Yet Another Olivine Christmas

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Yet Another Olivine Christmas Neil Woodrow Early on the 22nd December 1979, eight Flats for the night, and again it rains Tongue and Meats boarded a 737 for Christquashing plans for a day trip to the church to connect with a Mt Cook flight Plateau. About mid-day the rain stops to Queenstown. On arrival in Christand two keen souls follow the leader in church our two other members were noted a half-hearted attempt, stopping at for their absence. A quick phone call about 4 p.m. about 100 metres below started a mad dash with them arriving Forgotten River Col. just as the engines revved up. A bumpy flight, a stop on the small Pukaki strip, The weather still looked threatening as airsickness for a couple of the troops, we climbed up towards Four Brothers Pass. then views of Coronet tussock heralded Those at the front led us several hundred the approach to Queenstown. metres too high, above the normal sidle. We looked down on the half frozen tarn No transport waiting! Eventually managed we were supposed to sidle below. Still it to ring him to be told that we hadn't made a good place for lunch in the sun as sent our deposit, as requested in a letter it was almost fully clear with good views he had posted two days before!!! A of the Darrans. Then, down and around to hair raising trip around Lake Wakitipu the pass and down into Diorite Stream in and finally it was time for action. the heat of the afternoon. Enthusiasm was dampened by the heavy rain Next morning, up before dawn, brekkie in as we headed up the hill. We made camp bed for some and we were away by 6.30 am. on the track, by a small stream, about A swim in the tarn and showers under a 500 metres above the Routeburn Valley. waterfall made pleasant work of the climb onto Beresford Pass. After lunching at Next morning, still raining. We conthe bush edge we made our way towards an tinued up to the bush edge, had a brief early stop in the Barrier. clearance, then on over Sugarloaf Pass and down the track to the Rockburn. We had another early start, up Saddle After lunch it cleared and the stroll Creek which is the most straightforward to Theatre Flats was very pleasant. route onto Stag Pass. Boulder hopping along the loose red rocks proved treacher- Woke up to more rain. In heavy rain we ous to Kev whose knee received a nasty followed the track through the last bush gash. and up to Park Pass where it clears. Lunched at the bush edge, then down a From the pass, the keen ones raced up steep track into Hidden Falls Creek, Little Red Hill for a photo or two while and still more rain. Next morning, the remainder relaxed in the sun. We had Christmas Day, up at first light as lunch in a basin 500 metres down the Pyke usual, but it took two or three hours side of the pass. We followed Moir's for the fire to manage a brew in the route, "sidle to left and gain ridge, deluge. Despite protests the trip follow to Pyke". The top of the ridge leader continued on. Miraculously it was very steep, loose and exposed, and cleared during lunch at Cow Saddle. We further down the scrub was impenetrable. followed the Olivine for a couple of Many hours later we arrived at Pyke Camp. hours and camped on a terrace 100 Kev's leg had stiffened considerably metres above the river opposite Fiery making the planned rest day all the more Creek. essential. Another fine day was spent sunbathing, generally relaxing and sort- Our first fine night and it was still ing out the air drop. fine next morning. We tried the river but as it was still up we followed old Paul Hughes arrives from down river, deer trails down to Olivine Flats and having flown in after feeling lonely. our first air drop. Then up to Forgotten After seeing his Christmas cake we made him very welcome. ted we awoke to a cloudless sky. We had an easy day, down off the Red Hills, Having been warned not to sidle Red missing the bluffs that everyone else Mountain and to avoid the Pyke Gorge, we seems to get tangled up in, and lunched took to the scrub the next morning and at the Cascade. After a long break only made the Red Pyke for lunch. (A lying in the sun the last hour or so grand distance of about 1.5km). The down the river took more like three or President and our trip have differing four. ideas of what constitutes good travel after an hour scrambling in the Red Pyke. The next day it was just a stones throw down the Cascade to our last camp in the Despite the approaching high northwest Martyr, beside the Jackson Road which now cloud, the leader mutters "tops camp", so goes right to the Cascade. This road to we climb up a steep direct spur between nowhere' has a substantial bridge over the Red Pyke and Peridot Stream. This Monkey Puzzle Gorge and had been repaired proved good travel and we camped in since the December floods. Peridot Stream beside the last patch of scrub. During the night a blustery Finally, four hours road walk took us to nor-wester arrives bringing plenty of the Arawata and civilisation. wind and rain. At dawn it turns to the south, "this means a clearance", says My memories are, plenty of firewood due the ever optimistic leader, just before to the December storm, nine out of fifteen the snow starts. Three or four inches perfect days and the complaints as the fell while we were breakfasting and short day tomorrow' I'd promised always packing up camp. It was a latish start turned out to be seven or more hours. in the sleet as we headed north along the Red Hills with a biting wind behind On the trip were: us. We lunched at a small tarn under ever increasing patches of blue sky. Neil Woodrow Fendall Halliburton Glynis Woodrow Guy Halliburton We continued to the bush edge and camped Doris Lampart Keith Rassmussen beside one of the several large and Debbie Hughes Ian Hadfield beautiful tarns in that area. As predic- Kev Sheppard Duncan Cunningham and Paul Hughes for the last 6 days A snow-covered camp in Peridot Stream %