Bush Personal/Instruction/TPP
Date
Trip name/ Location
Group members
Duration of the activity – (4 hrs is a full day. If the logged time is less than 4 hours like a rolling session for instance log it as a session. A session must be at least two hours)
Weather Conditions
Variations in environmental conditions e.g. snow conditions
Route/River conditions and if they changed over the days(s)
Incidents/Injuries
A short narrative which shares your learning and highlights (you are not required to write long updates, but you can if you like).
31 Dec 2014 - 05 Jan 2015
10 - 12 Jan 2015
6-8 Feb 2015
31 Dec 2014 - 05 Jan 2015
- Toaroha circuit
- Myself, Antje Wahlberg
- 6 days
- Thunderstorm on tops with extreme rain but then coming fine for last 3 days.
Walked from Toaroha carpark to Yeates ridge hut on the first day. Took about 8 hours and arrived in the rain as the expected front arrived.
Waited out New Years day at the hut as the big storm went through. Impressive thunderstorm on the tops.
Followed the tops route to Crystal biv the next day. Did a side trip to peak 1694 in misty conditions. Saw 3 chamois on the way. Lovely swim in the tarn at the biv.
Descended to the valley and up to Top Toaroha hut. Track slipped away in many places and hard going but top of valley a magic place.
Back down valley to Ceder flats and a soak in the hot pools. Took about 6 hrs. Track very up and down above the Mullins turnoff.
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| Crystal biv. Mt O'Conner in background. |
10 - 12 Jan 2015
- Lower Arahura valley. Jills creek area.
- Solo
- 3 days
- Fine weather
Camped on the terrace above the flats near Jills creek. Crossed the river near Jacks creek just as an earthquake hit. Explored the TR flats and the area up Jills creek. Shot a young stag on the big slip that falls into Pitcher creek. Also found the private hut on the lower flats. Fine weather.
16-17 Jan 2015
- Lower Olderog biv
- Solo
- 2 days
- Fine in the valleys but lots of cloud on the tops
Takes about 6 hours to get from Arahura carpark to the biv. The boulder hopping up Jade creek is slow and slippery. Scouted the old track down into the Trench, will go that way in the roar. The old miners huts in Jade creek are worth a look. Lower Olderog is a beautiful place and the track in reasonable condition. Sun in the valley but thick cloud on the tops so not much of a view.
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| Lower Olderog biv. A special place |
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| Rock biv above the hut clearing |
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| Looking towards Olderog ridge through a break in the clouds. |
6-8 Feb 2015
- Doctors creek, Hokitika river.
- Myself, Antje Wahlberg
- 3 days
- Fine weather
Access is on the old Forest Service track that starts on the TL of the river at Hoki Gorge swing bridge. Re-marked the track on the way in and explored the Doctors creek area. The waterfall at the bottom of the flats has kayak potential! Camped at the south end of the flats on the TR. Lots of bird life and a pair of blue ducks above the waterfall. Found old hut, deer pens and old FS tracks. Interesting area.
Saw 10 deer and 1 spiker shot.
Hokitika river forded on way out opposite Minnow creek.
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| Doctors creek |
15-16 Feb 2015
- Doctors creek
- Solo
- 2 days
- Fine weather
Weekend trip to Doctors creek. Re cutting the track in and working on the campsite which I will use a lot in the future. Hokitika forded again, straightforward to cross at 50 cumecs or 1500mm.
21-22 Feb 2015
- Explorer hut
- Solo
- 2 days
- Fine weather
Explorer hut is at the end of the Doctors creek track. I finished cutting and marking the track to the hut and spent the night at the hut. 2 pairs of blue ducks seen and lots of pigeons in Doctors area.
Fine weather with a bit of rain at night. Explorer hut not visited by many people which is a shame as it is a lovely spot.
06-07 April 2015
Mt Pfiefer. Arthurs Pass NP
Myself and Antje
2 days
Wx-Thick cloud on day one but clearing on day 2 with a cold SW wind.
No incidents or accidents
Lots of loose rock towards summit
What better way to celebrate the completion of COE term 1 than a climb of Mt Pfiefer?
