This text was read by OCR from a scanned newsletter and has not been proofread yet, so expect odd characters and mistakes.
Report: Easter/Anzac meet in Arthur's Pass and Lewis Pass The Cook Strait was at its very worst. Big seas, strong winds and darkness. Then one of the party got the dreadful news of a family bereavement and had to endure the return crossing to fly back to the UK. That left just six of us from four nations. The Kiwi geologist had planned the overall trip to include visits to lots of hot springs and tramps in different parts of the National Park. It all worked very well. After the crossing, we had the weather on our side; just one slight shower in walking hours and some overnight rain which was welcome as it put enough water into the tank to avoid a repeat of the ten minutes trip to the stream. The first and probably the best hot spring was in the Otehake valley, reached via the beautiful Lake Kaurapataka and an interesting traverse of the walls of the river gorge. We soaked on the Saturday and again on Easter Sunday after idyllic camping on an island. Superb forest and an almost-dry Otira riverbed will also be remembered. We reached the second spring, just by the Julia hut, after a lateafternoon chase to the Carrington hut and an enjoyable, steep, scrambly traverse of the Harman Pass with wide mountain views. The descent track to the Julia hut reminded us that track markers don't necessarily signify the presence of a track. We were lucky to have the six-bedded hut to ourselves and enjoyed the isolation as much as the pot-bellied stove. The long walk out was via a night at the new and still shiny Top Secret hut (if the signing-in book is to be believed) - a real luxury night. The evening's entertainment was provided largely by the Kiwi lobbyist who enthralled us with horror stories of a host of flatsharers.
The commercial springs at Maruia were next after a beautifully scenic drive. By this time we were getting used to clouds of steam in the chill of early morning but it was still a Strange sensation to broil gently with frost around. Shortly after leaving Maruia, we immersed ourselves again in superb pools right next to the Lewis River, not far from the top of the pass. The cool river water was better than any splash pooll The first fall was performed by the German scientist who measured her length on the boulders of a riverbed, inadvertently creating on her leg the black, red and gold tones of her national flag. The second fall was by the English therapist on a rutted track and, whilst her injuries were not as spectacular as those of the scientist, they were much better distributed from cheek to elbow and knee. The Canadian musician had a nasty accident, too, when her fingers got trapped between the wires and winding pulley of an aerial wireway. Surprisingly, there were two birthdays to celebrate during the trip. The first was that of the German scientist at the Carrington hut where a tactfully small number of candles provided brief cheer to the cavernous gloom. We also welcomed a fifth nationality, the famous Scottish bachelor, Single Malt, appearing by kind permission of the Chief Guide. The English engineer celebrated his birthday in two hot pools, by driving in glorious autumnal weather down the Lewis Pass, a visit ; I i to Kaikoura winery and a pub meal in Ly i Picton. ‘ All in all, ten days of excellent company, superb scenery and unexpectedly fine weather.
The English engineer
www.wtmc.org.nz PO Box 5068, Wellington