The Takitimu's

As far as I know all tops travel is routes only - no marked tracks. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong there. That said, once you get uo there it;s generally great going. And with the bushline so low you can get on to bare rocky tops as low as 1200m Trips I've done start from the opposite side to you: the Apurima roadend. A circuit via Spence creek to Aparima biv from the Aparima roadend would be a good weekend suggestion. That gets you on the tops briefly at the saddle, or you can climb directly above Spence Hut to the tops and follow them right along. See Spence Creek Hut / Aparima Biv for basic route details. East-West crossings of the Takitimus from Aparima to Windy River (via Spence and Redcliffe) or Whare Creek (via Whare Creek Hut) on the Tuatapere side are other nice routes - though I've only been as far as the huts - not right out to the western roadend. Don't forget the Eyre Mountains either: great loop over the tops from the Mavora Lakes side: Oreti valley to Upper Wyndley Hut and Ashton Hut - possible including Islands hut too. Gives you a great chance to get up on the tops for 2-4 days. Again - once you get out of the valleys these are unmarked uncut routes - but once you clear the bush the going is clear on tussock and rock.

Sweet! I was gona look at the Eyer's next : ) I've not managed to get up to much in the last few months so gotta get on it!! Might go into Upper Princhester Hut in the Taki's tomorrow . .

G'day, Good trip into Aparima Hut and up to Spence Burn, where you can access the tops via a ridge(quite open) ner the hut. Spence Burn is nicer than Aparima Forks. In the Eyre Mountains I did a trip up to Mt Bee Hut along to Irthing then down the Cromel and back onto Mt Bee ( sbout 2-3 days. Nice views on a good day along the tops to Irthing. Tracks are only routes so a bit differcult to follow in places due to being a bit overgrown. I see in your other post your keen on Stewart Island and the Dusky both are very nice places to go walking. I was in Te Anau last summer working for DOC wish I done a bit more in the Takis and Eyres. Other good tramps in the area, Green Lake, Lake Monowai and the Pyke-Hollyford track/routes. Check out my website- www.hellmission.com, will add my Dusky photos in the next week or so but got some pictures of the two trips above on there and lots of Stewart Is pics from when I spent a month walking around there. Chur, let me know if you come up to the West Coast some good tramps up here. Take care Phil

Cheers Phil, I'd actually already looked at your site when I was researching the Taki's. I'll check it out again for those photos. I've been up to Green Lake both from Lake Monowai and from the Borlnd Saddle over the tops. The latter was a really great route. Just went up to Mount Bee last week . . lazy girl mission . . we walked up the track had a feed and lazy evening and then the next day just mooched along the ridge and back before going down : )

Glad you are enjoying the Takitimus. A great location and a well kept secret. Hopefully it can attract enough visitors to keep the facilities intact without the hoards discovering it!

I did a 3 day circuit in the Takis in the new year. We went to Spence Biv and up through that reasonable route in the forest mentioned above. A bit of Coprosma Propinqua which can be a bit clingy at times but very straightforward. It took 40 minutes to get to the bushline from the lovely Spence Hut (biv). We then went over Mt Spence and along the ridge then down to Telford Burn Biv which had had no visitors for 9 months although there were 10 cans of Speights and an imploding orange there that I discarded along with 30 cans of rusting, leaking food from the NZFS days. This cache had been attracting blowflies according to the comments in the hutbook. Initiative anyone? The biv is wrongly marked on the map. It is 400m downstream and it is easy to spot the DoC orange triangles and the big cairn. The upper bunk is an absolute bitch to get into and even worse to get out of. DoC have put the wooden obstacle board on the wrong end of the bunk. To get down, it involves doing the splits between a mantelpeice and the bench then swinging off your upper arm which is hooked over that board - very unpleasant. I wish I'd ripped it off the bunk. The route over to the upper Wairaki Biv is very pretty via Bull Basin then there's a bit of scrub so I recommend it is tackled in a downstream direction. I saw a big red spiker just downstream of Telford Bush Biv. The Wairaki biv hadn't been visited for 8 months. The track down to the Lower Wairaki hut hadn't been walked on for that time either so we flicked the fallen branches off the track as we went. The tracks are in good shape but are being neglected. They are little more than well-marked deer trails and if DoC aren't going to maintain them, then the few locals that do tramp/hunt need to get off their butts and do a bit of work in there to keep them from being lost like the Burke has been. I suspect the RWC kept the southerners from hunting in there this year. Plenty of animals abounding. Some patches of mud looked as though a herd had been through them.

I was actually surprised at how well marked and generally open the track to Spence was. I was expecting worse. We also flicked windfalls off the track. I think this is one area that the budget cuts DOC is facing will effect. Doubt they'll have the resources to give it much time : ( Lots of old food at Spence too but there didn't seem to be any fly/animal problems. We also saw plenty of deer sign. Entries in the hut book at Spence seemed to indicate hunters had been about though. I may take a look at the route you did. I have a couple of 3 day stretches off work in March. If the weathers good I want to spend one of them in the Taki's.

Yes, we enjoyed the ancient custard powder at the Spence with pineapple chunks. The second night, I spruiced it up with chocolate. We learned about the blowflies when we read the hut books. Lots of 3 day possibilities in there.