Day 26 - Lake Middleton to Twizel, 31km, 6 hours 30 minutes

Lake Ohau

Having stayed the night in comfort in Twizel, Colleen dropped me off mid morning back at Lake Middleton, to walk back through to Twizel that day.

The day was marked by flat walking with a progressively spectacular cloudscape. Having a day pack it was easy enough that I ended up running parts of it.


The early going was around the shore of Lake Ohau. This provided interesting views across the lake, to the saddle I had been over yesterday. In the photo below, up the left hand valley.


Eventually the outfrom from the lake, the source of the Ohau River, was reached. Like all the lake outflows in the Mackenzie this is controlled for power generation purposes, part of the think big project of more than a generation ago.


Swims were enjoyed in both the river, and in Lake Ruataniwha, that the river leads to. I particularly enjoyed the swim in the lake, not having waves to deal with for once in this much smaller, man made lake, and having a fine gravel beach to use.

Close to Twizel I was getting some amazing skies, perhaps marking the approach of an ex tropical cyclone over the Alps. Certainly I was pleased to be tucked up in town and not in my tent!

This marks the start of several flat, if not particularly interesting, days as I cross the Mackenzie Country.

Day 25 - East Ahuriri Valley to Lake Middleton, 25km, 7 hours 15 minutes

About to begin the drop down towards Lake Ohau

I can tell I've been out in the bush for awhile. As I started walking this morning I could smell myself for the first time. It's either the wind fleece or the shorts I think. Both are in chronic need of a wash!

I started the day over a mogul landscape that I would imagine is fantastic for cross country skiing in winter. Although I am most definitely in ex-glacier territory, I'm pretty confident these are landslide detritus rather than moraine.

I had another saddle to climb over, not so high this time, only 500 meters, but this a route, with often not even a partial track to follow. It was heavy going to say the least, not too steep a climb, but tussock ackwardly mixed with spaniards, requiring a high lifted gait to make progress. It's difficult to explain how tiring it was, but think of doing a Monty Python style Ministry of Silly Walks for 2 hours whilst wearing a heavy pack and you'll be in the ballpark.

I sat and took in that it was indeed well
with my soul at this spot

I put some music on that I could mentally escape into, and one of the first songs on was very timely, "It is well with my soul". I sat in place, listened to the song, and remembered what a blessing it was for me to be in that place.

Afterwards I still had the same exhausting terrain to negotiate, but at least felt a lot better about being there!
Seeking to dodge more exhaustion I resorted to climbing a scree slope, an exhausting thing to do in itself, only to find the same terrain higher up.














The pass ended with a view down to Lake Ohau, seemingly close, with Twizel further off across the Mackenzie Basin.

I expected to be having a dip in the lake within the next hour or so, but it actually took quite some time to come down off the saddle and across the lowlands next to the lake. Close to the lake a beautiful, if breezy, day greeted me.



The last drop to the lake was accompanied by that most rare of things, DOC humour, "The Knee Tremble Drop" - not so knee-trembingly bad as some of the terrain I'd been on recently.

So it was packs off and time for a quick dip.  Again the lake was too churned up to be very conducive of a longer swim...

... before a quick road bash down to close by Lake Middleton for a better swim.

A few hours later I was met by my Aunty Colleen who has come down to spend a couple of days with me. A warm bed and wood fired pizza in Twizel tonight! Colleen, you're awesome!!!

Day 24 - Upper Timaru Hut to Ahuriri River East Branch, 28km, 7 hours 30 minutes

Martha Saddle, the entry point into Canterbury

Today I had a very large river to ford. With heavy rain in the forecast I was out the door pretty early, at 7.20. 


After a couple of hundred meters it dawned on me I had someone else's walking sticks. Sticks restored to their proper owner I got started on the day properly.

There has been some rain in the night but the morning dawned with only scattered light showers. These grew heavier as I closed in on the now customary saddle I was to climb this day, this one only about 600 meters of climbing.

