Not the Milford Track (1-14 March 1990)

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NOTTHE MILFORD TRACK (1 - 14 March 1990) Hugh Middleton. My first visit to Fiordland had been a great longer marked, but remained fairly evident success thanks to 3 incredible weeks of almost most of the way to the Henderson Burn, never continuously fine weather. Ever since that straying far from the river. Tongue & Meat Christmas trip in 1970 those distant lakes and fiords had continued to Good river travel continued all the way to the beckon. Apart from a 2 week family visit over Taheke Creek confluence. Above this point all Xmas 1983, I'd not been back. Distance and signs of a track vanished and we were forced costs had seen to that. Warren, Malcolm and into a short sharp scramble up through moss Sue had been no closer than the Hollyford. covered trees. Making our way gingerly across Clive had never been near the place. So when ag partially submerged log (which is correctly this year's trip was being planned we decided marked as such on the map), brought us to to hang the cost and give Fiordland a go. level country choked with swamps, ferns and small trees. No sign of a track here either and Commitments by trip members to the Warren's unprotected shins soon began to Commonwealth Games and the International complain. Navigation was further confused by Festival of the Arts, shortened the time the river frequently dividing around islands, available for tramping and induced us to fly to then dividing again, so that often we weren't and from Southland. The Mt Cook flight from sure just which bank we were on. Several pairs Christchurch to Manapouri gave us excellent of blue ducks were spotted. views of much of the high country from Mt Hutt to the Mavora Lakes, but turbulence The overcast had turned into a chilly drizzle by made Warren queasy and he missed much of this stage, making travel miserable. Despite it. Then more things went wrong. Not only keeping a casual lookout for the famous were we late arriving in Manapouri but a local Glaisnock Rock Bivouac on our way to our garage filled our fuel bottles with kerosene campsite at Midnight Creek, we saw no sign of instead of white spirits. Swapping fuel left us no it. It took 2 hours to get a reasonable fire going time to call in at Park HQ as we rushed to in the sodden bush that evening. catch the Milford Track boat at Te Anau Downs. Then Warren, still feeling under the Continuing drizzle the next morning, weather, left his gaiters behind. We did catch combined with cloud down to the bush edge, the boat just. put paid to our hope of ascending Edith Saddle It was very pleasant to be able to take it easy on the Tawera after all the rush. The crowd disembarked at the Clinton, leaving just 2 crew and the 5 of us to continue a further 2 hours to the Glaisnock. The skipper was worried that thel low level of Lake Te Anau would prevent us negotiating the Narrows, a place where the sides of North Fiord almost meet. We were 0g told the' Tawera hadn't been through there for 10 years. With the engine dead slow and the first mate standing by to swing thel lead we slid PE smoothly through the gap and chugged on towards the head of North Fiord. At last a chance to relax and sort out our gear all by ourselves in a spacious 12 bunk hut. Travel up the Glaisnock next morning was straightforward at first. The old track is no

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So: uth West Aym AREA o Fiort U warren PRANN: Thorburn 07 2 and then traversing the tops past Oilskin Pass. reached the headwater forks. Brilliant So we, retreated to an old campsite at the sunshine enhanced our satisfaction at having Taheke Creek confluence. No problem lighting got somewhere at last. Although Bligh Sound a fire here. What appeared to be split totara was obscured by ridges, the view down the had been left propped up against a tree stump. Wild Natives Valley to Rugged Peak and other crags north of Bounty Haven was magnificent. Rain cleared overnight and early in the morning we forded the Glaisnock and Taheke A campsite proved hard to find. Eventually we creeks without difficulty. Pushing up Taheke settled for a spot at the head of the smaller lake Creek for about an hour took us into a series of in Taheke Creek and hoped that it wouldn't large open swamps. We continued until we rain. With no rocks to be found anywhere we were: forced to cut tent pegs: from the scrub the surrounding hills and keep an eye on the and to knot tussocks to support our tents. weather. Fortunately it neither rained nor blew that night. The next day, another attempt to reach the head of the lake failed and SO we retreated to We broke camp the next morning and made our previous campsite. By evening the rain was our way towards thel lake identified in Moir as heavy and by 2: a.m. it was bucketing down. Kiwi Lake. Unlike SO many Fiordland lakes, Saturday 10 March dawned fine. It was the day this one was shallow.. And being below its we were to be picked up from the Worsely Hut. normal level, we were easily able to squelch What to do? Even assuming we, could find our around the northern side. Fording at the outlet way around the lake, it