North of the Cobb

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North of the Cobb Leo Homes Two days after Christmas found us at 1 Anatoki Bend Nelson Airport checking the map - to 2 Anatoki Forks the motor camp. Upon seeing our 3 Adelaide Tarn campsite we discovered our first 4 Yuletide Peak Taka k8 mistake - taking no pegs may be all 5 Lake Stanley right for the hills, but not for 6 Waingaro Forks Tahuna Motor Camp. Judicious use 7 Ruby Lake of billy hooks, site markers, and 8 Roidans Hut the neighbours' tent pegs enabled us fiver to pitch our tent! o e Next morning the weather was 0 41 clearing and revealed the fresh snow TOKI RANGE Lef ANA on the tops - was this summer? Dova River Leaving the road end behind Takaka R DEnL at 1.30 with the sun cooking us, we PANGE decided it certainly was. Three R R hours along the pack track saw us at Anatoki Bend. The permanent SA01CaN - A campsite there was utilised and PAIGE PAlsr three of the party tried the river for swimming. It was being fed by the melting snow all right. LOCKETT RANGE Under overcast skies we strolled to Anatoki Forks for lunch. There we read the log book to see what the routes to Boulder Lake were like. All the comments were adverse, so we tried the only route not mentioned in the log book - the North Branch of the Anatoki. After an hour we had made little progress up the river. We thought We travelled around the lake, over that Boulder Lake via Adelaide Tarn the scree piles that had dammed the could be just as fast and without lake, and down to the Waingaro Forks bushbashing, so we retraced our for lunch. We travelled up the steps and headed up the ridge. Waingaro (good travel on the true right) and camped on one of the As we reached the scrub the rain excellent camp sites on the river many started, then turned to sleet so we terraces. turned back to the hut. (Was it just the attraction of a hot shower A day trip up to Ruby Lake and onto and a soft mattress?) the top of the ridge behind (part of the Lockett Range) was rewarded with Next morning the rain cleared and views of the Cobb Valley below us, showed fresh snow down to the bush and Mt Arthur to the south. There edge. But the day turned out hot, were ridges and peaks in all hot enough to ensure that all the directions. It made us realise snow had gone by the time we reached how little of North West Nelson the top of Yuletide Peak. We had Forest Park we were visiting, and a good look at the Anatoki Peaks, how many more trips we could make Dragons Teeth and the Needle, before into that area. the cloud came down and covered them. We camped that night by the A lazy day the next day saw us small going tarn on Yuletide Peak. back down the Waingaro Forks for sunbathing and fishing at the Forks The next morning was overcast, and hut, and a climb onto the Lockett trying to rain, but we only got a Range to camp by Roidans Hut up on few spots. We went down the the ridge. (This hut had what some southern spur off Yuletide down into members of the party called the Anatoki for lunch by the river. character, and another member called Then over a bush saddle into the dirt.) Stanley and down to camp at the head of Lake Stanley (known to the locals High cloud came in overnight, so we as Lake Smokey Drip). The bird descended into the Takaka Valley for life there was prolific, with at lunch. The cloud lowered and we least 20 different species of birds caught the bus as the first spots being seen or heard. of rain started to fall.

I would recommend this area to any and fish as well as plenty of medium to fit party who want to go birdlife. somewhere a little different and uncrowded. We saw only two other Those on the trip were Pam and people in our seven days in the Robert Whitla, Janet Dobbie and hills, and we sighted deer, goats Leo Homes.