Navigated our way to the biv in zero visibility by sidling the slopes and basins. Cloud started clearing in the evening to reveal a couple of chamiox across the creek and one was quickly dispatched. If nothing else we have meat for the freezer.
In the morning we climbed onto the spur to the east of the biv and followed it up to the saddle between Mt Pfiefer and Pt 1650. We then followed the summit ridge to the top. A couple of steep sections at the top with very loose and rotten rock needed carefull handling and boot placement. What a day to be on top of the world!
12-15 Aug 2015
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| Minnow creek. On the way to Explorer hut. |
06-07 April 2015
Mt Pfiefer. Arthurs Pass NP
Myself and Antje
2 days
Wx-Thick cloud on day one but clearing on day 2 with a cold SW wind.
No incidents or accidents
Lots of loose rock towards summit
What better way to celebrate the completion of COE term 1 than a climb of Mt Pfiefer?Navigated our way to the biv in zero visibility by sidling the slopes and basins. Cloud started clearing in the evening to reveal a couple of chamiox across the creek and one was quickly dispatched. If nothing else we have meat for the freezer.
In the morning we climbed onto the spur to the east of the biv and followed it up to the saddle between Mt Pfiefer and Pt 1650. We then followed the summit ridge to the top. A couple of steep sections at the top with very loose and rotten rock needed carefull handling and boot placement. What a day to be on top of the world!
21-23 Apr 2015
- Doctors creek
- Solo
- 3 days
- Fine weather
Took a break from possum trapping and went in to Doctors creek. Came in from Hoki gorge carpark. Finished setting up my permanent bivvy site/tarp camp and did some exploring down river. Found private hut below Mistake gully. I knew I was getting close when I started finding empty beer cans! Plenty of stags roaring in the Doctors catchment and in Minnow creek area. I got within shooting distance of 2 but a hind that was too easy to pass up was shot for meat.
Hokitika river forded on way out at 79 cumecs. Pretty much the safe limit for a solo crossing.
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| Bringing home the bacon |
- Top of Arahura river area
- Solo
- 4 days
Headed into Mudflats hut with a clearing sky and a heavy pack. Took about 6 hours from the carpark. Spent afternoon getting in firewood and tidying, cleaning hut. The last hunting party there left it in a bit of a state and no wood of course.
Wx-Overcast but clearing, Clear skies in the afternoon.
Wx-Overcast but clearing, Clear skies in the afternoon.
Next day followed the stoat trap line up the TR of the river to the clearings at the head of the valley below Styx saddle. Had a good explore of the area and headed back to Mudflats along the main track.
Picked the worst possible place to climb up to the main track of course. What looked like a quick 15 minute jaunt took an hour of scrub bashing, fairly typical for me.
Picked the worst possible place to climb up to the main track of course. What looked like a quick 15 minute jaunt took an hour of scrub bashing, fairly typical for me.
Went up to Campbell biv the following day. I crossed the river just upstream of Stewart creek but even this high up the valley the Arahura river is not pleasant to cross. Half an hour of boulder hopping upstream gets to the large unnamed side creek that leads to the Campbell biv route, although an appropriate name might be steep, slippery, hellhole creek!
The climb up to the biv is the opposite of fun but the commanding views from the tops are worth the effort.
Wx-Sleet falling above the bushline and showers coming through all day with a cold, cutting wind from the west.
Biv looking a bit worse for wear. Only person up there since April.
The climb up to the biv is the opposite of fun but the commanding views from the tops are worth the effort.
Wx-Sleet falling above the bushline and showers coming through all day with a cold, cutting wind from the west.
Biv looking a bit worse for wear. Only person up there since April.
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| Campbell biv. Hard to find on a cloudy day |
Headed back out to the road in steady rain. Rivers rising on the way out but no issues with any of the side creeks. Good times, good to be back in the hills.
17-19 Aug 2015
Access to the turn off on Olderog spur was straightforward untill this forest service era sign and then progress slowed to around 500 meters an hour. Took nearly 2 hours to cover the 800m down the spur to the creek junction. Not a fun time! I was hoping for some decent bush but found nothing but a regenerating pepper tree and Oleria nightmare.
