what the fuss is about; looks OK from here

The white gravel road is a typical rural access road and winds up and down and up and up following the contours of the ridge between Tuapeka and Lawrence. I’m baking by the time the top of the ridge rolls around. There is no shade, and no water, and it is a relief to finally look down over the rolling hills to see Lawrence nestled in the valley. The next part of the road must give it its name, because it’s a fast descent to arrive in Lawrence a little after 1500 hrs with about 155km on the clock.

There’s plenty of day left so I’m happy to spend an hour liaising with the support team (already ensconced in a B&B), topping up on iced coffee at the Wild Walnut Coffee Bar and taking advantage of the free Wi-Fi the town offers, before heading off up the Otago Gold Trail around 1615 hrs. The town has a good feel to it and everyone is amazingly helpful. A bottle cage on my front forks has broken during the day but the local second-hand-shop-and-bike-hire chap sells me a good solid used one for $5. The i-site provides info on the Clutha Gold Trail and takes my donation for using the track (no guidance on how much but I gave $20 as an annual subscription seems to be $25).

Marching rations in Lawrence

Wobbling off up the Otago Gold Trail

There’s plenty on the net about the trail, so I’ll just note that the surface is generally pretty good, apart from short sections that follow a rough-as-guts gravel road between Beaumont and Millers Flat. I prefer it to the Otago Rail Trail, as a more interesting biking trail with the river and trees.

The trail shadows and crosses the main road from Lawrence to Beaumont (20km) with a reasonably gentle climb (120m or so) to a saddle with a tunnel (don’t need lights). Beaumont has a pub across the river but little else. There were a few cyclists near the start but pretty soon I have the whole thing to myself. After Beaumont, it heads away from roads and wends quietly beside the Clutha to Millers Flat (about 25km; shops, camping ground and pub).

Random riverside scene; Beaumont to Millers Flat

I arrive around 1815 hrs but there’s still light and a little energy so arrange to meet Sally at Roxburgh, about another 20km away along similar trails, under now cloudy skies.  Arriving at 1915 hrs it is getting dim and I decide to leave the final few kilometers of trail past Roxburgh for the morning. This is now territory that I covered in the opposite direction in the Brevet last year. One regret is that I didn't get the chance to pop into the Roxburgh café where the owner was tracking the Brevet on his lap top and greeting riders by name.

It’s a longer day than expected and a relief to relax and be shuttled back to the Jailhouse B&B in Lawrence, who have held us a reservation at Gabriel’s Café and Bar (good food and very obliging hosts). We'd highly recommend the  B&B – quaint, clean and comfortable with a great host who has an eye for the details.

Options
The original plan was to follow the Chaslands Highway eastwards then come up the Owaka Valley but this was longer and had more seal. There are various other options but I went for the direct, quiet route through Clinton rather than Balclutha. There are also alternatives for getting into Lawrence but I couldn't resist Breakneck Road. The punt operating hours were disappointing but made no big difference.

Go to:    Table of Contents        Next Day