A Summer's Holiday

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A SUMMER'S HOLIDAY Anita Catchpole Lake Aorere Kirsty Woods Wel knew we had problems to start with. The members on Eventually we couldn't put it off any longer SO we started the trip were Kirsty Woods, Anita Catchpole, Robbie to walk. We headed up the Cobb to Cobb Hut, past Lake Morrison, Jonny Waghorn and Rex Benbrook. Three big Cobb just in time to embarrass a couple of skinny dippers eaters = lots of weight in the packs. who had turned blue by the time we had all filed past. Then up to Round Lake for the first of our wet The first discussions involved "where shall we go?". lunchtimes. After lunch we headed over the tops and North West Nelson, always fine weather. Let's start at dropped into the Roaring Lion. The only 'roaring' things the Cobb, the wilderness area looks interesting. in there were the thousands of sandflies. Then the discussions about food. Shall we have lkg of The next day we walked up the Roaring Lion in drizzle cheese? What!! said all the males, are we going to be and camped at the head of the valley where we spent the having cheese vapour on our crackers, just wave it across evening fighting off the keas and sandflies. and dream about cheese. OK, 2kg of cheese. Biscuits; a chorus of at least one packet a day please. Kirsty and I We had a brief spell in the weather, the sun shone just started to look worried. Don't worry boys, we'll do the long enough for us to apply some sunscreen. This chased shopping. it away quickly and we were back to our usual clouds. We climbed out of the valley and headed over onto Christmas Day goes by in a blur. Rex gains a new watch. Aorere Saddle at which point Rex loudly pointed out that It tells you everything, but most important it's an "We were heading for a No Exit spot - we've got altimeter. He then spends the next nine days giving us nowhere to go!!". height and weather reports. Shrugging off his pessimistic attitude, we calmly headed Boxing Day was spent travelling down South courtesy of down to Lake Aorere in torrential rain. Finding a 'snail ferries', various buses, and finally a scary taxi ride campsite that wasn't going to flood became our next task. into the Cobb. We arrived at Trilobite Hut several years Not an easy one. An hour later we were tucked under our older, and walked through to our first campsite at fly up in the bushes on the far side of the lake. Myttons Creek. Our four pint billy filled to overflowing overnight. Next morning involved Kirsty and myself evening out the Perhaps we were in a No Exit spot. The rain persisted weight of the packs: "that's heavy, give it to Rex"; down so we stayed semi-dry under our fly. The lake "Jonny looks like he wants to carry that". How did our started to rise, as well as the exit back to the other side of packs get So heavy! the lake. The outflow of the lake was very spectacular

"Where are we going to camp in this bog", says Anita. A choice spot was soon sorted and dinner prepared. Midnight finally arrives and Anita is woken for the third time for the New Year's celebration of Baileys. Anita promptly falls asleep again with glass in hand. The next day we awoke to dappled sunlight. What, no rain? We leap out of our pits and pack quickly. Head downriver then up a ridge to take us onto the Gouland Range. Sunshine lasted all of an hour and we were back to our usual views of clouds and rain. Slogged up the hill until we hit the bush edge where we ate lunch, commenting on what amazing views there must have been from up here. After lunch it was onwards and upwards along the Gouland Range with Kaka Saddle our camping spot for the night. "Oh, another bog", says Kirsty, "well lets do something really novel, let's pick the piece of ground with the most roots and the best slope, at least it will drain". Little "Rex" Riding Hood Kirsty Woods with a huge waterfall. In between the downpours our fellow companion, Johnathon Livingston Seagull, would do a circuit of the lake wondering what had happened to the sea. The fly became the object of our attention and was fine tuned. Rex gave us regular weather reports and height readings. We played cards. We ate. New Year's Eve and we were still at our No Exit spot. Much discussion on rising lake levels and river levels. The plans for the tops were canned and a dash down the Once ensconced with feet braced on packs to stop the beautiful Spey was suggested. Rex checks the map and downhill slide, and with Jonny cuddled up to a major tree root, and Robbie cooking announces "shouldn't be too bad, river will be up, looks dinner, things weren't too bad. like big gravel flats, probably take a couple of hours". Rex put his smelly undies and socks out on the outer boundary. "What are for", Leave at 12, after lunch. they says Kirsty. "To scare away the wekas, they won't come near when they get a whiff of these babies" , Rex. We take our last photos of the mist and rain that should says have been lake, said farewell to the seagull and splashed The last dawns fine. A we all our way across the lake outlet. day mirage say. We pack up and are rewarded with a view of the Heaphy track rolling along the Gouland Downs. Looks wee "Just a grovel down to the river" and an hour later like a main highway from up above. Not content to follow a track we were in the Spey. we slightly misplace ourselves and eventually reach Perry Travel turned into extremely large boulders (nice gravel Saddle Hut where it promptly starts to rain again. The flats), large amounts of water between the boulders occupants of the hut quietly remove themselves to the (gently flowing and the other end of the hut. "I guess we do smell then". Hard to Spey), coprosma "shit", avoid when spending nine wet days in the bush. extremely prickly plant growing over all the boulders. "Well let's try sidling". The terrain turned into steep The last sixteen kilometres were the hardest, down the sided, slippery, impenetrable jungle, but the only option. bulldozed Heaphy track. A bit of a let down after a brilliant but slightly damp trip in the wilderness region. Six hours of steady walking saw us arriving at our two hour destination. Oh well, at least it's New Year's Eve.