Crow Hut

This is a Ruahine trip from a couple of years back - in the times before I got sucked into working in the great COVID machine.  There are a few others on the drawing board from around that time that I haven't quite got around to tidying up ... 

A three day weekend - a chance to get across the Ruahine range into a couple of huts that are a bit tricky to knock off in a weekend with access restrictions.

The forecast isn't great. It's been a bit cold so there could be snow around and the weather is supposed to deteriorate from Saturday afternoon.

The plan is to head up the Sunrise track to Top Maropea Hut, drop west to cross a stream valley and climb onto the long ridge north from Te Atuaoparapara, join the track to drop to Wakelings Hut, pop over Rongotea to Crow Hut, clamber onto the Hikurangi Range to visit McKinnon Hut, and bash down a spur to the Kauwhatau River.  I had intended to then climb onto and follow the ridge north to Rangioteatua but elected instead to follow the river up to Waterfall Hut then up to Rangioteatua via Rangi Saddle.  A final change to the plan was an exit via Waipawa saddle instead of over Three Johns.

What:    Navigation and hut bagging
Where:  Ruahine Range - in at Sunrise road end
When:   12-14 September 2020
Who:     Solo

As soon as it's light I can see that the Tararua Range has a solid dusting of snow and before long the Ruahine Range has, if anything, more.  Coming up Wakarara Road it soon becomes apparent that it's right down to the foothill paddocks. It's overcast but there's clear skies over the range.

At the first gate I see a quad coming and hold the gate, then take turns through the next two. There's a few lambs about so I take it easy to the road end past the first carpark.  The snow isn't visible from here and the warm sun and calm air promise a pleasant day as I get away about 8.40.

This time I turn right at the first junction to follow around the other leg of the swamp loop - it's pretty bush and this time I get to see some different info boards.

About 25 minutes from the car the track joins the main Sunrise Hut track near Triple X Hut - a few minutes further is the other end of the Swamp Loop. 

Within half an hour (near junction of track to Waipawa Forks Hut) there's snow on the foliage and steady dripping from above.  

Within another half hour there's snow on the ground under the canopy and two sets of footprints preceding me up the hill.  I notice red/orange liquid sprinkling the snow and figure someone was spilling their energy drink, but later in the trip see the same thing with just animal prints around - I presume scent marking by some mammal or other.

The snow is soon thick on the foliage and there's a real winter wonderland feel with the blue sky above.  Before long, a familiar corner with a window out to the hazy plains signals it's not far to the hut.

About an hour forty from the car I scrunch into the hut clearing.  The hut is looking like a ski lodge but the view is a bit claggy.  

A couple from Wellington are just about to head up towards Te Atuaoparapara and over to Waikamaka Hut.  We exchange notes on the route which could be a bit of fun in snow and clag - they have the gear though and have done their research. They head on up as I pop in to fill in the log.

Behind the hut the track pops out on the ridge edge.  The clag turns out to be just holding in the lee of the ridge and the view of the ridge circling up to Te Atuaoparapara is clear. 

I catch up with the couple and take the lead, plugging through the knee deep snow.  Soft enough to not need crampons fortunately. 

Armstrong Saddle about 10.50, then up and along to the knob where my track leaves the ridge to head north - about 15 minutes later. I carve a smiley face in the snow for the couple and make my way carefully through deeper snow descending over wee knobs to the bushline.  There's plenty of tracks in the snow - I suspect hares but don't know enough to be sure.

Up towards Te Atuaoparpara

  

The snow lies deep compared with the ridge top - possibly it was protected from the southerly and settled without being blown away.  Once below the bushline the sun is doing a good job of melting the snow on the beech trees, resulting in a steady rain and a slushy track. 

At 11.30 Top Maropea Hut is cheerful in its snow hat, looking across a snowy yard towards the sunny horizon.  I pause for 10 minutes to fill in the log and have a bite.  

The track drops further from the hut to a saddle where it dives right for a steep drop to the stream.  I leave it at this point to follow a little ways further up and along the ridge.  I see a couple of bits of old tape but no foot trail in the snow so pick a random spot and start dropping west through snowy cutty grass.  

There's supposed to be a bit of a spur to follow - I don't find it and suspect I've drifted too far north.  It's not an issue though until I find myself a little bluffed at the bottom.  A bit of scrambling and, about 20 minutes after leaving the ridge I'm in a stream.  It's catching the sun at the moment but the odd shady bend still has a bit of settled snow.

 

10 minutes later, about 12.30, I've reached the true left sidestream that I'm aiming for and only one foot is a bit damp.  The wind is cool but the sun is out so I have a break for lunch and to dry a little. 

I've heard there's a route up the spur here but from the start you wouldn't guess it.  It's a bit mucky underfoot with  bushlawyer - I wonder if it pays to either head down stream a little further or even up the side creek a bit.  Before long however, the odd old marker turns up. I grind up slowly and back into a snowy understory. 

It takes a bit over 50 minutes to get to the ridge where I can see over the next valley (Waikamaka) to Rongotea with a sprinkling of dandruff.  Originally I had thought I might get over there today but I'm somewhat tired from contending with snow and, although I tell myself I'll decide when I get down to Wakelings Hut, the traitorous back of my mind is already redoing the sums for the weekend.

The ridge top is much as I remember it - except with snow.  The tight saplings are delighted to release their load as I squeeze through and the cutty grass hides little hollows for my feet to slip into. 

But more to the point - it feels like I have got in towards the middle of the range and away from the tracks most travelled. With the sun filtering through the trees it's a good spot to be. 

It takes about an hour ten to travel a little over 2km along the ridge to meet the track between Maropea Forks and Wakelings Huts.  I have to do a wee bit of navigation where the ridge veers north west and you have to drop away from what feels like the main line.

On the track it feels good to be able to swing the legs freely again, albeit briefly before diving steeply down to the river.  By the time I reach the bottom I'm certain I'll be stopping at Wakelings tonight.

As I step out off the bush beside the river the whistle of a whio indicates I've been spotted.  A couple are feeding 30m downstream and make it clear that they're keeping an eye on me.

There sun is on the spur above the hut but there's a patch of snow on the river bank where the sun clearly don't shine.  Despite the cold I decide to doff socks and boots for the crossing.  It's about 3.10 when I get to the hut with an armload of firewood so plenty of daylight to get settled in. 

