Salubing on the Brewster

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Salubing on the Brewster Gary Goldsworthy a Upper Makarora Valley Gary Goldsworthy The January '94 floods had really Early Christmas morning and the fresh to a grove of trees three kilometres knocked the Makarora Valley dusting of snow on thel hills behind the away, and three-quarters of the way surrounds around a lot. This fact campground indicated why for the along them. became clear as the guy at the middle of summer it was so damned Makarora Information Centre pointed cold. Doris, whose eyes had We reached the hut by mid-afternoon outi to US the tracks, bridges, huts, and transformed themselves into a couple after a very leisurely 5 hours from the roads that were buried, washed away, of AA road maps overnight, looked a Haast Highway. The overcast skies of or now lying at the bottom of Lake bit worse for wear after her Xmas Eve the morning were fast disappearing, Wanaka. Claire and I were planning celebrations when we waved her off with just a few snow showers clinging to cruise into the Upper Makarora at Davis Flat. The signposted track stubbornly to the higher peaks at the Valley and climb over to the Brewster started at ther roadl bridge andfollowed head of the valley. We were intending Glacier for af few days of Rn'R, andi for the river opposite the highway for 15 to take things fairly easily this trip, so it once DOC was able to give US some minutes until we reached the superb wasn't long before the two of US were valuable route information for the Mt Stewart Falls. Here it climbed steeply sprawled out on the grass at a quiet Aspiring region. until alow saddle was reached, before spot down by the river and dozing dropping back down to the river again away the rest of the afternoon in the We waved a tenner under the at the head of the gorge where it was warm sun, the stresses and hassles of nose of Doris, an English girl on swallowedby a deep chasm. Acouple the year driftingoff down the valleywith holiday in NZ, working for her keep in ofthe side creeks had washed the track the breeze. Life can be so tough at Makarora's only: shop overt the summer, out in places, but this didn't present any times. and arranged for her to drop US off at problems. Aprofusion of spider orchids Davis Flat bridge early next morning. could be seen all along the track. That evening while cooking dinner in She veryl kindly agreed but added that the hut, we watched a stag cross the with it being Xmas Eve that night she The valley provided excellent travel on river downstream and followed his expected to be doing some pretty the true left as it gradually opened out progress as hel browsedhis way up the heavy celebrating, SO not to worry ifshe in a series of grassy flats sprinkled with flats. It wasn't till he got closer that we was a little late in the morning. This beech trees. The last lot of flats were noticed to our dismay that there was a was finel by US, and anyway we sort of enormous; they stretched away into the large mob of deer grazing on the felt sorry forl her for being saddled with distance before US, and the tiny airstrip across the river from US. In the such an unfortunate name as Doris. Makarora Hut could just be seen next failing light theyl had looked like clumps TRAMPING & MOUNTAINEERING oft tussock So we hadn't paid them any the top we left the river and climbed After a leisurely two-hour lunch we attention. We counted 15 deer in that up through a thin scrub belt towards thought we'd better get a move on. mob and could soon see other smaller the Divide. Bursting out through the Hefting our loads we dragged our groups of up to 6 deer running around stunted growth, we startled a chamois saggingt butts upwards andwere soon further down on the flats. This place who, whistling in alarm, bounded off at the snowline, which was a lot lower obviously didn't get hunted very often. over the rocky terrain with the sort of than we'de expected for the time of year. Frankly, was amazed at what probably is a The Makarora Glacier and pretty rare sight these the peaks around the days, to see such a Makarora cirque soon large number of deer came into view and were outi int the open liket this. an impressive sight. Two It gave an insight into hours of steady snowplod, what the deer zigzagging up a fairly population must have broad shoulder brought US been like years ago onto the Main Divide and when hundreds would our first good look at Mt have roamed the flats Brewster which was fairly before helicopters impressive, with its hornarrived on the scene shaped summit to which and cleaned them out. the steep, snowy, south ridgeran, and fluted gullies A couple of donks were through the summit rock still feeding out on the band. By stretching the airstripnext morning as imagination, its southern the sun pitched into a aspects kind of resembled flawless sky, burning a a miniature Mt Aspiring. To light carpet of mist off the south along thel Divide thet flats asi it did sO. We was Mt Armstrong, and crossed the river further in the distance was opposite the hut and the unmistakable shape of scuffed off through the Mt Aspiring. dew to a bend in the river at the head of the Sweeping past below US flats. A small gorge was the Brewster Glacier was easily negotiated with its neve spreading by following a small, towards Topheavy in the low spur running east. Recent snow had parallel with the river. filled in any crevasses that Up ahead more sunny, may have been present, terraced river flats. giving it a porcelain Beyond this we could appearance. We had had see the gorge that visions of camping on the drains the head of the Mt Brewster from camp Gary Goldsworthy moraine wall by a Makarora and part of picturesquer meltlake at the its sawtooth cirque, but obscuringmost grace and ease most of US can only snout of the glacier, so we were of this was a huge snowy shoulder muster when changing TV