The 6 Passes: Nelson Lakes to Lewis Pass

THE 6 PASSES Nelson Lakes to Lewis Pass by Debbie Buck with Elizabeth Claridge and Amie Claridge E arly on a pre-Easter morning, Amie, Bob (aka Elizabeth) and I were waiting at the Lake Rotoroa jetty, Nelson Lakes, to catch the water taxi to Sabine Hut. We were about to set off on a tramp to Lewis Pass, generously giving ourselves 8.5 days. Bob was carrying her ‘oversized handbag’ pack, Amie had an overloaded ultralight pack, and well, my 75L pack was fully Lake Thompson evening loaded and along for the weight training.

As forecast, days 1 and 2 were wet, so we had a leisurely couple of wet days lugging heavy packs to Blue Lake Hut. Late on Day 2, Andrew arrived at Blue Lake Hut – he was doing the same tramp as us, but several days faster.

On Day 3 we set off about 8am in a dry kind of mistiness, and skirted around Lake Constance on the poled route. Andrew passed us here. By the time we hit the lakehead, the sun was out for our ascent on scree and alpine scrub to Waiau Pass (1870m). We bumped into Andrew up here, and he may have made some comment about it being a bit of a grunt…or perhaps that was my own thought! We could see our day’s destination – Lake

Thompson – tucked beneath the mountains to the south, and seemingly at the same altitude as us. There was no flying fox to get us there, so we descended to the Waiau River and then turned right and followed the true right of the stream up to Lake Thompson. It was a bit windy up here, so we layered up and set about scoping for the route to Thompson Pass. Soon enough we found it, and also saw Andrew’s tent pitched overlooking the valley and the mountains to the north. We opted for a lakeside campsite, which treated us to some beautiful reflections as the sun set. It also treated us with some windiness and a chilly night. I was pretty happy with our first ‘real’ day of tramping.

Day 4 started with a short climb up an obvious shallow gully to Thompson Pass (1796m). The view down to the valley floor at the head of the Durville River was daunting. But we were taking the high route - a scrambly route that headed east to get above a prominent notch. It was a bit exposed in parts, and after several unnecessary detours that ended at minor bluffs, I pulled out Stephen Healey’s photo with a big red line showing the route. We navigated by picture across and above the notch, then climbed around the top of a knob and descended to the grassy bench. Phew, we’d hopefully done the crux of the tramp and it was not yet lunchtime! We travelled along the grassy and sometimes screey bench to our lunch spot at streams beneath Upper Durville Pass (not the pass we were taking). It was pretty hot by now and we baked as we traversed and then headed up on whiteish rock to Durville Pass (1840m). Not a cloud in the sky as we looked back to Thompson Pass and then south to the Ella Range. We zoomed down the scree to a turquoise tarn nestled in jagged boulders. I barely stopped to undo my boots before I jumped in for a quick cold dip. This was how tramping Day 6 started with an eerie mistiness - the sort that I hoped would burn off as the day warmed up. It was also groundhog day for Amie, so I set off carrying the two tents. For about 4km the orange triangles continued to follow the Matakitaki River West branch. Then they and the track disappeared and we were once again following our nose up the river as the mist gradually lifted. By the time we had skirted and climbed a bit on the true left to avoid a gorgy bend in the river, we had a bluebird day. For several hours we travelled alongside the river in the tussock and rock-hopping as the river gradually climbed, with the mountains closer by with every step. It was lunchtime and Descending Durville pass scree was meant to be - Tararua cloud and wind was banished from my consciousness! Now my brain was cool enough to focus on the navigation to get us down to the Matakitaki River East Branch. After a couple of hundred metres we found a plausible route down that weaved between a rocky spur and a damp gully, with plenty of bum sliding. This was followed by some earnest tussock wading down to the river. Amie sprawled on a rock to stretch her back, whilst Bob and I munched snacks. After this break, we followed the dry riverbed, as the water detoured underground for a couple of kms before emerging as the river changed direction. It wasn’t long before we found a primo campsite on the edge of the first patch of bush on the true left, and settled in for the night.

Day 5 was another stunner. We followed the Matakitaki River downstream, revelling in the beauty and wildness of the river and bush, which hadn’t yet caught the sun. We were a bit chilly so appreciated the opportunity to have a snack break at the first sunny clearing, and then ambled on through more sunny clearings and bushy river crossings until East Matakitaki Hut, standing in a clearing beneath the Ella Range and the Spenser Mountains. Lunch here in the wide valley with clear sky was an indulgence- we swam, sunbaked and feasted on crackers with cheese and salami. It was hard to leave and set off back into the bush. There was an orange triangle route from here, but we rebelled until the last possible moment, where we joined the tame track. It was quite muddy and rooty in parts, with an abundance of tame wasps hovering around at knee level. We followed the triangles, over a tame three-wire bridge above the turquoise and sedate Matakitaki River West branch. After this, we had several hours of obstacle course sidling over and around tree fall on the track, before breaking out into the wide river flats where the quaint and charming Bob’s Hut was welcoming us. Here we chatted with Andrew, had a cosy fire, and generally enjoyed a restful night in a stunning location, with no sign of the ghost of Bob’s Hut.

Bobs Hut I handed over one of the tents to Bob to carry - it was my turn to feel knackered. After lunch, we continued to follow the river, closer and closer to the Three Tarns cirque. We left the river and found an easy spur to take us up to the southernmost tarn. By this time we were all feeling a bit tired, and the wind and cold were picking up. We saw an obvious looking pass so headed for it. Although it wasn’t quite where the map said Three Tarns Pass should be, it looked inviting. After 15 minutes of upward mobility I realised we were going the wrong way. So, after a bit of deliberation, we traversed, lined up the tarns and Bob on final rib to Three Tarns headed up to a less inviting notch, which was the real 3 Tarns Pass (1880m). A bit of a shingle grovel and we were there. Without lingering at the windy pass, we descended the shingle scree on the other side and took a roundabout route to find the least windy campsite above the largest of two tarns. Challenged by the wind, we briskly set up camp, cooked dinner and crawled into bed. We’d just cocooned ourselves in our sleeping bags when the wind stopped and all was silent.

On Day 7 we were up early to savour the sunrise and our last morning of solitude. I was feeling a bit subdued because this would be our last day of ‘remote’ tramping. We descended a rocky slope and stayed on the true right of the stream as it transitioned to alpine heath, spiteful spaniard and then into beech forest. There was a gorgy section that we climbed high above, following and losing some cairns. Eventually, we clambered down a dry side stream and into the beech forest alongside the main stream, following a well-defined foot trail. Savouring the last of the solitude, we had a swim and a break in the sun. Shortly afterwards we hit the trail near Ada Pass Hut, just in time for the Good Friday rush hour! We set up camp in a clearing in front of the hut and spent the afternoon sunbaking and occasionally talking to trampers passing by. A suicidal robin kept us entertained with its fire walking antics as we cooked dinner.

Day 8 dawned rainy and cold. But the adventure was not over! I was determined to head up the ridge behind the hut to scope access to the Zampa tops. This overgrown untracked route kept us moving and sodden for the morning as we climbed to the bushline, poked our noses out to feel the wind speed, and descended back down to the derelict former loo of Ada Pass Hut. After warming up in the hut for lunch, we loaded up the imaginary yaks for the harrowing journey on boardwalks to Ada Pass (1008m).

Day 9 was clear again and we zipped along on the Cannibal Gorge track to Lewis Pass (840m, our 6th pass) for lunch, de-smelling, and waiting for our shuttle. Thanks Bob and Amie for sharing an awesome tramping adventure.