  

The hut book confirms that a track crew have been through recently to clear the track up to Rongotea.  They have also cut and stacked firewood. I drag in some more rounds and split a few with the intention of having a fire to dry damp clothes and boots.  

Getting the open fire going and tending the drying clothes takes up a fair chunk of the evening.  It's a calm and starry night outside. Inside, the hut fills with smoke until I open a window.

It has clagged over by morning but it's calm in the valley. I drag on mostly not damp clothes and get away by 6.30 - I'll be sleeping out in the rain tonight if I don't keep moving.

The spur starts immediately by the hut.  The track party have done a good job and I knuckle down for a slow but steady climb.

As yesterday - there is soon snow under the trees and higher up it is lying thick through the scrub. 

It's clagged in but it's about half way from the bushline to the top before I stop to pull on a bit more gear. 

At the top (Rongotea - 8am) the wind is more obstreperous and carrying a bit of rain. In the conditions, what is visible of the ridge is featureless.  There's a stake at the top but I can't see the next one so take a bearing and head into the grey and wind.

The map shows the route heading north west past a tarn and onto a broad ridge where it turns west to drop down a spur.  If the stakes are a bit haphazard finding where to turn could be tricky.

There's a foot trail that I keep losing and in between; knee deep snow.  I keep to my left and spot the occasional stake, eventually reaching a spot where it looks like there's a spur across a wee gully. When I get across there's a clear foot trail. 

The spur starts dropping steeply - the snow is soft and I go A over K a few times as the dark clay soil 

slides and crumbles beneath.  Again there are plenty of animal tracks and the odd patch of reddish orange snow.

I'm happy when the spur eases into forest and out of the wind.  It potters gently down for a while before the steep drop to the river.  

The bottom is a bit of a clamber down a rocky bluff and a hop around the bottom to where the track leaves from the stream mouth and sidles for five minutes down river to a swing bridge.  The track is churned up by hooves.

The bridge spans above a clear green pool to Crow Hut on it's terrace.  The sun chooses that moment to emerge - it's a beautiful wee spot.

It's a nice old hut that doesn't get so much use now the farmer is being such a .... about access to the Kawhatau DOC base camp in the west.  It's about 9.25 - 3 hours from Wakelings Hut and time for a snack.  It's pleasant in the sun and half an hour whistles easily by.

The track sidles into a creek gully and it takes a moment to pick where it climbs the opposite bank. Soon enough though I'm repeating the morning's exercise of a steepish climb to the tops. I stop at the bushline for some more layers then it's a short way to the top where the track sidles briefly to a signposted junction - Kauwhatau base right, and McKinnon left; 11.45.

I follow a well staked route that undulates along the tops - there's not much snow for a start but before long I'm knee deep again. It's cloudy but visibility is not bad.

About 40 minutes from the signs I reach another pointing to McKinnon Hut - this must be where you would continue south along the range to Hikurangi then Mangaweka.

The track heads down increasingly steeply - and slipperly.  After 10 minutes the clag drifts apart and McKinnon Hut emerges to the left of a tussocky knob.

At 12.45 it's definitely time for lunch out of the elements.

It's a characterful place right on the bushline which looks like it would be a cosy retreat on a stormy night. I study the map over lunch and figure that things are looking good to get to Waterfall hut tonight provided my planned route down and the river don't throw up any obstacles.

I've rather blithely planned to follow a spur to the river that heads west from the knob above the hut. It looks navigable, reaching the river a few kilometres above where the track joins. It should be a bit of a challenge and hopefully quicker - the perfect shortcut.

I get under way again at 1.10. Rather than climb to the knob I find a foot trail from the helicopter pad that sidles up hill near the bush edge.  Reaching the spur I start downwards keeping an eye on the compass and occasionally the altimeter.  I can't see signs of markers or much use. 

A bit above 1100m I drop right off the spur aiming for a spur that points further upstream. It's steep and a bit tricky, but I only have one little bluff and a grovel through a gully to keep on the right line. 

A dirty hot and slightly smug tramper emerges at the desired junction. The river is slightly up with snow melt but is running clear. It's 2.30 - an hour twenty from the hut; much faster than the track.

The sun is shining directly up some stretches of the river and it is very pleasant.  The river is a good size but nothing tricky - I keep a half hearted eye on the map but am not bothered about exactly where I am.

There's the odd waterfall or stream joining the river but I quickly lose track of which might be marked on the map.

A bit under an hour up stream there's what will sometimes be a wee island in high flow - complete with tree.

I note the time at the largest side streams on the true left thinking I will easily recognise Iron Peg Creek (I don't).  For future reference it works out at: 2.30 join river, 3.27 island, 3.47 stream, 4.28 stream, 4.47 stream, 5.08 - Iron Peg Creek.

Iron Peg Creek

Now it is (in theory) familiar territory.  Having reached Iron Peg Creek a little bit of edge drains from the day. I'm going to reach the hut before dark. The forecast is for rain and wind tonight so I'd rather be inside.  I start watching for Broken Ridge to appear ahead - it duly emerges - a comforting milestone and a reminder of an enjoyable morning scramble. 

Broken Ridge

Rangi Creek gives a glimpse up to sun on a snow streaked knob - I think it might be Rangioteatua but in retrospect suspect it was the knob north of Rangi saddle.  15 minutes later I'm at Waterfall Hut in it's clearing with a remnant patch of snow.  Just after 5.30 - 11 hours after setting out and covering a satisfying distance and variety of territory (with a few breaks).

The hut is well familiar. I strip off sopping boots and trou and settle in.  No fire tonight, I can do without the hassle of gathering wood and tending it.  I elect instead to warm my feet on the pack of dinner dehy.

During the night the wind occasionally elicits a loud bang from the tin chimney, peering outside drizzly rain seems to be keeping it up.  

The plan in the morning is to head into Rangi saddle and see what the route up to Rangoioteatua is looking like. The forecast is a bit miserable but the route sounds not too tricky.  From there I'm hoping to head over three Johns to take a spur down to the Waipawa River. 

I've made a bit of a habit of taking different routes to and from this hut over the last year or so and this will come close to exhausting the options.  Admittedly I have come up river previously - but only from Iron Peg Creek, and over Rangi Saddle too - but not up to Rangioteatua.  I reckon I haven't broken the mould yet.

