Twelve on the trot

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Twelve on the trot Warren Thorburn Twelve of us subscribed to Mike's idea;- Christmas fare and excess packs, we a south to north traverse of the North- finally collapsed about lunchtime on West Nelson State Forest Park. We were the rim of the Thousand Acres Plateau. Brian, Sue and Malcolm Charles, Rozlyn This immense tussock covered area of Greenfield, Fendall Haliburton, Mike gently rolling land at an elevation of Hollis (leader), Peter Jackson, David 1130 metres, bounded with near vertical Noble, Annette Johnson, Mark Pickering, cliffs, amazed us. Warren Thorburn and Raimund Wielgolawski. Lunch was taken at Poor Petes hut, near A large 'fitness' party for an 18 day the middle of the plateau. Caustic Christmas trip but we generally stayed comments, entered in the log book by in each others good books - 16 days ground shooters, testified to the fine, hot weather probably helped with effectiveness of deer removal by helithat. Sharing the women around one copter operations. We were not to per tent possibly assisted. (Doubt if see any live game for the whole of our this will get past the Ed!). (I didn't trip and only on three occasions were get a share!). helicopters spotted, a total catch of two deer between them. The task looked interesting to some of the first-timers. 106 kilometres from Lunch over, with full stomachs and a start to finish as the crow flies, merciless sun beating down, I attempted with plenty of up hill and down dale to avoid any unnecessary climbing en between. The country certainly route to our next camp. The effort offered the greatest variety of travel ended ignominiously and a new phrase, that I have experienced on a Christmas 'constant contouring', was derisively trip. The only item missing was snow born in my honour. and we could have done with the cooling effects of that at times. The day ended with a camp sited toward the northern end of the plateau. A Following a short flight to Nelson and large family of large wetas, emerging quick mini-bus trip to the Matiri River from the firewood collection, made some road end, 15 kilometres north of Muraware of the additional disadvantage chison, we began our trip proper of collecting rotten wood. Allowing with lunch!! A pleasant afternoon's them to go free left some uneasy! ramble up valley, interspersed with greetings to day trippers and futile The prominent peaks of The Needle and attempts to outswim Paradise ducklings The Haystack and their connecting ridge, underwater, eventually saw us at Lake at the northern end of the plateau, Matiri = alone in the world for the beckoned nine of us next day. Brilliant next six days. coloured, but painful, Spaniards abounded in the tussock slopes leading Sweating 720 metres upwards through upwards. Mark discovered one by beech forest and dracophyllum next day, sitting down, appropriately on top of bodies suffering the effects of excess The Needle!! We drank in the view = Group photo on top of Nugget Knob/Mike Hollis (not in photo)

