South Island Advice
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Hello all,
This is my first time posting on this site, and I was hoping I could get some advice for an upcoming trip to NZ in December-January.
While it probably would have been beneficial for me to have started this thread before booking some of the Great Walks two weeks ago, I still have a wide open calendar and need to figure out how I want to fill it up so that I can maximize my time while I'm in your wonderful country.
While I haven't booked my airfare yet my plans currently have me arriving in Queenstown at the start of December and from there I will head down to Te Anau to start the Kepler Track. My reservations for the following two weeks are as follows:
Kepler Track:
December 6 - Luxmore Hut
December 7 - Iris Burn Hut
December 8 - Moturau Hut
December 9-10: Te Anau
Milford Track:
December 11 - Clinton Hut
December 12 - Mintaro Hut
December 13 - Dumpling Hut
December 14 - Spending the night at Milford Sound at Milford Sound Lodge
Routeburn Track:
December 15 - Lake Mackenzie Hut
December 16 - Routeburn Falls Hut
After completing the Routeburn Track my plans are completely open. I was thinking that I will need to restock on supplies and dry my gear in either Glenorchy or Queenstown before heading back into the mountains since I will essentially be doing the Milford and Routeburn back-to-back, but other than that I have no idea where to go from here.
Right now I am thinking that I will want to do the Rees-Dart (with a side trip up Cascade Saddle) or the Wilkin-East Matukituki Route before leaving Mt Aspiring NP, but can't seem to make up my mind on which one to add to the itinerary. Seeing how the Kepler, Milford and Routeburn Tracks will have lots of trampers on the track I feel like I should be looking for a little more solitude at this point in my travels. Because of that I am probably leaning more towards the Wilkin-East Matukituki Route, but could be easily be persuaded otherwise...
Before I go any further I should probably give you all a little bit of background about me so that you can tailor your advice accordingly. My name is Andrew and I am a 28-year-old male from the States. After quitting my desk job last May I put about 2,000 kms on and off the track (mostly in the western US) before moving to Australia in March of this year. Before I touch down in NZ I am planning on tramping around Tasmania for the bulk of November, so when you factor that in with all of the other hikes on my agenda (Larapinta, Thorsborne, etc.) I should be ready to hit the ground running (not literally) when I arrive in Queenstown come the beginning of December.
While I do not have any technical rock climbing/ice climbing skills, I am very comfortable with scrambling/route-finding and prefer to be above the tree line as much as possible. I really can't emphasize this enough. I love getting high! Really though, the more passes I can incorporate into my treks, the better.
While I am an experienced tramper I should note that all of my treks in NZ will be solo. I mention this more in the logistical sense as I will be the only one able to carrying all of my own gear, food and water. Compounding that weight problem is my affinity for carrying my DSLR (5DmkII) with me, which sometimes includes a rather heavy tripod as well. This fact makes me a bit of a pariah over on Backpackinglight, but what can you do... I will say that the camera gear makes me very wary of river crossings. While I have found ways to keep my camera gear dry in rain, I have yet to find a foolproof way of submerging camera without having a panic attack.
As far as schedule goes my time in NZ is only limited by my budget, which, while not "extravagant", should be enough to get a solid feel of the South Island. That said, if there was a way to include a trip over to the North Island for the Tongariro Great Walk I would do damn near anything to make it happen.
So going back to the Rees-Dart Wilkin-East Matukituki dilemma...
I'm aware that the weather in December can be quite erratic at times so I have been thinking that I should gravitate to areas where a rain shadow might provide me cover from mother nature's unpredictability. Not sure if such an area exists in Mt Aspiring NP, but that might be the deciding factor between the Rees-Dart and Wilkin-East Matukituki Route if a noticeable difference exists.
So if I go with the latter my itinerary would look something like this:
December 17-18: Resupply and rest up in Glenorchy/Queenstown (if doing the Rees-Dart) or Makarora (for the Wilkin-East Matukituki Route)
Wilkin-East Matukituki Route (starting from Blue Pools to avoid any issues w/ river crossings):
December 19: Young Hut
December 20: Siberia Hut
December 21: Kevin Forks Hut (side trip to Crucible Lake en route)
December 22: Top Forks Hut
December 23: Ruth Flat
December 24: Arrange Pickup near Cameron Flat off of Wanaka Mount Aspiring Road back to Makarora
From Makarora I am at a loss of where to go next. I know I want to attempt the trek described here (http://www.tramper.co.nz/?8459) but I am also planning on spending ~5 days day-hiking around Arthur's Pass NP... Since flying out of Christchurch would probably give me the most flexibility in regards to air travel out of NZ it might make sense to do Arthur's Pass last. So maybe head north on State Highway 6 to get there?