I get away around 6.45; the decision not to try to dry socks and boots is quickly proved sound with four river crossings before I start heading up Rangi Creek. 

It's cool, there's a bit of wind and drifts of rain come and go. The rubble in Rangi Creek is wet and slippery but I'm pretty sure it's out of the worst of it down here.  

Once out of the bush the gully has a bit of snow and the wind starts getting boisterous towards the ridge. About an hour twenty from the hut I'm sheltering on the northeast side of the saddle dragging on gloves and checking the map.

The wind is strong here, driving bands of drizzle in from the west(ish) - it's going to be a bit more of a proposition 300m higher with snow to contend with. Not to mention soaked feet. I have a think and decide to continue with retreat an option if it gets too bad.  

There's not much snow at this level but out of the saddle the wind immediately starts pushing me around. There's a few steep scrambles up through tussock - being careful to avoid slick patches. At one point I avoid what would be an easy route across shingle on the northeast side of the spur as it would require crossing a strip of harder snow which disappears down into the clag. 

Where possible I hang on the leeward side of the spur until I roll over the top of a knob and into a saddle. Normally the next bit would be steepish but straight forward.  Today it looks bleak - the clag shreds through the saddle with steep snowy slopes drifting in and out of view above.   

The snow is deepish in the saddle and the wind is annoying but it ends up just being a simple grind upwards.  As the spur rounds onto the top the wind has polished the snow off the ridge and the cairn is just rimed with ice. The wind is stronger again now, however the ridge is fairly straight forward from here - providing you don't stray off the southeast side.

I have already set a bearing through the next long saddle so I don't have to fish the map out - a quick glance at the compass and I head northeast and gently down. 

A short way into the saddle a solid wall of wind comes smashing in from the northwest. It's a battle to keep upright and moving - a few times having to kneel and brace as progress becomes impossible - or being pushed helplessly half a dozen steps up slope towards the edge.  It's not helped by patches of deeper snow.  

Fortunately the ground is reasonably level but I'm feeling pretty beaten about by the time the ground starts sloping up towards pt 1635.  I huddle behind a snow bank for a much needed breather and bite.  

Underway again I veer too far left on the way off 1635 - the slope looks right but is dropping too steeply - a compass check confirms and it's a wasted slog through snow, shrubs and spaniard back to the top to get on the correct bearing again.

The first part downwards is knee deep tussock and spaniard (still haven't found a trail through here) with a foot trail eventually developing near the face on the right. The snow becomes patchy, the wind drops and I'm soon moving freely over herbfield. A hare races across the slope in front.

With ears still ringing from the wind it's pleasant following the gentle ridge down into the saddle and start the climb out. I decide not to risk the steep slopes of Three Johns and a potentially long scrub bash down the spur I had my eye on. Instead - as soon as it looks doable I cut across the gully to my left to join the spur down to Waipawa saddle.   

Everything steadily improves - the wind drops further, and by the time I reach the saddle I can see that I will soon be dropping out of the cloud. 

Pausing for a drink below the saddle I discover a minor disaster - I've lost the orange cap that has been on so many trips.  It owed me nothing but I regret the loss and the litter that it has now become.     

It's 1020 - it's only been two hours forty on the tops from Rangi Saddle but they've felt like two reasonably tough hours.

With a few less layers I head head down valley.  A glow in the clouds ahead promises sun on the lower river flats. The odd patch of snow shows footprints which must be the couple from Saturday who would have come through yesterday. 

It's an active landscape with a lot of shingle coming down the valley, but if you keep your eyes peeled there is often a good foot trail somewhere on the true left.  

The cloud drops behind and before I reach the forks above the hut it's a different day.  This time I pay attention and spot the triangle and cairn marking the track up to the Sunrise Track - a short distance up valley from the hut track - not what is shown on the map.

Back at the car at 12.10 I can finally peel off wet clothes and am soon bumping back down the road past flocks of wild turkeys. 

Postscript

Despite not ticking all the planned boxes it's been an eminently enjoyable trip.  Pretty snowscapes on Saturday, checked out an alternative route to Wakelings hut, a couple of whio, navigating Rongotea in the clag, Crow and McKinnon Huts (more snow and clag), a satisfying shortcut to the river, pretty river trip up to Waterfall, Rangi saddle to Rongotea and over to Waipawa saddle in challenging conditions (wind, snow and clag).  

Sure, skipped a bit of ridge and the Three Johns exit, but didn't really fancy sleeping on the ridge Sun night or a snowy leatherwood bash in galeforce winds off Three Johns - can't regret that too much.   

Karamea, Leslie, Arthur and Peel

The Kahurangis have been calling ever since that Wangapeka trip in December 2016. I can just fit in 6 days between Christmas and New Year commitments and have settled on the Karamea - Leslie track.

Apart from landing me in Takaka for New Year, it looks to be a well laid out track with lots of huts. I figure on it being a further, relatively gentle introduction to the area.

My risk assessment is a bit different to usual with wasps and the propensity for water courses to rise rapidly featuring more prominently. I have no idea about the DOC track times (6-9 days) so am planning conservatively and hoping that huts are not going to be too crowded.

The sum total of my experience in the area is the Wangapeka trip two years back (which I will be following in reverse at the start), a MTB trip earlier in the year through Barron track at the northern end and crawling around and under Mt Arthur 30 odd years ago.

I'm planning to be on tracks so will be packing walking poles to see how they work out.

As it turns out the trip start and end points are as planned (Rolling River near Tapawera through to the Cobb Road at the Asbestos Track road end). There were some embellishments though with enough time in hand to pop up Mounts Arthur and Peel.

What:     Multi-day tramp on marked tracks
When:    26 to 31 December 2018
Where:   Kahurangi National Park, Karamea and Leslie Rivers and the Tablelands
Who:      Solo
Map

The whole trip from blue to red

Day one: Wellington to Stone Hut

It's a chore to get up early on Boxing Day after the usual Christmas nutritional excesses. A grey day in Wellington and the tower is barely visible as the clouds scrape across the airport. Air NZ cancel the Napier flight rather than the Nelson one so, despite initial misgivings; bang on schedule the support crew waves farewell as a disreputable figure in tramping boots shambles onto the plane.