I pushed up the trench for a couple of hours the next day before giving up and deciding to beat a retreat the way I had come. At the rate I was travelling it would take about 2 days to get to Newton hut, a far cry from the 3-4 hours the map suggested. Hey, I can at least say i've been there.
18-22 Aug 2015
The line shows where the track is now, for the last 20 years people have got to the ridge by going up the creek to the E of the spur which was a 2-3 hour grovel. Now it only takes 1 hour from the river to the bivvy.
I walked into Grassy flat on the Tuesday and spent the next 3 days cutting the spur track, staying at Grassy flat hut each night. The top of the Newton range is an amazing place and its great having an easy access track again. The top half of the track still needs to be marked so a good excuse to get back there soon with a pack full of permolat.
21 August 2015
Pt 1240 (as part of Newton ridge track cutting)
Solo
1 day
Wx-Fine
Thin layer of rotten, slippery snow between the tussucks
After finishing the work on the track i spent some time on the ridge going to the bivvy and climbing the low peak, pt 1240. Would have loved to climb Mt Newton but that will have to wait. The snow was very slippery and slid off the tussuck if you as so much as looked at it, making for a frustrating couple of hours. Steel toecapped work boots are not the go in snow. Veiws from the ridge were fantastic and now that this area is easily accessable, means that i will be back often. An underutilized area that is only 4-5 hours from the carpark.
Myself and Antje
3 days. 15-17 November 2015
Heavy rain on first day but then clearing to great weather
Took advantage of a weather window and decided to head in too Gerhart spur which had been on the radar for a while. The track still has substantial damage from cyclone Ita in 2014 but is in good nick higher up. After what seemed an endless climb up the neverending spur the biv came into sight through the mist and rain and a great sight it was too, the rest of the day was spent drying out from the comfort of the sleeping bags. About 6 hours to the biv. Gerhart spur is a classic 2 man biv and is in great condition, another little gem. The next day was nice and clear and we climbed to the top of the ridge for some great views of the west coast and the toaroha valley. An unlucky chamois came back home with us after standing still for a bit too long.
Summer work contract. Stoat line maintenance, Arahura valley
Harman hut track cutting
Solo
Meat hunting, January and March
Weekend trips into the Arahura and Doctors creek for venison were quite succesfull and the freezer is well stocked. A yearling hind and 2 spikers were taken for the table. Blue duck sightings were chased up for Doc and confirmed. A new pair was found in the Vanina creek area of Doctors which the census team had missed and a new pair was found upstream of Tillers gulch in the Arahura which was great to find.
3 Passes trip
Day 3
Thur, day 4
Ahhhh, the walk out! 8 hours of footslogging back the way i'd come in. Ran into 3 hunters from Christchurch at the biv who were having a depressing time. They hadnt seen a thing and the hills were bigger than they were expecting. They were nice enough to give me a brew as the rain had set in by now and some hot coffee hit the spot. They said there were no stags around but i heard 2 as i descended the spur... maybe they needed to get out of the biv?
Permolat track cutting. Scottys ridge track.
Solo
Tara Tama ridge, Taipo river
3 days. 18-20 April 2016
This is volunteer work for the Permolat group, just like the work i put into the Newton ridge track.
The track from the Taipo up onto the Tara Tama ridge and Scottys biviouc has not seen any serious maintinence since Doc was formed back in 1987 so was very overgrown. The biv has been getting only about 2 visits a year largely due to the poor state of the track.
Andrew Buglass had done the first half of the track last year and i went in to finish the job up to the tussock.
I walked in to Dillons hut and dumped my gear before heading for the river crossing where the 7 mile runs into the Tiapo. Even after 10 days with no significant rain the Tiapo is not to be taken lightly. The crossing is still waist deep and reasonably swift. You have to use a large diagonal as the current carrys you down a fair way before you come out the othe side. The Tiapo has drowned more than a few people so im always pretty carefull crossing it anywhere. Lunchtime saw me working on the first windfall and moving steadily up hill getting into the montane section and thicker cutting as 4 oclock arrived and i called it a day, stashing my gear inside a hollow tree.