The heavier rain had me concerned about the level of the Ahuriri River I was to cross later in the day, and also about the stability of the scree around me. A SOBO had seen a landslide come down close to the trail the day before, a story which reminded me of a close call we had when I was a kid coming down from Cass Saddle, also in heavy rain. On that occasion we had just crossed a scree slope into bush when there was an enormous rumble and a huge cloud of dust went up behind us. In any case I was watching the scree slopes to the side of the trail very carefully!

I was pushing quite hard to try to make the river crossing before it went up too much, and soon had a sight of the low part of the saddle I was to climb. Happy days! It was nicely graded with switchbacks, looking something like a ski field access road.

Following this led into a spectacularly shattered landscape near the top of the saddle.



There were fantastic views from the top, and once over the top I could see Canterbury mountains in the far distance.



With the rain staying constant, and an easy gradient to follow down I pushed on towards the river, ignoring a small hut where I had intended to have a boil up, concerned by the possibility of rapidly rising rivers.

The river I had followed down from the saddle was becoming quite large as I neared the Ahuriri, yet wasn't unduly discoloured, which gave me hope for getting across the larger river shortly.

The Ahuriri runs on a river bed with magnificent views of the Main Divide, which is not so far upstream from where I was crossing. As I approached the weather suddenly cleared to blue skies giving fantastic views of the Alps.





The trail notes warned of a difficult 100 meter drop down off the alluvial plain to the river bed. Indeed the official route looked impossible, with scree cliffs 40 meters high barring access. However I spied a 4 wheel drive track cutting down the slope a few hundred meters up stream so made towards that. I noticed however that the cliffs levelled out to a steep 30 degree slope, so using my poles literally skied a scree slide to the bottom. My boots won't thank me for it, but scree skiing is a lot of fun!



The river crossing was pretty non eventful. It was bum deep and running swiftly with slippery rocks, so care was required, but I found the crossing easy enough.
The north bank marked a triple milestone:
1. I had forded one of the largest rivers on the trail
2. It marked the 500km point on my journey
3. I had entered Canterbury!

The far side's terraced bank, and farmland behind it, was festooned with rabbit holes every couple of meters, such that care with foot placement was required. Every couple of seconds another rabbit would appear from its hole and bolt across the hillside.


On my way up the East Ahuriri Valley, beginning the climb to a saddle that would drop me to Lake Ohau, I spied some curious farmland. I couldn't work out if it was pastoral with closely spaced shelter belts, or partial forestry.














In any case I hadn't gone far up this new valley when I found an idyllic camping spot with shade, tucked next to a freezing water race.
I gave up plans of going further up valley and knocked off mid afternoon for a few hours of lazing about and 1 or 2 (very quick) dips in the water race.

Day 23 - Stody's Hut to Upper Timaru Hut, 14km, 6 hours

I woke at my now customary time - with the sun, currently about 6:30am. However the rest of the hut slept in, so I took the opportunity to catch up on some reading for an hour, and hit the trail at 8.30.

The first hour consisted of a 500 meter descent to the Timaru River.  It was steep enough to be bum shuffling territory in places, but nevertheless I found it easy, if somewhat slow, going.



Once at the river the track followed a number of high sidles, with steep (I must find a synonym for that word, I've been using it too much! .... vertiginous?) ups and downs. It was hard going, and, apart from the odd time when it dropped to the river, not very interesting, so I pulled out earbuds to listen to the Lord of the Rings audio book (I've never been into audio books, this is my first, and I'm quite enjoying it, thanks Pons'!).  A minor miracle; the ear buds cord was not tangled!


After a couple of hours of slow progress, I stopped beside the river for lunch and a swim. The colour of the water suggested a tributary upstream was glacier melt, and the water temperature confirmed it. I modified my plan to just having a wash!

Continuing after lunch I came across a crazy dangerous sidle which required swinging by one arm above a 3 meter drop.  At this point I determined I'd be better off in the river bed, so ignored the track for the most part for the rest of the afternoon, preferring to move directly up the river.


This decision transformed the day from a slog into a day of pure delight. I love following bubbling mountain rivers; it's probably my favourite kind of walking, picking a way along banks, across to the other side, and directly up the bed if required.