Nelson Cycle Hire meets me on arrival in marginally more salubrious weather and we head off for the Wangapeka. Drop-off quotes prices are a bit eye-watering for a lone traveler (circa $300), but NCH had a competitive offer and JR professes to be more than willing to extricate himself from a hoard of relatives.

The Wakefield Bakery lets us down as we follow highway 6 out of Nelson, over the Spooners Range and drop to Kohatu - admiring the brand new section of the Nelson cycle trail on the way. The Kohatu cafe is also a no-show so we head down the Motueka Valley to Tapawera for a not too bad pie and coffee.

We meander into the hills past Tadmore, Matariki and acres of new hops.

The road remains completely navigable to the Rolling Hill River road end where my driver bids me an emotional farewell: "I'd better get a photo so search and rescue know what to look for."

The hip belt buckle on my trusty (30+ y/o) Macpac Torre has given up the ghost sometime since its last outing but I'm not about to farf about with it now. I set boldly forth under a blistering sun with a vague thought of bodging something in the evening using the chest harness.

Last seen wearing ...

At 11am it's shaping up to be a hot and calm day. The track crosses grassy flats and slowly transitions to familiar beech forest. The track follows up the Wangapeka River valley past large deep pools. Wasp and DOC 200 traps line the route but I don't see any whio.

About 1hr 15 in, the track passes a wee lake formed behind a massive slip - the DOC website has some warnings about it but it is looking pretty stable now.

Slip Lake

Two hours from the start the track crosses from true right to true left. This is also where the Kiwi Track hives off north, giving access to the Wharepapa / Arthur Range. This is the range that forms the Western horizon for Nelson and Tasman Bay; featuring such peaks as Mt Arthur, The Twins, Mt Sodom and Mt Patriarch. I'm aiming to cross to the river systems on the west side of this range.

I leave Kiwi track for another day and keep following the flatter path up valley arriving at Kings Creek Hut about 1:25 for a 15 minute break. Shortly afterwards is the more picturesque Cecil Kings Hut.

Cecil Kings Historic Hut

The hardcopy and online topo maps are inaccurate here, showing a couple of river crossings and a climb that don't exist. On the ground the track just ambles sedately up the true left.

I've decided not to make a heroic attempt to get over the tops tonight, so there's plenty of time to potter along above the narrowing river. It shrinks and changes nature getting quite gorgy in sections before becoming a sedate upland stream. The track stays pleasantly shaded by tall beech forest.

Despite a little bit of track realignment further up it is all pretty easy going. At 3.45 its less than four hours since kickoff when I stumble onto Stone Hut. The hut is perched a little above the clearing at the confluence with Stone Creek and is empty. I find the log entry from my last trip through with Mike and Angela - two years ago.

Over the next couple of hours a young chap turns up that has followed me up valley, a couple of older trampers that have come from the Karamea end and another chap that camps on the flats. There's plenty of afternoon sun to have a wash, dry a few strategic pieces of clothing, bodge my chest harness into a serviceable hip belt then sit in the shade of a bush doing sudoku.

The day's progress

Day two: Biggs Tops and the Karamea River

The couple are doing a day trip up Kiwi Track, over Mt Luna and down Stone Creek so carefully wake the hut before they leave shortly after 6am. The younger chap and I get up once they have cleared off and I leave the hut just before him at 7:10.

DOC suggests five hours to get over the Biggs Tops route involving climbing from 660m to 1230m then a steep drop to Trevor Carter Hut at about 500m.

Morning at Stone Hut clearing - plenty of camping space

A very short way up valley the track crosses an old avalanche boulder field then a shingle fan before climbing up the headwaters of the Wangapeka under forest. The sun is yet to reach into the valley but the tops above are promising a fine day.

Avalanche fan - route to Biggs Tops behind

It takes about 40 minutes to climb to Wangapeka Saddle (1009m) which is the watershed to the Karamea River. The trees in the saddle are thin, closely packed and of an age - I briefly wonder if it marks old storm damage (but no logs) or clearance.

However, more importantly - this is where I leave the path once traveled and head into new territory. The sign says an hour to the bushline but the morning is not hot yet so I reckon it will be a little quicker.

Wangapeka saddle

The beech trees get shorter and the Dr Suess-designed dracophyllum starts mixing in, covering the ground in masses of curling fronds. Riflemans pop by to protest the intrusion with high-pitched chirps. I think I hear a kea fly over but can't be sure.

About 35 minutes from the saddle the beech trees abruptly give way to the open tops. Above is the ridge that runs to Mt Luna and eventually Mt Arthur - southwards the Ellen Range marks the southernmost boundary of the Karamea catchment.

The Biggs Tops track follows along above the bushline- it's poled and generally there is a visible ground trail but you would want to keep your wits about you in clag as it's not always immediately obvious where it runs.

There's only a little bit of high cloud so the visibility is good - I look across ranges, valleys and peaks that are utterly unfamiliar. It's a sudden and stark reminder of how small a piece of real-estate the Tararuas are in comparison.

Ellen Range

North west across Biggs Tops

Just before the track starts its descent there are views down to where the Karamea River joins the Taipo River (the route of the Wangapeka Track) - and the steeply eroded slopes of Mt Kendall. My hut companion from last night is making his way along to the tops as, shortly after 9:00, I drop out of the saddle and back into forest for the steep climb down to the valley floor.

Karamea joins the Taipo on left, Kendall Creek Valley on right 

Mt Kendall on right

I'm still getting used to the walking poles and find out the hard way that they can be a bit of a liability on a steep down hill. After one sticks in I do the best panel beating job I can and carry them in one hand on the steepest bits from there on.

The track does what the map promises - drops steeply down a relatively formless hillside. It's hard on the knees and gets harder when it veers to follow beside a noisy cascade. Eventually the slope eases for a pleasant amble through variable forest and clearings to pop out at Trevor Carter Hut. It's just before 10:00 so it has taken about 3 hours over Biggs Tops - these are ideal conditions though; in snow, clag or even if the ground was just wet it would be slower.

TC is new and very smart. Some helpful soul has left the mop on the porch to dry and fortunately the kea have only played with it a little bit. I pop it back inside and dutifully note my next intentions in the log.

