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Written by Jane Perkins, Photos by Stijn Schepers
on the Travers Saddle
We had 2 perfect days and 1 OK day and got some rain from lunch on the last day. We walked along way. There were 10 of us and it was a good group of happy campers (tho we actually managed to squeeze in to the huts each night). On Thurs night we slept on the floor of the shelter at St Arnaud, and woke up to the lovely dawn chorus. We caught the water taxi up the lake and walked all day (9hrs) to the pretty 8 bunk Cupola hut. It’s on the bushline, and had snow around it. It’s got great views. One poor lone tramper was already there and he had to put up with us, but we did give him a gourmet dinner of fresh fish, potato and kumera. Plus we had fresh fruit salad for dessert. (Neediess to say our packs weighed a tone!) The next day we went back down to the valley and up to Upper Travers hut. (Our detour to Cupola hut meant an extra 5 hours, but we got to sleep ina gorgeous spot, and all the other huts were really full so we would have been under our flys). After lunch we climbed up Travers saddle in snow and had absolutely stunning views from the top. Snow all around. We even saw a glider going over the mountains above us!
Then we descended the saddle quite late in the day, and had a few sore knees etc. It got dark at around 6.30pm and everyone ended up walking some time in the dark. The track isn't that great to West Sabine hut and there's not that many markers, and torches played up, so the last group finally got to the hut at 8.30pm. By that time the dinner was nearly ready. The hut was packed to bursting, and we sardined in to some bunks and slept on the floor - too tired to set up flys. That was a 12 hr day for some of our crew. So much for it being a medium trip! On the Sunday we did an easier 5 hr tramp down the valley to Lake Rotoroa and Sabine hut. A still lake, a couple of swans and some naked people jumping quickly in and out of the cold water. It was good to get clean though. On Monday we walked the 7 1/2 hrs out from Sabine hut via Speargrass track to the Mt Robert car park. There is a new hut at Speargrass, but it wasn't quite finished, so we huddled in the old hut for lunch while it rained. There wouldn't have been any views from Mt Angelus, even if we'd had any energy to go that way - which we didn't. Fortunately our trusty leader Simon Ward* had managed to get out early and hitch to St Arnaud to pick up the van and he was waiting for us when we got out of the wet bush. We had fantastic hot showers at the luxurious St Arnaud DOC campsite (good on you DOC). Then we drove 2 hrs back to Picton, ate at the Toot and Whistle where we caught up with the other trips (and the Whittles' Mt Rintoul trip in the Richmond range). Finally at 10 pm we caught the ferry, and lay down on our mats and slept. I even bumped in to some tired friends on the late ferry! After some dodgy driving through bus lanes and a red light at 1am in the morning by Andrea (in her work truck that her lovely dad had dropped off at the ferry terminal so she could act as a chauffeur - thank you Andrea's dad), I jumped in my car and trundelled out to Paekakariki. A exhausting but excellent trip.
Group massage at Cupola Hut
Left: on the Ravine bridge in the Sabine Valley
Below: Mt Cupola in the distance