The next day say an early start from the hut and i was back where i finished the day before at just past 8 in the morning. Much thicker foliage saw slower progress and i didnt hit the tussuck untill around 2 in the afternoon, boy i was glad to get there.
Most of the track is now 3-4 feet wide and very easy to follow untill well clear of the alpine scrub. The markers are reaching the end of their life tho and will probibly need to be replaced in the next few years. A reasonably fit person should get from river to tussuck in under 2 hours. A gentle walk back to the car rounded out the trip.
Winter work, Taipo valley, May, June, July August, September, October.
I'm spending the winter of 2016 doing stoat control work in the Taipo valley along with trapping possums for fur and skins. I'm getting to know the valley really well, a bit too well maybe? Not going bush crazy yet.
I try to get away whenever there is a good weather window. I need about 5 days to get a load of fur (about 12 kilos, its not the weight, but thats all i can squeeze into my pack). I have a great campsite set up in the valley and its a lot more comfortable than it looks. I could have a lot more luxuries but its more stuff to carry out once i've finished. Everything comes in and out on my back and shanks pony, doing it the old fashioned way. Its about a 4 hour walk each way so not too bad!
I have managed to get in some trackwork while i was up at the head of the valley. The route up to Popes pass at the head of Julia creek has been given a good tickle up. Its such a shame that DOC no longer looks after these routes, it costs practically nothing to maintain them and the NZFS managed to do it so no excuse really. I marked the start of the track with large orange markers where you enter the scrub from the scree. Hopefully easier to find now.
Finished the last trip of the season in early October with a really wet and miserable week. It has taken a fortnight to dry all the fur and get it into an acceptable state. Have left the traps and tarps/camp gear stashed up there and got all my other gear out in only two trips. I may well be back up there next winter from about June onwards. Watch this space...
17-19 Aug 2015
- The Trench!
- Solo
- 3 days
- Fine weather
The Trench is the name of the largest sidestream that forms Olderog creek which in turn runs into Jade creek and then the Arahura river. In days gone by it provided a route for deer cullers from Lower Olderog biv to Newton creek hut but probably hasn't been used since the late 1960's. Thought it might be fun to have a look!
Access to the turn off on Olderog spur was straightforward untill this forest service era sign and then progress slowed to around 500 meters an hour. Took nearly 2 hours to cover the 800m down the spur to the creek junction. Not a fun time! I was hoping for some decent bush but found nothing but a regenerating pepper tree and Oleria nightmare.I pushed up the trench for a couple of hours the next day before giving up and deciding to beat a retreat the way I had come. At the rate I was travelling it would take about 2 days to get to Newton hut, a far cry from the 3-4 hours the map suggested. Hey, I can at least say i've been there.
18-22 Aug 2015
- Newton ridge biv track cutting trip
- Solo
- 5 days
- Fine weather mostly but rain on Tuesday and Saturday
This was a trip to recut the old forest service track that ran from the Styx river to the top of Newton ridge and goes to Newton ridge bivvy. The track ceased to be maintained once DOC was formed in 1987 and so was in bad shape after 28 years.
I walked into Grassy flat on the Tuesday and spent the next 3 days cutting the spur track, staying at Grassy flat hut each night. The top of the Newton range is an amazing place and its great having an easy access track again. The top half of the track still needs to be marked so a good excuse to get back there soon with a pack full of permolat.
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| The Newton ridge Hilton |
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| But what a view! Best spot in Westland |
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| Where would you rather be? |
21 August 2015
Pt 1240 (as part of Newton ridge track cutting)
Solo
1 day
Wx-Fine
Thin layer of rotten, slippery snow between the tussucks
After finishing the work on the track i spent some time on the ridge going to the bivvy and climbing the low peak, pt 1240. Would have loved to climb Mt Newton but that will have to wait. The snow was very slippery and slid off the tussuck if you as so much as looked at it, making for a frustrating couple of hours. Steel toecapped work boots are not the go in snow. Veiws from the ridge were fantastic and now that this area is easily accessable, means that i will be back often. An underutilized area that is only 4-5 hours from the carpark.