The choices are head down stream on the true right to ford the Karamea at Orbit Creek (marked route), cross the river by the hut or head up river 15 minutes to the swingbridge. I elect to cross here as the river looks straight forward. I barely have to hike my shorts to keep my cell phone dry.

A benign Karamea River (up stream)

Looking back across Karamea River up Lost Valley
Hill with Luna slips on right (Karamea river flows around it), Biggs Tops up to left

A little after 10:00 I head off down the marked track, in retrospect it would have been quicker to follow the route on the true right - the left side was generally ok but a bit mucky with tree fall; the odd soft bit; and a bit of meandering across the broad mouth of Kendall Creek. Soon, however I'm in what is to become a familiar groove - a broad path on old river terrace through mature beech forest.

The way is periodically interrupted by old avalanche debris fields, streams and, a little before Thor hut; a gentle climb away from the river before dropping down to the hut.

Old avalanche field

Taking a short break I'm joined by one of the ubiquitous kakaruwai (south island bush robin). Although strong songsters I have found them strikingly inquisitive but not talkative up close. This one flits to sit on a proffered walking pole and listens politely as I chat inanely.

At 12:25 (about 2:20 from TC) I pop into a wee clearing with Thor Hut - a good old fashioned, bog standard NZFS 6 bunker. This is the first option for the night but clearly way too early so I just stop for a bite and fill in the log before heading on.

The stream names in this neck of the woods are an interesting mix celebrating the metaphysical (from the roman pantheon: Thor, Venus, Apollo, Atlas, Mars ...) and the physical (celestial objects and concepts: Satellite, Apogee, Comet, Star ....). Perhaps the whim of some early surveyor.

Thor Hut

Half an hour downstream from Thor - the track joins the river edge on a rocky ledge with a chain along it - the chain is not necessary today but if the river was up I imagine you would be very gratefully for it.

Not the Queen's chain

I've got used to not seeing anyone so am startled to bump into a sprightly, older tramper. Heather is a 75 y/o Tasmanian and is an absolute treasure. We stand and yarn for a short time but I leave considerably better informed than before we met. She has been tramping for the last two months and is getting a little bored with it - so much so that she has popped over here off the Te Araroa Trail for a bit of a change. She tells me about a woman she met at the last hut (Venus), others that she has seen and where she's off to (Karamea). I am able to inform her about the narrow piece of track she was mildly concerned about (the section with the chain).

She's a great advert for visitors who appreciate and make more of the NZ outdoors than most Kiwis.

At 2.05 (approx 1.30 from Thor) I pop out of the trees at Venus Hut - another crisp new(er) facility. It's perched high above the junction with Venus Creek which flows through a deep slot just north off the hut.

Venus Hut

Flying nun?

This was the more likely overnight destination but 2:20 still feels too early to be knocking off with a clear conscience. It's only 2 DOC hours to Crow Hut so let's just keep pottering along.

The milestone on this section is the track crossing what has become the somewhat mighty Karamea River. Enroute there is, of course, another beautiful side stream (Jupiter) cascading from another mysterious valley draining peaks and ranges beyond my ken. And more beautiful sections of moss-lined track through dappled beech shade.

At 3:20 I've crossed the Karamea high above a deep green pool.

The track counter-intuitively (particularly if you haven't been paying attention to the map), crosses under the bridge and heads up the true right for a bit. However, it shortly climbs to veer around a knob on an old terrace and resume its north east course. A couple of young women pass heading up valley but we don't stop to talk.

Crow Hut

Crow Hut (4pm) marks (to my knowledge) neither god nor celestial object. It looks north west across the wide open valley bottom and promises to be a thoroughly pleasant place to wake in the morning. There's a fisher chap just about to set off down the track in order to fish back up river to the hut. My feet are feeling pretty mangled and I'm tossing up staying or continuing. He provides intel about possible camping spots (a few but not heaps) and track conditions (a bit of windfall).

So far I've been coming in under the DOC times and I'm thinking that the closer to Karamea Bend I can get tonight, the shorter the trip to Salisbury tomorrow and the better chances for spare time to explore the tablelands after that. I take a mental cement pill and set off after the fisher bloke, catching him as he clears some treefall a few minutes down track.

The proves to be the roughest section of track for the week. It's clearly the next bit due for maintenance with quite a bit of treefall and many sections overgrown. There's also a couple of sections on old river overflow channels that are uncomfortable walking. In the first of these I bump into an older kiwi couple coming up river who give further warnings about the track conditions.

At 6pm I reach the Slippery Creek swingbridge and am delighted to stumble onto the hut at 6.30pm. Only to discover; 1. the door is padlocked; and 2. the sign saying it is a DOC field hut. Gathering my wits I can see that Karamea bend and the intersection with the Leslie is still a significant sidle away.

Not the public Karamea Bend hut

Thar be Karamea Bend (idiot)

The sidle track in evening sun above the now quiescent river would, in normal circumstances, be a soul lifting amble. I maintain a disgruntled limp around the bluff on to the flats and along to the hut proper. At 6.45pm (about 2.30 from Crow) a Polish fisherman unintentionally becomes a feature in my hut-arrival shot.

Polish photo bomber at Karamea Bend Hut

The woman Heather told me about is already in situ - Anne works for DOC and is good company. She's coming through from Little Wanganui (Karamea side) and is making the most of it; not hurrying like certain others. The two other occupants are a Polish father and son who pretty much tag team the river during the evening. They have been flown in and are fishing their way up river and out to little Wanganui.

As I remove socks and boots from battered feet, the sandflies descend in a ravening swarm. You forget how voracious they can be in these parts. However, I am not fit for company and have to brave the blood suckers to rinse the odours of the day into the Leslie River's waters.

The hut is large (sleeps 22) and enjoys an open aspect across the wide flats where the two rivers meet. It's a seminal point in the park with tiger country available downstream (unmarked river route to the Roaring Lion and Beautiful Rivers), spurs to the dramatic scarps and plateaus of the Garabaldi Ridge, access to the beating heart of the Park; the Tasman Mountains, the Karamea river track to the Wangapeka, Taipo, Wilkinson and a myriad other adventures-in-waiting.

I expect that I will be back.

Day 2 - a bit longer than expected

Day three: Leslie River, the Tablelands and Flora Stream

Anne and I are ready to go just after 8 as the shadows retreat across the flats towards the hut. A sign promises 7 to 8 hours to Salisbury Hut, I picked up a figure of '6+' off the internet (opp direction) so I'm picking it will be around the 6.30 mark. Anne is intending to take a more sensible pace and make a day of it.

