Stoked on Mt Stokes

Stoked on Mt Stokes

Having a baby hasn't stopped Phil and I getting out in the hills. I'd rather describe it as adding a new dimension. The advenfures are generally closer to the

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IO t the beginning of July this year we made a visit to The Sounds, staying near The Portage for a week. Phil bought the relevant map and excitedly studied it. He quickly spotted Mt Stokes - at 1203m it's the highest point in The Sounds and the summit is above the bushline - just! We patiently waited for the perfect weather conditions.

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Driving off early in thick mist it was hard to believe the forecasters had got it right. The road hugs the eastern side of Kenepuru Sound. It's slow and winding, ducking in and out of coves until at the head of the Sound the road climbs steadily to a pass and we popped out of the inversion cloud to be greeted by a perfect crisp and clear winter's day.

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The track is a gentle 3 or 4-hour climb through magnificently rich forest. Moss covered silver beech and rata are alive with tuis, bellbirds and fantails. Occasional glimpses of the unfolding view were an exciting prelude to what the summit had to offer.

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We kept a steady pace with Phil having the heavier load of 16-month-old Tara. A brief lunch stop was all that was needed to hold her attention on the way up. The route is well marked so long as you stick to the red triangles. Other marked routes are used for pest control conserving the summit's significance as a unique habitat for several species of tussock and daisy. With Phil typically out of sight ahead I was only confused briefly when the upward pointing arrows literally meant scramble up the rocks to the top.

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Nothing quite prepared me for the view. Having picked a winter's day after a big downpour of rain there were fabulous vistas for 360 degrees. Queen Charlotte Sound, Titirangi Bay and Cape Jacksonwere mapped out 1200m almost directly below us. The Queen Charlotte Walkway ridge could be clearly seen, leading the eyes south towards Picton. The summit is a 2ha-fussock plateau so we wandered over to the other side. Suddenly the snow-plastered Kaikouras were spotted. It was one of those sights to literally take your breath away. A spine of snow-capped mountains could be made out all the way from the northern end of the Kahurangis to what must have been Nelson Lakes and the Richmond Range. You don't get much clearer than this. To the east was D'Urville Island, Separation Point and even the faint but undeniable outline of Farewell Spit. Looking westwas Wellington, Baring Head and Cape Palliser.

It was one of those views that gives you a little flutter in your stomach and had us looking on, recognising headlands, coves and islands for at least half an hour. Tara happily amused herself in the shelter of a rock. We busily snapped off a 360-degree montage of photos cleverly avoiding getting the weather station masts in the way. Eventually it was time to head down. This often happens to me. I hadn't realised how steep the upward hack had been until it came to go down. But looking at the map I'd say we climbed around 700m up from the car atthe saddle. Tara was kept amused by practising her animal noises all the way back and the round trip only took us 4 or 5 hours return.