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Newton ridge looking east
|
Newton
ridge track cutting continued…
Solo
4 days, 20 – 24 November 2015
Misty and wet conditions for the most part. Fine on
last day
Went up to Newton bivvy and recut the route that
went through the low saddle towards Mt Newton. 3 days of Oleria bashing! Bit
steep and slippery in places but worth it to get the job done. Fast, easy
access to Mt Newton now and the track down to the Arahura. Built a sign for the
start of the access track and installed that down at the Styx turnoff.
Gerhart spur trip
Myself and Antje
3 days. 15-17 November 2015
Heavy rain on first day but then clearing to great weather
Took advantage of a weather window and decided to head in too Gerhart spur which had been on the radar for a while. The track still has substantial damage from cyclone Ita in 2014 but is in good nick higher up. After what seemed an endless climb up the neverending spur the biv came into sight through the mist and rain and a great sight it was too, the rest of the day was spent drying out from the comfort of the sleeping bags. About 6 hours to the biv. Gerhart spur is a classic 2 man biv and is in great condition, another little gem. The next day was nice and clear and we climbed to the top of the ridge for some great views of the west coast and the toaroha valley. An unlucky chamois came back home with us after standing still for a bit too long.
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| Drying gear outside Gerhart spur bivvy |
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| Sunset |
Summer work contract. Stoat line maintenance, Arahura valley
December – February 2016
I spent December to February upgrading Doc’s stoat
line in the Arahura valley. I installed around 180 new stoat traps (Double set
Doc 200 boxes) and carried out maintenance and improvements on all the existing
traps in the valley. I lived and worked out of Harman, Mudflats and Lower Arahura
huts for 10 days at a time while I did this work.
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| Getting help from local Doc staff. Trap box's are heavier than they appear! |
Harman hut track cutting
Solo
4 days,12 – 15 January 2016
Fine weather
Took some time off work and headed for Harman hut
for a few days. I had always wanted to get onto the top of Donovan ridge behind
the hut but the impenetrable west coast scrub had prevented access. The forest
service used to have a route onto the tops but it has long since grown over and is impossible to follow.
3 full on days with the loppers and bow saw now has
an excellent route from behind the hut to the tussock that can be enjoyed by
all and provides a high level route to browning pass around the Twin peaks and
a good approach to Mt Beal.
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| New route onto the tops |
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| View down Arahura from Donovan ridge |
Meat hunting, January and March
Weekend trips into the Arahura and Doctors creek for venison were quite succesfull and the freezer is well stocked. A yearling hind and 2 spikers were taken for the table. Blue duck sightings were chased up for Doc and confirmed. A new pair was found in the Vanina creek area of Doctors which the census team had missed and a new pair was found upstream of Tillers gulch in the Arahura which was great to find.
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| A brand new pair of ducks in the Arahura |
3 Passes trip
Myself, Antje Wahlberg
25-28 March 2015
Weather fine with some clag in the mornings
Day1
Walked up true right of Waimakariri. Side creeks
still easy to cross even after heavy rain night before. A surprisingly quick
trip to Carrington hut of 4.5 hours. Numbers in hut on Easter Friday
predictably high. 45 people that night meant a carnival atmosphere!!
Day 2
Left early with head torches on, forded the
Waimakariri river before the cable car and headed up Taipoiti river. Impressive
waterfalls on the way to Harman Pass. Soon after we arrived the clag lifted for
an awesome view of Ariels tarns and the pass. Straight forward climb to
Whitehorn pass with no crampons or ice axe needed. After a well deserved lunch
at the pass we descended the scree into Cronin stream and boulder hopped our
way to Park Morpeth hut. 8.5 hours all up.
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| Ariels tarns at Harman pass at dawn |
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| Me and Antje heading to Whitehorn pass |
Day 3
After a much quieter night, we headed for Browning
Pass. Track over the pass was well marked and not as steep as we expected. View
of the lake and surrounding valleys was amazing. Thought about pushing on to
Grassy Flats hut but opted for another quite night at Harman hut. Can’t believe
no one else was doing the 3 Passes trip over Easter!