The track is in good nick up the Leslie and it's back to the pleasant amble along beechy terraces next a sparkling (albeit smaller) river. Occasionally the track sidles above bluffs in the narrower valley. A little under an hour in I'm crossing what I assume to be Leslie Clearing (site of an old hut?).

Top end of Leslie Clearing looking down valley

A few times in the morning a helicopter thumps up or down the valley - I've been hearing these most days and it seems they are dropping fishers in. I can sympathise with people that find this too intrusive in a national park - it wouldn't take many movements to detract from the wilderness experience.

At 9:20 a foot bridge marks the intersection with the only other marked track to the Karamea - Leslie. The Wilkinson Track crosses Baton Saddle (1370m ish) from Baton River and is accessed from Baton Valley Road on the left bank of the Motueka River. Adding the times up on the sign I get another estimate for the time to Salisbury - 5hr 50.

It's sort of nice to see the old signs mixed in with the new, and track markers from various eras. Along with the well benched tracks and physical bric-a-brac, it gives a sense of the phases of human interaction - although the names have sadly largely lost their connection with Maori history.

I find some NZFS vegetation survey markers from the 1980s - I have a vague recollection that brother number 2 did such surveys in this park around then, but suspect it was further west. Two more fisher chaps pass heading down valley and a single woman. No one has time to chat.

About 10:20 I reach the swingbridge across the Leslie River. This marks where the track starts climbing to the Tablelands. It's a little under 900m vertical but plenty of time so I'm planning to just plod up. It turns out that the track is pretty well benched a lot of the way and sidles along the ridge rather than the Tararua trick of barreling straight up a spur.

Another fisher chap passes - this one is chatty as he is looking for the woman that passed earlier.

At the steady pace with some pauses it takes about an hour to climb to Splugeons Rock Shelter. This is an earth-floored shelter perched on a ledge with a plastic front. It has bunks and would be perfectly adequate accommodation.

About 2hr 30 from the bottom I roll out of the climb and into a wee alpine gully surrounded by stunted beech forest. Bulbinella flowers form pretty drifts of yellow with silver splashes of astelia among the tussocks.

Pretty much all the climbing done

The bush edge onto the Tablelands

It's a dramatic transition from deep river valleys to the flat tablelands. The water hereabouts now drains north to the Takaka River. Large, tussock covered clearings shelve gently to streams that cut gradually deeper into the landscape.

To the east, Gordons Pyramid rises from the plain marking the edge of the rugged hills of the Wharepapa / Arthur range and the northernmost boundary of the Leslie catchment. There are interesting glimpses of marble on Mt Arthur.

Gordon's Pyramid on left, Mt Arthur and peaks to the south rising to its right

The first order of business is to follow the poled route to the junction and the choice of left to Ballon Hut or east down Starvation Ridge to Salisbury Hut giving access to the Takaka and Flora Rivers, Gordon's Pyramid and Mt Arthur.

There is cell coverage so I call the support crew to say I'm over a day early and will be adding some embellishments to the trip.  With luck I will be able to get up two of the peaks flanking this area; Mt Arthur to the east and Mt Peel above the Cobb Valley to the west.

Salisbury/Balloon Junction

Gordons Pyramid behind Salisbury lodge

Arriving at Salisbury Lodge at 1.30 means it has taken about five and a quarter hours from Karamea Bend. I contemplate a truncated tramping day and a lazy afternoon but the eight children infesting the hut rapidly convince me that my aching feet can last another 10 odd km to Flora Hut. I have half an hour break and leave the chaos behind.

Old marker with some challenging track times

I'm finding that every junction is well labelled and mostly with time indicators. Some of the old signs are hand punched in tin.

The track from Salisbury drops gently through tussocks to follow the rapidly deepening gully of Balloon Creek. Before long I am on a lovely benched track sidling high above the creek through beech forest. A couple of trampers coming up valley are the only people I see on this section.

The track curves into the Flora Stream catchment and gradually drops to join the Upper Takaka Track at about 3.20 (1hr15 from Salisbury). This is the mountain bike route to Upper Takaka that I came through in January 2018.

I continue up valley on the benched track which, 10 minutes later turns into a 4WD track at Gridiron Rock Shelters.

About here I catch up with an older chap with a day bag. Andy is from FoF (Friends of Flora) - the volunteer group that is doing an impressive amount of pest trapping in this area. He's been doing K line near Salisbury Hut. As we potter up the road he tells me how whio have spread down the Flora and that the river is pretty much full now. They have a survey coming up with DOC which will provide accurate population statistics.

He offers me a lift in his 4WD to Flora Hut and I am sorely tempted. Some stupid streak of stubbornness takes over and I decline - something about doing the whole trip on my own two feet. The smell of diesel gradually dissipates in the hot, still afternoon air and I have four kilometers to rue the missed conversation.

At 4.45 (about 2hr 40 from Salisbury), I cross a wee ford and the road breaks into the Flora Hut clearing. To  my relief there is a woman in one half of the hut and I appropriate the other. I limp down to the stream to wash body and clothes and manage to get everything dry in the remaining afternoon sun.

The Flora road is pretty substantial

Flora - a hut in two parts

The early rub points from my new boots have come right but they are making a mess of my little toes - one of which is now completely enveloped in a misshapen fluid filled blister. The afternoon at least gets everything dry and I do a better job of strapping them up - I'm thinking some more dramatic boot adjustment might be needed at home.

The hut is only 2km from the Flora Saddle car park so I am worried that leaving Salisbury will prove to be a bad gamble. However, despite a couple of early evening parties coming through they all decide not to stay and I'm left to a quite evening and early bed.

Day 3

Day four: Mt Arthur, Gordons Pyramid, some holes and Balloon Hut

In the morning the odd shower wanders through - I take my time in the hope it will clear but have a coat on as I start up the slope behind the hut around 8:40.

Last sight of Flora Hut

At 1795m Mt Arthur is higher than anything in the Tararuas. I have been to the top once before - 30 years ago.  I'm starting at about 900m and there is a marked route so I'm not expecting any challenges on the way up, but I'm thinking I might take an unmarked spur down.