would take us 3 days to got us into a ghastly jumble ofl large mossy reach our pick-up point. It was possible a boulders and ferns and it took quite a struggle search would start on thel Monday and we'd be to extricate ourselves from this mess. So, when buried under the green canopy where no we did, we stuck religiously to the river. We helicopter could ever spot us. Even assuming reached the Bernard Burn late in the we would be able to light a fire in the sodden afternoon. bush, its smoke would be barely Rain set in about midnight but eased by distinguishable from the mist that curled morning. It was heavily overcast and the around the tree tops. We still had 21 breakfasts, dinners and other forecast was poor, so we flagged away making sundry food, plus some fuel. The weather forecast wasn't a day trip to Bligh Sound = the risk of being very promising flooding in searches in on trapped the wrong side of the Pitt River was Taranaki, too great. Travel took us above the cascades in the Motu and the Tararua Ranges and 2 the Bernard Burn to another extensive flat area trampers drowned in the Rakaia. where the river hardly seems to move. Cold We decided to sit tight since we were rain set in as we headed upstream. Travel was visible on our little promontory. Though highly we easy at first but gradually the boulders became hated doing it, we felled a small tree to clear a SO large that we had difficulty moving through space where a helicopter could touch down. them and we moved to the trees. Travel here And we sat down to wait. The next was little better. We scrambled up, over, round Sunday, the clouds lifted and we day, our first under and through boulders, ferns, lawyer proper view of the tops. On Monday got it (which we called prebble), and goodness bucketed down. So it was a mixture of knows what else, eventually emerging on top of surprise and relief when we heard a an enormous rock overlooking Lake Bernard. approaching. A Squirrel loomed helicopter out of the We reached the lake and encountered the full murk and almost flew straight into us. The pilot force of driving rain. Fortunately thel lake level circled while Warren gesticulated frantically was low and we were able to move easily at the that we would like a lift. We packed and downstream end. The lake sides were cleared the site and after a few tries, the pilot precipitous so we, gave away thei idea of managed to land. It was lucky there were only reaching the head of the lake that day and 50 of us as the Squirrel seats only 6. Then found a campsite. followed an exciting 15 minutes as we flew out to Lake' Te. Anau along the route we had used At 6.30 the following morning, while it was still walking in. With the cloud base barely above dark, Malcolm woke us with the news that the the valley floor, we flew just above the tree lake had invaded his tent. It must have risen 6 tops, slipping sideways at times to avoid tall metres during the night and was now tress or hillsides as they loomed out of the threatening the second tent. A furious murk. The pilot, Richard Hayes, told us that scramble ensued in which everything was he'd taken a party of shooters to George Sound retrieved except for Sue's socks, Malcolm's and had been asked by the Police to keep a Time magazine and aj packet of biscuits. lookout for us. Warren set off in search of another campsite and much to our delight succeeded in finding The Police in Te. Anau were very good to us, one noti far away and about 30 metres above even agreeing to pay the $551 cost of thej pilot's our present level. The new site was on a extra 30 minutes flying. Senior Constable Lloyd promontory between a couple of streams. From Matheson told us that if we hadn't been spotted this point we could see much of the lake and by the helicopter pilot, he would have initiated an official search the next day.As wel left he 1. Don't believe everything you read in Moir stuck another pin in his map. Significantly it I check it first. When advised of our was orange not black. debacle, the current editor told us that his information about Lake Bernard was After a most welcome meali in the motorcamp supplied by 2 "well known wapiti hunters" we set out to formally conlcude our time in and has appeared in every edition since Fiordland by providing myl boots, which were 1959 with no comment from anyone coming apart at the seams, with a viking (except us). funeral. Our remaining' Y litre ofi fuel 2. Take a radio telephone ifyou're planning produced a mas of flames but had little impact to enter any area where you're reliant on on the sodden leather. So my old faithfuls al boat or aircraft for your return journey. ended by being dumped unceremoniously in a 3. A small inflatable boat would probably be rubbish bin instead. thel best way of getting from one end to the other of many Fiordland lakes. Members of the trip: Warren Thorburn, Clive 4. Don't forget your gaiters. Hellyar, Sue and Malcolm Charles and Hugh 5. Leave your intentions with a responsible Middleton. person. On this occasion it was Eric Evans in Wellington who alerted Police P.S. There are lessons to be learned from a trip when we: failed to make a schedule phone like this. call.