Wow... I just scrolled through my wall of text and it's starting to dawn on me that my "questions" have morphed into a novel. In attempt to make life easier on anyone kind enough to provide me with their insight I will go ahead and stop here. For those who just skim through text, my biggest questions I need help solving are:
1) Which track would you recommend for a solo hiker who enjoys high alpine tracks above all else: the Rees-Dart or the Wilkin-East Matukituki Route?
2) If the remaining "musts" on the itinerary include Arthur's Pass NP and Nelson Lakes NP, which order would you do them in? Not sure if it matters but my plan is to head to SE Asia when I leave NZ, so there's that...
3) Any other tracks that I have foolishly left of my list of "musts"?
Thanks in advance for all the help!
Firstly, hi and welcome to the site! It was a pleasure to read a long descriptive post such as yours instead of the usual "Whats your favourite track?" with no background from the poster to put it into context! So thankyou for that.
Re the Kepler, you don't need to stay at Moturau hut, you can walk comfortably from Iris Burn hut to the Rainbow Reach swingbridge and catch a minivan back to Te Anau (costs aprox $10, runs daily throughout Summer), or you can walk the whole way back to Te Anau in about 9 hours. But if you have already booked Moturau dont worry about it, take your time on the walk down from Iris Burn and hopefully you'll have a nice afternoon to lie on the beach at Lake Manapouri!
The Wilkin/East Matukituki/Gillespie Pass region is my favourite area in the lower South Island. That would get my vote.
"Wilkin-East Matukituki Route (starting from Blue Pools to avoid any issues w/ river crossings):
December 19: Young Hut
December 20: Siberia Hut
December 21: Kevin Forks Hut (side trip to Crucible Lake en route)
December 22: Top Forks Hut
December 23: Ruth Flat
December 24: Arrange Pickup near Cameron Flat off of Wanaka Mount Aspiring Road back to Makarora"
Crucible Lake isnt really en route to Kerin Forks. Crucible lies to the North of Siberia hut (about 4-5 hours return) while Kerin Forks and the Wilkin is 1-2 hours to the South. If you are feeling up to it you can visit Crucible on the same day you come over Gillespie Pass from Young Hut. It makes for a 10-11 hour day but saves you some back tracking. From Siberia hut its about 7 hours to Top Forks hut, the hardest part is getting across the Wilkin river at Kerin Forks. The Wilkin North branch lakes are stunning, well worth a visit but that adds another day and is weather limited. There are 2 rivers to get across which are impassable after rain.
Something you havn't factored into your journey is that Rabbit Pass is also weather dependent. You need good weather for this crossing. Ruth Flat to the Matukituki East/West confluence is a long day in the region of 10 hours. Its quite easy to hitchhike back to Wanaka from here but you want to reach the road about midday in order to strike the return traffic from the Rob Roy glacier day walk. Best bet would be to camp in the lower East Matukituki (mabe visit the Rock of Ages biv up the Kitchener valley) and exit the next day. So:
December 19: Young Hut
December 20: Siberia Hut via Crucible lake
December 21: Top Forks Hut
December 22: Top Forks Hut (Wilkin lakes)
December 23: Ruth Flat
December 24: Lower East Matukituki camp/Rock of Ages biv
December 25: Hitchhike out
The above is also assuming good weather. If it rains you will have to sit it out or cancle visiting Crucible lake, you wont get across the Wilkin without a jetboat which dont run when the rivers in flood, you can get blocked by sidestreams between Kerin Forks and Top Forks, you wont get at all to the Wilkin lakes, and Rabbit Pass becomes suicidally dangerous in the wet. The East Matukituki is bridged where you need to cross it but flooded side streams will ruin your day.