It takes a little over an hour to climb the 400m to the Mt Arthur Hut on the bushline. The hut was crammed last night and a group are still inside playing cards. It's a busy hub this morning with two parties arriving and another preparing to descend.

The track is well travelled and I can't say it's familiar, but Horseshoe Basin brings back memories. Despite its size there's no surface water. Everything drains into the cave systems beneath and eventually passes under the ridge I'm standing on to emerge in the Pearse River in the valley far below. There were a number of happy trips as a student chucking ropes down holes in search of the one that might connect - giving the ultimate opportunity to climb a mountain from the inside.

Looking up Horseshoe Basin - top in clag 

I catch up with a party of four chaps on a day trip to the top who let me go ahead. The rock on the upper slopes is steeper and there are interesting little holes off to the side of the track. There are a few minor clambers but nothing exciting and the track takes a nice line to the top - emerging through a notch on to the wide top ridge, like climbing through a hatch.

The cloud has disappeared from the top giving stunning views down Horseshoe Basin but it lurks in the south shrouding the down range peaks.

South east from the top ridge towards Winter Peak

North east down Horseshoe basin - ridge up on right, down on left

Ed Hillary wannabe - complete with hat

It's about 11.25 - less than an hour and a half from the hut so it really is an easy climb. The wind has got up a bit but it is warm on the top - after admiring the view I sit in the lee and check the map for the ridge down. It looks good with a possibly steep bit around 1600m but there seems to be a bit of a foot trail and the visibility is good so I decide to check it out - the alternative is to return down the main ridge and cross Horseshoe Basin on the poled route.

Looking back up the spur to the peak

The spur is pretty easy going with only a few clambers required. The rock is incredibly grippy making it possible to walk down quite steep slopes. Below in Horseshoe Basin, holes open invitingly - there are quite a few on the spur that I'm sure have been well investigated already.

Holes in Horseshoe Basin

Looking back up the spur

East across the basin a tiny figure can occasionally be seen strolling up the ridge toward the top.

Looking across to other side of Horseshoe Basin

At about 12.10 the poled route from Horseshoe Basin is easy to find with a strong foot trail. I turn to follow it north west for Gordons Pyramid but not before a lunch stop sprawled in the tussock out of the wind.

The clag has returned but there are interesting views beneath it across the karst landscape flanking Mt Arthur. South west of my ridge small creeks gather from the steep slopes to form the headwaters of the Leslie River.

Gordon is no slouch at 1489m so it's a bit of a plod to the top with the occasional tingling swipe from a spiky spaniard reminding you to be weary about hand placement. The wind speed has got to the point that wee bumblebees have grounded themselves on mossy patches beside the path.

Emerging from the clag cloaking the top, I catch up with a friendly older couple preceding me down Pyramid Ridge. They camped beside Salisbury last night and attested to the noise. They report that Anne had a less than peaceful evening. I grill them when I hear that they camped by Lake Peel two nights back and get some intel for my intended route tomorrow.

Dropping off Gordons Pyramid - Tablelands ahead

Mt Peel touches the clouds on the other side of the tablelands

There's a scenic loop from Salisbury lodge called Potholes Track - I reach the intersection at 2.20 so decide to potter around. It's a good call and I thoroughly recommend it.

The track pops out of the forest and proceeds to meander around a series of grassy dolines. The steep sided funnels drop from the surrounding beech trees like amphitheaters draining water to who knows where.

The final hole is a deep slot that swallows Sphinx Creek. The creek meanders down a meadow like valley before disappearing into the earth. On another day ...

Sphinx Creek up ...

... and down.

A figure greets me and I'm surprised to see the chap from Stone Hut. He has arrived from Karamea Bend and is exploring the area around the hut. I point him to the Sphinx and head for the hut, arriving about 3pm.

Salisbury Lodge

I have a good long break and eat while I study the map to hatch plans for my remaining day and a bit. A family group turns up and I decide I can convince my feet to carry me to Balloon Hut for the night which is likely to be quieter.

It's about 25 minutes to the junction where I joined the Tablelands yesterday and 40 minutes further to the hut. I'm not going fast and even ignore the opportunity to have a look at Bishops Cave in one of the sections of forest that interrupt the tussocks.

Balloon Hut

View nor-norwest from hut

Balloon Hut

There's gear but no body at the hut at 5.30. I get busy washing in the last patches of sun and when I emerge from behind the hut Richard has returned. He's been up the track a wee way photographing a couple of kea that landed to check him out. This is more luck than I get all week - hearing one or two birds flying overhead each day but no close sightings.

He is the only other person in the hut and turns out to be from Wellington - he's a keen mountain biker and we exchange notes about various trips. He's also done some interesting Tararua tramps. This includes a loop trip from Poads Road behind Levin so that he could visit Richard's Knob. He politely laughs when I suggest that he would have to call his selfies there as 'Dick pics'.

The hut sleeps 14 and is fully serviced - i.e. including a gas stove. A perfect size for two.  The night is mild although occasionally the silence is shattered by a weka loudly announcing ownership rights just outside the window. What with this and a bit of a fever I don't sleep well.

Day 4

Day five: Mt Peel, the Cobb Ridge and Asbestos Cottage

The morning breaks to clag. Richard has to get to Flora Stream to meet someone so I keep out off his hair and offer to do the hut tidy. I haven't got a huge distance to cover today and am hoping the clag will burn off before I get to the top of Mt Peel so don't leave until 9.25.

It's the second morning in a raincoat but still pretty mild. The wind gets up as I climb bringing damp clag in from the west and misting up just the left glasses lens.

Exactly as the map predicts the track eventually stops climbing and starts to veer along the side of the ridge which is my cue to leave it and follow the ridge norwest into the clag toward the peak. It is a steady, easy walk up across shingle, and mossy herb fields. The clag periodically shifts enough to give a glimpse of Lake Peel in its basin to the south east of Mt Peel.

The ridge is wide and easy. Once past the lake I'm a little surprised to see the Cobb Reservoir emerge from the gloom. It comes and goes along the final stretch as does the top. I'm disappointed that the ranges to the south and west are completely invisible.