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• Oppre Le slie Mi RIDG Arthu Coramea A ARTHUR - A he Baton R Little ger m Jang gap apeka a A Mt Go R ALEN mope RANGE INDEX Pike a Laken Matiri 2. Poor Petes Hut a 3. Larrikins Ck. Hut Haystack Hut TIRI Lake Jeanette Matini Head hut Brom ch Wangapeka Saddle North 8. Stons Hut King hut 10. Biggs Tops 11 Luna hut 2. Karamea Bend Hut Karamea Bend Lake. Jewel 15. Baton Saddle - 6 Balloon Hut - Lake Peel y Cobb Reserve voir son 19. Lake Lockett 20. Lakes Sylvester € Lake Cobb I 22. Lake Henderson PU 23. Island Lake 24. Fenella Hut 25. ake Stanley 26. Lonely Hut 7. Adelaide Tarn Hut 28. Green Saddle Buller R 29. Boulder Lake 30. Needles Eye LEGEND i Hut a Track Trip Rout te Road Mount Main Ridge Saddle X the Plateau stretching southwards, There the unseemly habit of bathing, snow tipped Nelson Lakes peaks forming already much practised on the trip, the south-western skyline and our continued. partly visible route four days northwards to Mt. Patriarch on the Wangapeka After lunch a fleet-footed Greenfield Track - before us. bird, flying by a devious route into the lead, gained on the party. An The ridge connecting the peaks proved unsuspecting and hapless Noble fellow, to be 'not straightforward' = in fact being at great loss and receiving much 'bloody awkward' in places. Questions unhelpful advice, was encouraged by were asked of the route leader, doubts the troops to go searching for her as were openly expressed! Reassurances she, meanwhile, kept discreetly behind that confidence would develop within a tree. the next sixteen days were met with a degree of scepticism. Returning to With the party reunited we ground off camp, we soaked in shallow pools heated down valley following a well marked by the solar absorbing rock beds in track through impressive bush to the which they had formed. Karamea Bend. A surfeit of fried eel for one supper and one morning's Next morning saw us breaking camp and solid West Coast downpour, marked reclimbing The Haystack to traverse this section of the trip. We reached along the Matiri Range. The question the Bend at the same moment as longfollowing lunch on the ridge above time friends Tony and Anne Smith, Haystack Hut was where to drop off to whom we suitably overwhelemed with avoid the abseil step further along our numbers at this unexpected the range. After one 220 metre 'error' meeting place. we regained the main ridge and dropped off further northwards. Even then our Our route from here branched off up luck nearly ran out into sheer spurs the Leslie River valley through magniand waterfalls. Only some fancy footficent beech forest. A well graded work and vine grabbing got us down to track climbed up eventually to the a flat bench. A weka and keas greeted open tussock tops of the Peel Range us near our campsite. at 1550 metres. Spurred on by the impressive views unfolding around him, Unusual water worn dry channels forming Malcolm sprinted on and up to Lake stream beds led next day to an equally Peel, leaving overheated trampers in dry tributary of the Matiri River. his wake. The continuing drought meant water was scarce until we reached the main river At Lake Peel we divided into two groups itself. An uneventful tramp continued with opposing views on the merits of up past the earthquake formed Lake exposed campsites. The exposed site Jeanette and next day climbed 600 M rewarded one, Brian, on the following back up on to the Matiri Range at its morning with a thump and cut on the junction with the Marino Range. head from the rock tied to a wind crazed tent-fly. The fly suffered Raimund's knee, injured on a previous similarly. The wind which had blown tramp, began to give further trouble up overnight later dropped. and eventually slowed him to a crawl. We camped midway along this section of Brian's sufferings did not affect his the range with a nor'wester storm out fishing capability. A trout was added in the Tasman threatening to blow to the delicacies contained in our next inland and make our position difficult. food cache in the Cobb Valley = then The weather held and so did Rai imund's on to the delights of Fenella hut at knee as he eventually hobbled out down the valley head. The setting demanded the Wangapeka Track, escorted by a rest day. Sue, Brian, Peter, Mike Annette, Fendall and Mark. One deject- and I energetically day tripped on ed and disappointed tramper civilisasurrounding peaks. Mark wandered, and tion bound! the others enjoyed a well appointed natural swimming pool carved out of the The rest of us experienced the 'fruits' glacially scoured rock. Lack of any of civilisation, too. A goodies filled camping ground salved our conciences food cache beside the track and passers- in deciding to use the superb hut by at very frequent intervals. all other camps were nylon ones. Refilled packs made up for the next easy section over the Wangapeka Saddle All good things come to an end, a fact and down to the Karamea River. Brian quickly realised on our return to trampand I short-cutted from the saddle, up ing. The ascent on to the Douglas Range through prolific dracophyllum to the began with an unintended detour and Biggs Tops. Our feelings on the magclimb. No one wanted to take credit nificent view down the Karamea Valley for that view!! Further difficulties and of the surrounding country were followed. The country got more rugged. tempered by the 900 metre direct It was t-0-o hot!: Lunch was given a descent to the Karamea River below. miss, tempers frayed, it got even

Adelaide Tarn /Mike Hollis h-o-t-t-e-r! Heatstroke took its toll - Adelaide Tarn backdropped with the the bush and tarn below Drunken Sailor jagged form of the Dragons Teeth peaks. peak were never so welcomed. Our day ended with a camp at the northern end of Boulder Lake, New Zealand's The Lonely hut log description of the northernmost lake formed by glacial route northwards along the Douglas action. Towering hogsbacks formed in Range, over Anatoki Peak and the the sky to the south. Dragons Teeth, quickly decided us on a longer but less hazardous detour to With time up our sleeves we recuperated Adelaide Tarn. The route proved even or explored around the lake shore next longer when some proved not too adept day. On the morrow a long downhill at 'boulder hopping' in the head of the trek in overcast conditions through Anatoki River. A tiring, scorching day bush, windfall, limestone fissured finally ended at a magnificent campsite ground (no place for night-time beside a tarn high on Yuletide Peak. ing), scrub and finally farmland tramp- led us out to Bainham, 16 kilometres south Despite some route finding difficulties of Collingwood in Golden Bay. around By traversing The Needle (another evening two of us at least were celepeak of the same name), we eventually brating a fine trip with an equally passed through The Needles Eye - a fine bottle of wine and meal - back home. narrow saddle - to view an idyllic