Day 4
Straight forward walk to the Styx car park via
Grassy Flats hut but still took 7 hours. The fish n chips tasted good.
The Roar. Newton ridge
Solo
04-07 April 2016
Fine mon & tue with heavy cloud on wed, and steady rain on thursday
Mon, day 1
Well its that time of year again and with a few days of good weather forecast i was off to the tops.
Headed off up the styx valley and up the Newton tops track and across to the slopes of Mt Newton. A 7 hour day in the sun meant that nothing much happened after the tent went up. A LONG day.
Solo
04-07 April 2016
Fine mon & tue with heavy cloud on wed, and steady rain on thursday
Mon, day 1
Well its that time of year again and with a few days of good weather forecast i was off to the tops.
Headed off up the styx valley and up the Newton tops track and across to the slopes of Mt Newton. A 7 hour day in the sun meant that nothing much happened after the tent went up. A LONG day.
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| The old minaret rides again. A good tops campsite |
Tue, day 2
A great day on tops, covered the whole tops and explored the ridge, fantastic place. Saw 4 stags and 4 hinds and heard several more. Large tarns on top of the ridge are sensational.
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| Another slice of paradise. While the sun shines! |
Wed, day 3.
Woke up to heavy cloud and 20 yard visability. Not ideal. Spent the morning glassing the head of the valley through breaks in the cloud and trying to locate the stag that was roaring hard on the other side of the gully with no luck. Afternoon was a differant story, useing the cloud as cover i stalked in on a stag i had located the previous day and had a bit of luck go my way. Good result at the end of the day.
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| Me and the stag. 12 points good stuff. |
Ahhhh, the walk out! 8 hours of footslogging back the way i'd come in. Ran into 3 hunters from Christchurch at the biv who were having a depressing time. They hadnt seen a thing and the hills were bigger than they were expecting. They were nice enough to give me a brew as the rain had set in by now and some hot coffee hit the spot. They said there were no stags around but i heard 2 as i descended the spur... maybe they needed to get out of the biv?
Solo
Tara Tama ridge, Taipo river
3 days. 18-20 April 2016
This is volunteer work for the Permolat group, just like the work i put into the Newton ridge track.
The track from the Taipo up onto the Tara Tama ridge and Scottys biviouc has not seen any serious maintinence since Doc was formed back in 1987 so was very overgrown. The biv has been getting only about 2 visits a year largely due to the poor state of the track.
Andrew Buglass had done the first half of the track last year and i went in to finish the job up to the tussock.
I walked in to Dillons hut and dumped my gear before heading for the river crossing where the 7 mile runs into the Tiapo. Even after 10 days with no significant rain the Tiapo is not to be taken lightly. The crossing is still waist deep and reasonably swift. You have to use a large diagonal as the current carrys you down a fair way before you come out the othe side. The Tiapo has drowned more than a few people so im always pretty carefull crossing it anywhere. Lunchtime saw me working on the first windfall and moving steadily up hill getting into the montane section and thicker cutting as 4 oclock arrived and i called it a day, stashing my gear inside a hollow tree.
The next day say an early start from the hut and i was back where i finished the day before at just past 8 in the morning. Much thicker foliage saw slower progress and i didnt hit the tussuck untill around 2 in the afternoon, boy i was glad to get there.
Most of the track is now 3-4 feet wide and very easy to follow untill well clear of the alpine scrub. The markers are reaching the end of their life tho and will probibly need to be replaced in the next few years. A reasonably fit person should get from river to tussuck in under 2 hours. A gentle walk back to the car rounded out the trip.
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| View up the Tiapo river from Tara Tama ridge |
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| Top of Tara Tama ridge. Scottys biv 4 hours to go! |
Winter work, Taipo valley, May, June, July August, September, October.
I'm spending the winter of 2016 doing stoat control work in the Taipo valley along with trapping possums for fur and skins. I'm getting to know the valley really well, a bit too well maybe? Not going bush crazy yet.