channels somewhat disappointedto see that the leading upto the Main Divide. Thiswas with a remote. snow of winter '94 still covered the to be our route over onto the Brewster meltlake. Still, things could be worse, Glacier. A grassy knoll with a good view down but the sun was shining So we couldn't the valley and also into part of the really complain. On acalm, sunny day such as this, the upper reaches provided US with an cocktail of grass flats, beech forest, excellent excuse to stop for lunch and AI long glissade brought US down onto tussock, snowy mountains, and mellow out in the sun. Grazing on my the glacier fairly quickly, although a few glaciers reminds me why Mt Aspiring Tararua biscuits and expounding patches of ice made things interesting National Park is one of my favourite eloquently about the views before US, in a couple of places. Travel down the places. So diverse, and a great place my rhetoric was quietly interrupted by glacier was no problem either. The to be, too. Claire's soft snoring. A well-aimedsock moraine wall is solidrock and thes slabs soon brought this to a sudden halt drop off steeply for a few hundred We paused to reflect on this for a while. before it could gain momentum and metres into Pyke Creek. After a hunt before tackling the gorge draining the resonate through the mountains, around we finallysettled on acampsite head of the valley where we had no setting off avalanches and scaring on a flat patch of gravel. Not that we problems sidling up the true right. At wildlife for miles around. had much choice - it was either here TRAMPING & MOUNTAINEERING or park on the snow. We Armstrong soon brought anchored the Olympus to US to the leading spur terra firma with hefty rocks and a ground trail (pegs don't goi into solidr rock heading down to the very easily), cooked dinner, hut. Bynowt thesun was then kickedback on the sunshining again and we warmed slabs to enjoy the began to wonder rest of the evening. whether we'dbeen al bit hasty and pulled the From our lofty perch, high plug too soon. Then above the Haast Pass again, hogsbacks never Highway, we watched the lie. sun set behind Mt Aspiring, and marvelled yet again at We met a mid-to-latethe splendour only a high model couple at the hut camp can give. whose kids had all left home, and who were As the cooling air began its now rediscovering the katabatic journeyt to settlet for great outdoors. They the night in the valley below, shared their bottle of the evening shadows raced champagnewithusover up the Brewster Glacier, dinner and conversation turning the: snow to hues of gravitated to the pros orange and red before and cons of having kids slipping gawayinto ther night. early orl latein life. Pretty Pretty impressive stuff really, scary stuff. Two more something you never tire of people joined US just on watching. dark, making things a little cramped in the tiny It was about 9:30 next hut. morning and the sun was shining on the tent, slowly Brewster meltlake outlet Gary Goldsworthy The front went through turningi gitinto as sauna, when during the night but Claire announced she was hungry, put ofHaast bridge, it overlooked the whole apart from a few puffs of wind and a afoot on my back, and shovedi me out Haast Pass Highway (with its steady bit ofrain, all that posturing by thehogs the door. Well, it was another fantastic stream of campervans), from Lake the previous day didn't come to much. day SO I didn't mind scurrying around Wanaka in the east to the Burke Valley like a hen-pecked SNAG to fix my in the west. Over the Wills Valley and The others all headed down early the beloved her morning "pog". the Bealey Range to the north couldbe next morning, but Claire andilingered seen Mts Dechen, Hooker, Sefton, and around for a while to savour the We had tentative plans of climbing Mt Cook. solitude of the hills a little longer. Brewster, but a severe lack of Gradually the sun burned the mist motivation, probably stemming from The west ridge of Mt Brewster looked away and the snowy peaks across the being microwaved on the snow the from here like an easier route to climb Haast Valley began to appear as the previous day, soon sunk that idea, SO the peak. Had wel been more inclined, cloud broke up. Another cracker day. we decided to downgrade a little and it would have been goodi to climb onto opted instead for ap plod up the glacier the ridge, if just for a look into the head Sadly, we had to leave all of this and and over to a little bump called of the Wills and the peaks north along head down too, our all-too-short Topheavy, on the southwestern end of the Divide. mission accomplished. Thet track down the Brewster Neve. to the highway doesn't muck around Byt thet time we got backt to thet tent there and drops fairly quickly. Moving down A cold wind was whipping down the was high overcast and some through the bush, you're constantly neve by the time we got up there, and impressive-lookinghogshovering over reminded of what a different worldi lit is it was then that we saw that the grey Mt Aspiring. The temperature had from the open tops. Sense of smell smudge we'd noticed on the horizon dropped considerably, SO fearing an especially, seemstol be enhanced after earlier in the morning was now impending front and not wanting the doing time up high. The fresh earthy considerably closer, and steaming in hassle ofl being blown out of our camp smells and greenery are always a off the Tasman Sea at a great rate of in the middle of the night, we decided delight to experience again, in stark knots. This, it seemed, might be the to pack up and head around to contrast to the clean, sterile end of the golden weather. Brewster Hut for the night. environment of snowfields. The views from Topheavy were quite Two hours sidling across steep snow Itv was a great trip. You should do. it spectacular. Situated above the Gates and greasy grass slopes under Mt sometime. TRAMPING & MOUNTAINEERING