Lake Peel

Upper slopes, or the lunar surface

The distinctive banana shape of the Cobb Reservoir 

Mt Peel

Knocked the bugger off - but little to see for it

It's only taken about an hour 10 from the hut so I have plenty of time and could wait around to see if it clears but decide there's no telling how long it will take if it will at all. A few minutes along the ridge though and the clag starts to dissipate - in the space off a few minutes disappearing completely to leave a hot blue day.

Going ...

...going...

... gone!
Mt Peel on right - Peel Range continues on left

Mt Peel on left, Cobb on right

South east over Lake Peel

With the radically improved visibility I'm much happier tackling the ridge down between Lake Peel and the Cobb Valley. The older couple yesterday said they met some Canadians that had traversed it and said there were just a few tricky scrambles. I make my way off the top ridge and note a bit of a foot trail confirming that it's a goer.

It starts easy and although there are a couple of scrambly bits there's nothing I feel uncomfortable about.

Spiky Spaniard

Looking back up a scrambly bit

Back towards the top ridge - Lake Peel on left

Norwest up the Cobb River Valley

At 12.05 I've joined the track again with the choice of left for a steep descent to Myttons Hut then the valley floor, right to sidle back to Lake Peel across the steep slope I have just clambered across the top of, or straight ahead (east then north) down the Cobb ridge.

A fluoro clad figure sitting in the tussock turns out to be what I expect - another friend of flora. Mike has just finished his trapping line along the ridge track and is having a cup of tea in the tussock before returning to catch up with Greg who has completed the line in the opposite direction.

He outlines the various lines they have in this neck of the woods and when he hears I'm heading to asbestos cottage points me to an old unmarked track that has a trapping line and would be quicker than the marked route.

I leave him and follow the trail - it's a little while since it has had maintenance so could be tricky to follow in clag but is fine today.  The track meanders through  tussock dropping slowly from 1400m and skirting occasional patches of stunted beech. It then pops in and out of forest and descends more rapidly to 1000m crossing the odd little alpine meadow.

At 1000m there's another intersection (left to drop to the Cobb Road or right to continue along the ridge or head over the Bullock Track. Greg and another FoF (a woman whose name I didn't get) are relaxing in the shade and are also happy to chat. They confirm Mike's instructions, chuckle about how fit Andy is at something north of 75 and are a bit surprised that I've been able to leave Mike behind - despite me having twenty years edge on him!

They also alert me to some native mistletoe a short way up the track which I hope I am alert enough to see. Mistletoe are semi-parasitic - relying on the host tree for water and nutrients (not to be confused with epiphytes that just grow on the host). They are also like cotton candy to possums so tend to get nailed.

As it turns out, even I can't miss the mesh enclosures around the plants which are in vibrant bloom.

The day is baking hot so I take my time as the track passes the turn off to the Bullock Track (which I had intended to take) then drops further before a hot climb to 1154. At the top is an old wooden sign marking my route - all exactly as Mike said. It's about 2.25.

I potter across what looks like an old burn and easily pick up a trail with various old markers and occasional traps. This soon develops into a wide trail in scrub then sparse beech. 25 minutes later there is a clearly marked junction (1040m altitude) with a trail diving off the side of the spur to head down and across slope to arrive at Asbestos Cottage a bit before 3.10. (I think the trap line continues down the spur).

Asbestos Cottage

The cottage is baking in its clearing in the afternoon sun. I rinse in the creek, wash clothes and hang them and boots out to dry.

The hut has been done up by local volunteers with DOC support. It is famous as the home of Annie Fox and Henry Chaffey who lived here as virtual recluses for over thirty years from 1914. There's a bit of reading material about them and the refurbishment which keeps me distracted during the afternoon. No one comes by apart from a weka which suits me fine.

Looking into the kitchen through the porch

Kitchen - four bunk room behind wall at back

A somewhat dwarfed penny stove 

I have a mild concern during the night about rats getting into my stuff as the hut is very definitely not vermin proof. There are a few suspicious noises but no damage.




Day 5

Day six: Asbestos mines and out 

It's about an hour and a half walk out with a scheduled rendezvous of midday. It's the perfect low stress finish as I can rise, have a coffee and breakfast, tidy up at a leisurely pace and take my time on the way.

I do all the above and am away by 9.40 figuring to be out about 11 on the assumption that the support crew will arrive an hour early.

It's a rocky tramping track for the start sidling down towards a greyish-green bare area that I assume is the asbestos mine. The rocks have lots of green colours present and are more varigated than the granite and marble I have been seeing. I also wonder if the soil is a bit too mineral rich as the vegetation seems stunted.

The track drops towards the asbestos mine

Not marble or greywacke ...

Looking down into eroded mine area

As the track rounds the spur above the mine it develops into a benched road that looks to me like it would have taken trucks. It's been washed out at Gabbro Stream but forms an excellent base for the track for most of the rest of the way out (except one diversion above - presumably to miss a slip). I follow the numbers on the traps to monitor progress as they count down to 1.

The last trap

An hour twenty after leaving the cottage I emerge onto the Cobb Road to find that the support crew has just arrived with lashings of cold ginger beer. Perfect!



Day 6

Postscript

Good tracks and good huts in a fantastic environment. The section of track to Karamea Bend Hut was comparatively in need of maintenance but was fine really. The track down the Cobb ridge was a little less travelled and maintained and could be a little challenging in bad weather. There were only the three 'off track' excursions - the spur off Mt Arthur was fine but could be challenging in clag or rain, the spur off Mt Peel could be a little daunting for some as there is a bit of scrambling required which could be tricky in wind, the track down to Asbestos Cottage is pretty good although it is marked at both ends as unmarked - the top section can be a little hard to follow in places.

I found the DOC website times to be generous but if you're taking a more reasonable pace they are probably about right. The posted signs in the park vary with some of the older ones in particular being on the fast side. The estimate on the DOC website of 6-9 days from Rolling River to Flora carpark is a bit over the top though.

Despite time of year and quite a few people around, Salisbury Lodge was the only hut where numbers were getting up. A few of the others could be tight at times but they were so close together you could often skip to the next one if there was an issue.

The newish boots butchered both little toes and the soles are harder than my last pair which leaves the feet feeling bruised by the end of the day. I have an idea to sort out problem one but I think the other is a result of the compromise in going for a more rigid sole.

I will most certainly come back to the Kahurangis although feel that I have reasonably explored the Tablelands area for the time being.