The track came back to the river a fair bit and a couple of times I was sucked into taking a flood track, before finally ditching the track for good. Close to the end of the day the track went up onto a farm road, easy walking, but I was loving my afternoon so much I still stuck to the river as it went through a slot gorge.


Lots of fun was had negotiating the steep plunge pools.


All good things pass, and mid afternoon I came out of the gorge and to my hut for the evening.
A brilliant days walking for me, my hut companion, another NOBO, claims it was the worst day for him yet sticking to the track.

Day 22 - Lake Hawea to Stody's Hut, 21.4km, 7 hours 50 minutes

Lake Hawea, with Lake Wanaka and Mt Aspiring in the distant background

With another 1300 meters climbing to be done today, all in one long stint, and a good 90 minutes of walking around the lake before I could even start it, it was another early morning start.



Strong winds were whipping across the lake, giving pause for thought about what it might be like higher up, and whether it was wise to be going up a narrow ridge. Between this and a complaining groin muscle, today was the first day on trail where I really didn't feel like walking. Nevertheless I proceeded, rather nervously, reasoning that I could always turn around if I didn't like how matters were proceeding.


Reaching the start of the climb, a DOC sign promised 4-6 hours to cover the next 4km and climb 1100 of those meters to the first hut, then numerous more signs promised dire consequences for any inexperienced trampers on the route. Ok, pretty steep and exposed then.

 It was, as evidenced by the neighbouring ridgeline which matched the trajectory I was on.





Happily my climbing legs had come back to me, and I powered up the first 500 vertical meters of switchbacks in an hour.

This took me onto a narrow, exposed ridge. Bluffy and blustery is a bad combination. I proceeded staying low, to keep my center of gravity close to the ground and limit my exposure to the buffets of wind.



Continuing like this I reached the hut, Pakituhi after only 2.5 hours, feeling a lot better about things and enjoying the views that were opening out towards the Main Divide, Lakes Hawea and Wanaka and Mt Aspiring in the distance.


After lunch at the hut, I continued up the ridge for another 200 vertical meters to meet the high point for the day. Conditions became windier as I went, resulting in a full on freight train of noise at the top.  Furthermore the weather had closed over the mountains restricting my view somewhat. What I had though was still superlative!
I was surprised at the top to have a full on alpine view down one side of the mountain, and almost a pastoral scene down the other, with merino sheep right at the top of the mountain.



I now went onto the tops, walking parallel to the Main Divide, and the wind went up a final notch, resulting in by far the windiest conditions I've ever walked in.


I was walking like a drunk man, getting blown sideways by anything up to a meter, despite the stabilising influence of my walking poles. I felt safe enough on the tops with no vertical exposure, but it was certainly not the time to be on a ridge, like the one I had just come off. I explained this to 4 SOBOs who passed, but we literally had to shout at each other from within a few feet to be heard.

It wasn't a particularly cold day, in fact it would have been very pleasent without the wind, but severe wind-chill saw me buttoning well up to stay warm.

After about 10 kilometers of this the trail eventually dropped down off the ridge to Stody's, my hut for the night. No need to take boots off outside for this hut!

I enjoyed a very congenial afternoon and evening with 3 SOBOs who did not know each other prior to starting, but have walked literally the whole country together.
In the end an enjoyable day's walk, the reluctance of the morning forgotten.

Week 3 summary

180km covered, no resting days on track, but a 2 day hiatus in Queenstown and another 1 day hiatus in Wanaka broke up the week's walking.

Great progress this walking week. It started by finishing off Southland with Stephen and Eli through to Lake Wakatipu, and ends with me only a couple of days from entering Canterbury. Central Otago is huge, but somehow I've crossed it really quickly.

My back is still doing great, but I have developed knee and groin niggles that currently dissapate when I start walking.

Blister issues seem behind me, although I have some painful cracks and annoying sores hanging over from where the blisters where.

I've been enjoying blogging more than I thought I would. It's sometimes a chore after a hard day's walking, and my cellphone's 'smart' keyboard often replaces intended words with entirely nonsensical ones, but I know I'll enjoy reading back over the record when I've finished, so I put up with these foibles.

