This text was read by OCR from a scanned newsletter and has not been proofread yet, so expect odd characters and mistakes.
cheduled as the Medium trip on the Club’s Easter 2000 schedule, this trip offered some pleasant valley travel with some great views from above the bushline. After having completed two trips in Mt Aspiring National Park and with work still a further 3 weeks away, I decided that another South Island trip was in order. My 10 months as an unemployed bum was coming to an end — the thought of another trip into the mountains seemed so great when most others had returned to work! Choosing to make this a more demanding trip, I set about completing the journey over 2 days instead of the usual 3 days, enjoying some spectacular Canterbury weather. I began the trip from the opposite end to that which the guidebook suggests, starting at the Hawdon shelter. With my Arthur’s Pass maps sitting in Wellington, the idea of going on to the tops was dependent on good weather. I wandered up to the Hawdon Hut and the only weather worry I had was the sun — I had left my sun cream in Christchurch, and there were no clouds in the sky. Leaving Hawdon Hut after a morning snack (and inspection of the map on the wall), I began the climb through the bush towards Walker Pass. After a
searing but a large rock provided some shade and I stopped for lunch. The route to Walker Pass had obviously been blazed by a drunk — every 10 metres it crossed the stream, before arriving at a tarn on top of Walker Pass (1105m). I had never seen a track that was so flat so heavily switch-backed. Descending off the pass and around the corner brought me to a scramble up to Tarn Col (1379m), via plenty of tussock. Tarn Col looked very similar to
Grant Newton
Grant Newton
Walker Pass with a similar sized tarn, though the views were better here. From the Col, it’s a sudden drop, giving you the sensation that you will be walking off a cliff. The drop only took 10-15 minutes before the flatter rocky region beneath Falling Mountain was negotiated as I passed over Taruahuna Pass (1265m) and then began the gentle descent to Edwards Hut. At this stage I met the first people on the track — 3 Germans (don’t mention the war!). Taking a fair amount of time, in and out of both tussock and across streams, I arrived to find a very nice hut, a group of Auckland trampers and two cheeky keas. The next morning, I negotiated a track with lots of up and down before arriving at the confluence with I —~the Mirigha. Twas faced With a choice — to cross the ~ river, head to the road and hitch to the Mt White Bridge, or to walk. Choosing not to hitch back to the car, I used the sunny afternoon for a walk back to the Hawdon shelter via the Waimakariri Flats. What I thought would take 2-3 hours, ended up taking 44 hours. Overall, I had encountered only 2 groups of people (and none were from the Tararuas!) when a tired body but relaxed mind finally made it back to the car after a great trip.