Lewis Pass day trips - Waitangi Weekend

Lewis Pass day trips – Waitangi Weekend Well, what was the result of this trip? MORE – I want to do MORE!!

Arranging lodging at the Deer Stalkers Lodge opposite Sylvia Flats started off the way of tramping in luxury style. Popping along to the hot pools at night to be eaten by sandflies – oh and to have a wonderful soak, and getting to read pig-hunting magazines only added to the ambient atmosphere – as did those crazy swims in the not so warm rivers!! Who was the instigator of those? Ally. The toilet wasn’t quite so luxurious and most decided to opt for the old long drop instead. Luckily the entrance with the missing door didn’t matter as it faced away from the motorway and it meant one often got visiting birds for entertainment. What more could one ask for?

So where did we go?

Day one saw us wandering along the very accessible tops from the Lewis Tops Track. Three chirpy birds decided to accompany us on our mission. We gazed hungrily at Mt Technical (eating lunch didn’t help) but unfortunately due to our lazy start (well, we didn’t arrive until after 2am that morning) we ran out of time for conquering it. Maybe next time ..….

Robins again delighted us up the Nina River, Another swim? Another great pool in the river Sylvia Jorgensen Tramping & Mountaineering 2003 Sylvia Jorgensen investigating us when we crossed the forest terraces. This was the day I regretted only bringing my small gaiters instead of my full ones. Why? We explored up the not-so-maintained track to the Lucretia Biv. Was it worth it? Yes. The clearing where the biv lay was beautiful, complete with a babbling brook and all. We got to look at Mt Technical from the other side, but again ran out of time for climbing it and instead slept in the sun soaked grass. Making our way back, the first crazy swim happened. I lasted all of 1 minute. But Ally, being a bit hardier, went swimming twice! After hurriedly slapping insect repellent back on (ow – not a good idea on scratched legs), it was a twilight wander back to our lodge.

The Muller Tarn on the Freyberg Range was our third destination. It was our second venture in to the tops and proved to be slightly harder work to get there. We started up the track. Well, actually no we didn’t. This was one of those situations when it was easier said than done. The first obstacle was to find Dave. Yes, a team member managed to get lost in the first 5 minutes. The rest of us got to wander around the hot spring complex shouting for him, much to the amusement of residents. Dave finally decided to

Inspecting potential swimming holes Sylvia Jorgensen return from his solo expedition and we headed in the right direction (which was actually left) for the track entrance.

Half an hour later, and after some frustration, the track entrance was found. Tip for next time – start from the main road and don’t try and take the more delightful route up the river. There is a marker at the road side and this does eventually lead to the start of the track.

The track was an adventurous track but well marked (once you found it!!), and the tarn at the top was well worth the trek.

Not being satisfied with that, we struck on up the mountainside to the ridge top and were rewarded with views of Nelson Lakes National Park.

But again, we wanted to go further along the inviting ridge that stretched before us. An advantage to going back the same way was that those hot pools were so much closer and Agnes offered to drive back so that nice cold beer was waiting too. Nope, no swimming in freezing rivers today!

The final day was a nice easy stroll up to Lake Danielle. In the first minute a bridge was crossed, and below lay the most perfect swimming hole; deep clear blue inviting cold water. So did we go swimming?

Tramping & Mountaineering 2003 With Ally in the group, we certainly did, but that’s a story to tell later on.

The bush along this walk was spectacular. Robins again featured, and this time I managed to catch one on camera (unfortunately a slightly blurry one). An extremely easy track (quite a contrast to yesterday’s track, but not quite as exciting) that was flat most of the way, and the destination was soon reached. More lying in the sun occurred, this time above water on the jetty watching the fish life in the lake.

A brisk walk back and we dove, with keenness, into the swimming hole. Yes, this time I lasted slightly longer in the water and Thomas bravely joined us as well. An easy way of getting into the hole (jumping) proved not quite so easy to get out. But we all managed to find some rock climbing skills and scrambled out. Ally then decided to go for her customary second swim but wasn’t quite so successful in getting out the second time. An adventurous secondary route was found (though a third swim afterwards to wash the mud off would have been handy) and we hit the highway for Picton, thoroughly relaxed from soaks in hot pools, the fresh outdoor air, and refreshing swims.

Punters: Allison Clark, Dave Barker, Agnes Grenier, Thomas Bruegger and Sylvia Jorgensen.