Manuka Range/Stour R. Circuit
- 2 – 3 days loop track with a road section
- Easy/medium
2 day circuit extended to 3 days by going into Woolshed Creek via Burma Rd then traversing Manuka Range
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Walking time
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2 – 3 days
8 hr – 15 hr
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Distance
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38.0km |
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Type
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Loop track with a road section
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Grade
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Easy/medium
Unsuitable in high river flows. Requires some navigational ability in low-vis conditions. Grades explained
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Bookings
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No bookings — open access
No — open access
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Starts
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Stour Bridge in Ashburton Gorge Rd |
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Ends
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Stour Bridge |
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Maps
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NZTopo50-BX19
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Altitude
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590m
–
1,083m
Altitude change 493m
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Link
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www.doc.govt.nz/upload/documents/parks-and-recreation/places-to-visit/canterbury/raukapuka/hakatere-conservation-area-barrosa.pdfhttp://www.doc.govt.nz/upload/documents/parks-and-recreation/places-to-visit/canterbury/raukapuka/hakatere-conservation-area-barrosa.pdf |
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To minimise the road walk, Woolshed Creek can be accessed via the Burma Rd. This makes the road walk only 1.4 km. It took us 2 hours to get to the hut this way in the dark. To reach the StourValley from the hut, walk up the Burma Rd (4WD track uphill of hut) to the fence-line and follow the fence-line initially down an open spur. Veer off to the left at the foot to avoid a swampy approach to a deep creek.
If you wish, you can check out a rapidly deteriorating musterers' hut surrounded by lush green grass near the junction of the West and East Branches of the Stour. This hut is visible from the Burma Rd fence-line. It is about 100 years old, constructed of tongue and groove and clad in corrugated iron. Unfortunately the roof has blown away in recent years. The floor is earthen with watercress now growing there but the chimney, though on a lean, is functional. The bunks are long gone. There are now minimal legible pencil records but on a former visit, I recall there were lists of musters indicating the age of the hut.