In November 2001 I did a few walks in New Zealand. The first two were half days walks in the Wanaka region with Barbara Chinn. I then did a two day walk in the Haast Pass area with Derek Chinn and the next week a day trip in Arthur's Pass with Warren Chinn. These are a few of the photos I took.
Barbara on the bridge across the Matukituki to Rob Roy Stream. From here a track leads up through the Beech forest to an alpine cirque surrounded by cliffs, waterfalls and seracs from the glaciers above.
The next day Barb' and I walked up Timaru Creek which is a short drive up the East side of Lake Hawea from their house. After about an and hours walk the valley opens up to this large flat with views of the surrounding mountains.
Back at Trev and Barb's house at Lake Hawea we watched the weather. Freezing wind and new snow but the signs are there for good weather tomorrow as the front passes. Derek and I started packing our kit for Mt Brewster.
We were greeted next morning by wintery conditions but clear skys.
Mt Brewster is the peak with the wispy cloud about it. At 2500m it is the highest peak in the vicinity and 2000m above our starting point that morning. There is also a lot of snowy tussock and snowfields between us and it.
We dropped our overnight kit at this col and went towards the summit without our packs.
The climb to the summit was steep enough to have me thinking "better not fall off here". The cold conditions meant that the snow was solid enough to give secure purchase with the axe and crampons which made it feel reasonably good. My packing stuff-up of leaving my gloves and hat behind added a bit to my anxiety (hey, its years since I've had to pack for a trip like this!).
We returned to our packs at the col and then dropped down the opposite side from which we had come. By now the brief spell of good weather is deteriorating. Snowfields, and later tussock, boulder and scrub areas lead us down into the cirque at the head of the Makarora River.
We found a wonderful spot by the river to camp and I managed to convince Derek to stop. My old legs were feeling wobbly with fatigue after the climb and then a 1500m descent. I sat out in my sleeping bag to cook dinner and drink up the atmosphere.
The next morning I took some flower photos before we headed down the Makarora River.
The trip down the river was typical New Zealand tramping terrain. Gorgy parts of the river occasionally necessitated scrub bashing above the river. Mosses and lichen grow profusely in the clear air and typically rainy conditions. Before long the rain became more persistent and my tired legs trudged the remaining 10 km of river flats and track to the road.
The next walk was about a week later (my legs had mostly recovered) and was with Derek's brother Warren.
We drove up from Christchurch to Otira and walked up the Rolleston River. Here the river has become quite manageable but lower down we had to back-track a bit to find a place to cross it. About here we crossed the river, left the track and ascended a very steep scrub slope to the mountains above.
The scrub was near vertical in patches (always plenty to hold onto though). As we climbed the scrub abated and the view expanded. This trip had memories for me as James Moar and I had passed this way to cross into Hunt Creek. James died on Mt Cook a year after that.
Alpine sedges - a lot easier going than scrub!
Lake Florence. A seldom visited part of Arthur's Pass. Warren and I continued up the scree and snow fields on the opposite side to reach the saddle where James and I had descended into the next valley.
From the saddle Warren and I took the opposite direction and climbed up Mt Armstrong.
The top at last. Mt Armstrong, 2200m and 1700m above our starting point. By now it was 4:00pm and we were feeling a very long way from the car! We dropped down the opposite side to that we had ascended (ie towards Waimak Col, the direction this picture is facing). Fortunately this route proved straight forward and, with a solid end-of-day plod we made it back to the car not long after 8:00 pm and drove back to Christchurch.
An awesome day out.
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