Thanks for the feedback Yarmoss! While I had expected my trip to New Zealand to require some serious thought and preparation, it wasn't until I picked up a copy Jim Dufresne's "Tramping in New Zealand" and started browsing Backpackinglight that the seemingly infinite number of tramping opportunities started to come into focus - a realization that has left me a bit overwhelmed at times. So you have no idea (or maybe you do) how much I appreciate you taking the time to dissect my travel plans and provide me with alternatives.
While I'm fairly certain that my book mentioned your point about the Kepler, I think the approach the author took was "you came all this way, why rush it". Now there is the obvious financial tradeoff that comes with staying extra nights in huts, but when it came time to book my reservations for the Great Walks I decided I would take extra time whenever possible so that I could maximize my enjoyment and (more importantly) photo opportunities. You never know when bad weather will rear its ugly head and literally dampen what should otherwise be a day(s) of some of the best tramping to be found anywhere in the world. So I think I'm going to follow your advice and just enjoy Lake Manapouri!
But you bring up a very important point: weather. While I didn't mention it in my initial post I had already considered how Mother Nature might impact my plans, and as I mentioned before I fear river crossings (more for my camera's sake than my own) almost as much as the sand flies. So your comments in regards to crossing the Wilkin River at Kerin Forks and the traverse of Rabbit Pass both carry potential weather-related problems that I don't take lightly.
I feel like it's almost inevitable that I will encounter some bad weather on a tramp of this distance given the time of year, but hopefully it doesn't come at the worst possible times. In the event it does here was what I was thinking.
Wilkin River at Kerin Forks: If it's just an isolated patch of bad weather I figure I will just wait it out and continue once conditions improve and the jet boat arrives. However, in the event all of my bad karma comes to roost I will at least have multiple days worth of food and a 3-man tent to ride it out in. So worst-case scenario here is that I cut my tramp short and take the jet boat (that I was planning on using to cross the Wilkin River) back to Makarora. I will say that this would be rather unfortunate because in the event my worst case scenario comes true I will get to spend the entire time looking across the river at the inviting Kerin Forks Hut just a few hundred meters away.
Rabbit Pass: Bad weather here could be far more problematic, especially if I run into a multiple-day delay crossing the Wilkin River. The main issue is that there really would be no way for me to backtrack back to Makarora from here now that I will have already crossed the river. The only thing I can think of that could help me make an informed decision as to weather to cut my tramp short (as mentioned above) would be to have the jet boat operator bring me an updated forecast when they met me at Kerin Forks.
Now if Mother Nature happens to be kind to me then the two choke points above become moot points and your Wilkin North branch Lakes suggestion will be much appreciated, but I guess I won't know until the jet boat operator picks me up and (hopefully) provides me with an updated forecast for the coming days.
As for your other suggestions I really appreciate the clarification in regards to Crucible Lake. When I was looking at a map on the DOC's website it appeared that the lake was almost due west of the track between Young Hut and Siberia Hut (and almost equidistant from both). And after reading the trail descriptions it seemed like it might be better to backtrack from Siberia Hut to hit it (I had mistakenly thought that the Kerin Fork Hut was on the north side of the Wilkin River crossing, hence why I listed it as the campsite for the 21st) rather than making the side trip en route to Siberia Hut as you suggested. So thanks for clearing that up for me; that's exactly what I was hoping for when I made my initial post.
Your comments about flooded side streams and dangerous river crossings definitely make me a bit wary, (once again, for my camera's sake more than anything) especially from Kerin Forks Hut onward. While I still feel like the Wilkin-East Matukituki is the best tramp for my experience/fitness level and track preferences, would the Rees-Dart circumvent the stream/river crossing issues that come with this tramp?
Thanks again for the quick response. I'm trying to get this portion of my planning ironed out as quickly as possible in the event I decide to book a tramp of the Abel Tasman, Heapy, Tongariro, etc. further down the road.
Any advice in regards to whether I should head to Nelson Lakes or Arthur's Pass when I leave the Mt Aspiring area?
Siberia Hut, part of the Gillespie Pass circuit, has DOC wardens stationed in it for the summer months and they have updated weather forecasts each morning. Also, Siberia Hut is the starting point for the Siberia Experience guided walkers who fly in to an airstrip on the other side of the Siberia Stream, so the warden will have the time for flights out of the valley and jetboats at Kerin Forks. As you will be carrying a tent with you (I didn't realise this in your first post) you have the option of camping anywhere in the Siberia valley... you could come over Gillespie from Young Hut, visit Crucible Lake and camp in the upper valley if you don't want to walk down to Siberia hut in the same day. This will save you 1 hours walking. Calling in at Siberia hut the next day on your way past will give you the Weather forecast and jet boat times.