All in all a rosy report!

Day 21 - Wanaka to Lake Hawea, 32km, 6 hours

With a shortish, easy day in prospect, I made a very late start, vacating my room bang on the 10am deadline. I had brunch in Wanaka on the way out - there's nothing like a cooked breakfast when you're used to nothing but dehydrated.
During my rest day I had developed a lot of little niggles, all hang overs from the Motatapu of course. Most settled down somewhat as I started walking, following the lake towards the Clutha River outflow.


The most annoying niggle is a nasty crack on my heel. Colleen had warned me about using strapping tape too much, but with blister issues in the first fortnight I pretty much didn't have a choice.  That's coming back to bite me somewhat now, with cracks on the left heel where the strapping tape had been. I've applied a Compeed, normally used for blisters, to the worst of them, which settled it right down for walking. However all my old blister spots, while not reforming blisters, have been sore in the last few days from the hammering they've been taking. This resulted in a fair bit of limping around Wanaka while I was there. While providing discomfort today, I think they'll heal up within a day or two.

The track around the lake was a curious mixture of people cycling at little more than my walking pace, and competitors in the upcoming Wanaka Ironman out for training jogs, going faster than I'd do an 800 meters.

I noticed early on that my legs were still weary from Motatapu. Although flat, I found the going fairly tiring. A heavier pack with much more food loaded up didn't help matters.

For some reason I decided to walk with only 1 stick today. Since starting TA I've become used to the rythym of using 2, and it felt weird having a hand free. Part way through the day I decided to switch to 2, only to discover my 2nd pole was stuck half closed. A fair bit of tinkering in the evening fixed this, but I'm thinking about changing poles when I get back near Christchurch. If I do so, all of my legacy gear (pre-TA planning) would have fallen by the wayside, barring my pot.

Within a couple of hours I made it to the Clutha outflow. I love places like this! To see a mighty river, arguably New Zealand's mightiest (most flow at 500 cumecs and 2nd longest) flowing from Lake Wanaka is a sight to behold.
I had an extended break here, having a couple of swims at the interface between the lake and the river, up stream a bit, avoiding where the current grew stronger as the river took hold, and some lunch. This was shared with some rambunctious teenage ducklings. I'm not too sure mother duck was particularly happy about this, quacking warnings to her progeny unceasingly. I decided they'd had enough of my lunch when they started nibbling at my toes, and one even had a go at a nipple! (Ow)


I had expected the whole day to be hot and exposed, so was pleasently surprised to have partial shade for much of the day from extensive kanaka along the lake edge and down the Clutha River.

This ran out close to the road bridge over the Clutha, and all of a sudden I was in true Central Otago, exposed country.


After crossing the bridge itself, time for another swim, before heading up the Hawea River. Generally this had little shade, but it's a very pretty river.



There are quite a few white water features on it; one of those Olympic style gated courses, and some man made rapids created by a power company as a "sorry, we dammed all the real ones, have this make believe one instead".

Crossing the Hawea River I met a big American bike party on the bridge coming the other way. Que lots of interested questions in what I was doing and how far I was going.  All very convivial, until one of the last in the party who merely had this to offer, "Get a job, ya bum", said with a full on sneer. Unfortunately for Americans, I'll remember him more than all the lovely people who preceded him across the bridge.

Back to pleasant things. The end of the walk into Hawea was along a water race, supplied from the Hawea Dam. Nice easy walking, and fascinating to watch the water explode into the race under pressure after being released from the lake.


... and so to the lake itself.

I'm staying at the Hawea Hotel, 50 or so meters above the lake. This didn't stop me immediately returning to the lake for a swim though. I was rather cautious as I was swimming within a couple of hundred meters of the inlet for the dam. And then I noticed a bunch of people jumping from part of the inlet apparatus itself. Total nutters.
The day was finished with a burger and chips and a couple of quality beers in the hotel's beer garden. It really hit the spot, and has set me up nicely for another 4 days of dehydrated food.