I try to get away whenever there is a good weather window. I need about 5 days to get a load of fur (about 12 kilos, its not the weight, but thats all i can squeeze into my pack). I have a great campsite set up in the valley and its a lot more comfortable than it looks. I could have a lot more luxuries but its more stuff to carry out once i've finished. Everything comes in and out on my back and shanks pony, doing it the old fashioned way. Its about a 4 hour walk each way so not too bad!
I have managed to get in some trackwork while i was up at the head of the valley. The route up to Popes pass at the head of Julia creek has been given a good tickle up. Its such a shame that DOC no longer looks after these routes, it costs practically nothing to maintain them and the NZFS managed to do it so no excuse really. I marked the start of the track with large orange markers where you enter the scrub from the scree. Hopefully easier to find now.
Finished the last trip of the season in early October with a really wet and miserable week. It has taken a fortnight to dry all the fur and get it into an acceptable state. Have left the traps and tarps/camp gear stashed up there and got all my other gear out in only two trips. I may well be back up there next winter from about June onwards. Watch this space...
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| View towards Popes pass from Julia creek track |
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| Bush camp in the Taipo valley. This was home for over 2 months. |
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| Not everyones cup of tea! But comfortable enough. Hot brew nearly there! |
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| Taipo river in flood on a rainy day. |
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| Mid Taipo hut with the fire on! Best sight in the world after a cold, wet, long day. |
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| A very frosty morning at Julia |
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| Where theres smoke... |
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| Theres fire! |
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| Its not a possum, its a small bear! |
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| Some serious stag rubbing on a young Totara |
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| A beautiful small tarn tucked away on the side of the hill. |
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| A snowy morning in August. So cold! |
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| Camp held up well to the snow. |
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| A family of friendly locals! |
Browning Basin recce trip
Solo
Grassy flat. Styx river
2 days, 21 - 22 October 2016
Earlier in the year when i was up on the Newton range for the roar, i had been looking across the valley to the basin below Mt Browning at the head of the Styx valley. It looked like an awesome area to get to but there's no direct route and and the sidle across from Lathrop saddle looks long, difficult and dangerous in several key locations.
So this weekend i went up to Grassy flat to find a potential route into the basin and maybe an old forest service track as well.
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| Mt Browning basin on right. Access spur on left. |
The spur i wanted to look at to try and find a route up to the tops starts upstream and across the creek from the hut. There was no hope of getting to the tussuck but i wanted to see if it could be done by finding a viable route or an old track.
I found an old track that had been used as a survey line by the forest service that went up to the montaine zone. Evidence of a track through the scrub seems to be there but it will take a lot of cutting to re-establish.
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| Old blaze with permolat later added by FS |
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| Evidence that i'm not crazy! |
Now that i know a route is possible i will have to go back at some stage this summer to cut a track. Looks like it will be a lot of work but should be well worth it. Finished the day off with a young stag shot in the evening. Heavy pack for the walk out.
Murray saddle day
27 October 2017
Spent the day trimming the track from Hokitika river to Murray saddle via minnow creek. There was only a couple of windfalls but i trimmed the track back nice and wide where the vegetation was encroaching, only needed about 4 hours work. Track in excellent condition. River was running at about 1.6 meters and the ford is still good to use. Saw 2 hinds in minnow creek on the walk out.
Rocky Griffen creek circuit
28-30 January 2017
Me and Antje
A very relaxed 3 day trip around the Rocky and Griffen creeks with a night at each hut. Lots of goats seen with 7 shot (ran out of ammo) and blue ducks seen in each valley. Great weather the whole time. Lots of flood damage in the Rocky creek and along the access track.
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| Crossing the Rocky harder than it used to be. |
Doctors creek
17 - 19 February 2017
Another trip to the Doctor for me and Antje! Been a year since the last visit but everything still ship shape and as cosy as ever. Double mosquito net worth its weight in gold. A good chance to relax and chill out for a couple of days. Swimming hole still COLD!
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| Crossing the Hokitika at about 85 cumecs |
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| Home away from home. The Doctor will see you now. There is a deer in the Toi-toi. |
great read! still owe you some beers too eigill! cheers , dylan
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