The Wilkin is a sizable river to be sure, but you can get across it with dry gear. It really depends on the day. Jet boat is your only sure way of getting across dry though. If you get across the river and decide to end your trip without going across Rabbit Pass, then standing on the river bank and waving to the jet boat will signal them that you want a pick up. So don't worry about being stranded on the Wilkin true right. The side streams between Kerin Forks and Top Forks are all tiny, but I have been flooded in at Kerin Forks before and I know how massive they can become after 2 days of rain. In reality though, once you are across the Wilkin rivers wont really affect you again until you are in the East Matukituki (with the exception of the North Branch lakes).
Have you looked at a topo map of the area yet? This should help you out:
http://www.topomap.co.nz/NZTopoMap?v=2&ll=-44.216442,169.056882&z=14
The Rees/Dart is also susceptible to flooding with numerous un-bridged side streams to cross. DOC has plans to bridge the 25 Mile Stream which can block trampers right at the start of the track, but I'm not sure when this will be completed. The side trip to Cascade Saddle has killed people before in flooded streams. So you are just as vulnerable there and the scenery, while great, is not as great as the Wilkin/Siberia in my opinion.
Nelson Lakes are Authur's Pass are both regions I havn't tramped in. Someone else will have to help you with that.
in recent years there's been bad storms going through right through till mid or late january.
The Rees-Dart is a good tramp but it’s the side trip to Cascade Saddle that really makes it. The Rees valley narrows from a wide and grassy flat to a short sharp rock-scramble to the top of the pass. However, IMO, the tramp down the Dart from Dart hut is a bit ho-hum, really.
I’ve not crossed Rabbit Pass but I’ve researched it and decided that I’d leave that one until I’m with someone who has done it previously. “We thought we were going to die” seems to be a common theme - doing it solo is more challenge than I would take on.
An interesting alternative in the same area is a loop from East Matukituki Valley (Raspberry Flat) via Cascade Saddle, Snowy Creek, Lochnagar and Shotover Saddle : see http://www.tramper.co.nz/?3315 for some of the route. Alternatively, since you’ll have just come off the Routeburn, start at Muddy Creek (Rees Valley) and tramp up to the head of the valley and Snowy Creek. Instead of going down the Snowy (traditional Rees/Dart tramp), go right (up the Snowy) and through to Lochnagar (see http://www.tramper.co.nz/?3317), Shotover Saddle and down to Raspberry Flat. The options (in good weather) are almost endless.
Hmm, Nelson Lakes or Arthur’s Pass – in December I think I’d lean towards Nelson Lakes - higher probability of good weather, less chance of snow and ice, longer on the tops. With Nelson as a base, you can also access Kahurangi NP (including Douglas Range and Arthur Tablelands)
…. and don’t forget St. Arnaud to Lewis Pass – gosh, such choice !
I'd try to downsize the tent and as for carrying water, most of our streams are safe to drink from as long as you choose a side stream where you can't envisage someone clambering above it to defecate near. Our environment can't retain giardia for longer than 18 months as we have no host e.g. beaver (pers. comm. John Aitken, microbiologist).
Rabbit Pass - the caveats refer to the Waterfall Face. Not so bad in dry weather and going uphill I imagine. I've only had the pleasure of descending it in the rain. Felt like kissing the ground once I reached level terrain. You should be as fit as a buck rat by that stage.
Just to reassure you about our rivers, they were known as "the NZ death". Might be worth catching a Mountain Safety Council river crossing course. They're usually held around Nov/Dec. There's one in Christchurch in Nov which is no use to you but there may be others in Dec.
Nelson Lakes and Kahurangi are my stamping grounds and (of course) I highly recommend them!
In my experience after 3 or 4 weeks in one area, say Fiordland, I need to move on to something different. Shifting North certainly gives that as up here nothing is much over 2000m. Not so dramatic and a bit more benign (although still not to be taken lightly. People die in these mountains too!) Also lots of huts, many with gas cookers and heaters - which I still cannot quite get my head around!
The Travers- Sabine is a good circuit but, personally I like to explore the side streams which often have huts in them too. Cuppola Basin hut being my favourite. Another is Hopeless hut with a fine route over Sunset Saddle to Angelus. Some of the peaks hereabouts are relatively easy to climb too.
Kahurangi also has many huts, tracks and routes, many of them easy but there are always side trips and 'tops' to be explored.
A side note for anyone thinking of coming here is that from February onwards wasps are a problem. As I am a bit allergic I have actually stopped going into Nelson Lakes NP in late summer which is a real bummer! One trip I did up the Travers we estimated one nest EVERY 30m ON THE TRACK and, of course, many off it too!!!
Wow! Thanks for all the feedback everyone.
@ Yarmoss: Thanks for the reminder about the DOC hut warden at Siberia Hut; I had completely forgotten that someone with the DOC would be there (wish we had something like the NZ hut system in the States). Having someone with an updated forecast and time table for the jet boats really addresses some of the biggest concerns I had going into the hike... well... until I read bernieq's comment about Rabbit Pass.
As for the tent, I hadn't thought to mention it mostly because I wasn't planning on carrying it with me until I finished up with the Great Walks. Over on Backpackinglight the general consensus was that staying in huts was part of the tramping "experience" in NZ and recommended staying in huts whenever possible. My plan was to pay a fee to store it in Te Anau, but now that leaves me with the dilemma of how I get it back (hadn't thought of that and wasn't planning on returning to Te Anau after finishing the Routeburn, doh!).
But seriously though, the link with the topo map and insight on river/stream crossings is a huge help.
@ bernieq: So... "We're going to die"... Yeah, that sounds... Scary! My Tramping in New Zealand guide mentioned that Rabbit Pass was for experienced trampers only but they failed to articulate it quite the way you did. In all honesty I hadn't researched the pass in great detail as I was still trying to decide between the Rees-Dart and the Wilkin-East Matukituki. At this point I'm leaning more towards the latter, but you bring up some interesting alternatives...
Unfortunately I am currently being forced into using my iPhone (hiking in the Southern Flinders Ranges in South Australia), so I'm not sure that it is really lending itself to route planning at the moment. But I should be back in "civilization" (says the guy with the iPhone) tomorrow morning so I will have to check those out.
@ Honora: Yeah, the (glorified) 3-man tent hasn't made me many friends over on BPL but in its defense the thing is extremely light for its size. Since I was planning on doing a lot of solo hikes after quitting my job last year I went ahead and bought a solo tent (TarpTent Stratospire 1), but after a few nights use I realized it just wasn't for me. The build quality of TT is second to none (it held strong during an absolute monsoon in Yellowstone) but I realized pretty quickly that I just prefer being able to bring my gear inside my tent at night and having space to move around in the event the weather goes south. Different strokes for different folks, but my Big Agnes Copper Spur UL3 is a 1kg penalty that I'm willing to pay for the extra comfort...
After reading everyone's comments last night before bed it got me thinking:
1) Would you all carry a tent for a 6-8 week backpacking trip in NZ? The hut system definitely begs the question...
2) It seems as though the weather will be a huge question mark for me in December. While I was aware of this coming in I thought it made sense to book my Great Walks on the front end of the Christmas holidays so that I could visit some of the more remote areas of the South Island during the height of the madness. As I mentioned in my original post, time is one of the few things working in my favor for this trip. And while I haven't checked with the DOC Great Walks office to see if this would even be an option, but if you guys were in my shoes would you pay the rebooking fees (not sure what those would be now that I made my reservations two weeks ago) and essentially slide this entire trip back to the middle of January?
If doing so would mean a noticeable improvement in the weather (and sand flies, fingers crossed) I think I would have to bite the bullet and pay the fees. Not sure what it will cost me on the back end (i.e. time in SE Asia), but if it buys me an extra month to explore Tasmania, allows me to be in Sydney for New Years, AND enables me to hit the South Island during the best window for weather; I think I'm going to have to do it.
Thanks again for all your help guys. I should be able to look more into the alternatives mentioned by bernieq and check availability with the DOC Great Walks office tomorrow when I get back on the laptop. My apologies for any typos; the iPhone keypad kills me!
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| Forum | Tracks, routes, and huts |
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| Started by | uncledew85 |
| On | 3 June 2013 |
| Replies | 13 |
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