RIMU Multi-Sport - South Island of New Zealand
with Active New Zealand (http://activenewzealand.com/)
(2/24-3/9/2003)
Introduction
I actually booked this trip through The World Outdoors, but it is operated by Active New Zealand. It is a well organized tour, but I was not as pleased with this tour as I was with those operated by The World Outdoors. One aspect can't be helped--sometimes long distances have to be covered to get from one area to another thus you spend a LOT of time on the bus. The bus is comfortable and they stop frequently, but I still didn't like the inactivity. However, I had trouble with the 3-day Nelson Lakes hike because it was my first backpacking experience, and I quickly found out that the lead guide did not adhere to the principle of having one of the guides act as a "sweep." This wasn't a problem on the Nelson Lakes hike because Dan (who was filling in for the assistant guide who became ill) very capably provided this service, but it was a problem on some of the other hikes. Also there was not enough time allowed for some of the hikes. The biggest disappointment was at Mt. Cook. The itinerary read "This morning it's about an hour to Mt Cook village, at the head of Lake Pukaki. Mt Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand, and we have a stunning and little-known day hike to do here (weather permitting) to the main ridge above Mueller Glacier. It's a tough 3 to 4 hour slog up, but you'll remember the view of the Mueller Glacier and the peaks of the Main Divide forever!" The weather was PERFECT, but we didn't start the hike until 10:30 and were told we had to turn around by 2:30 and be down by 4:30. Since the hike is listed as a 5-7 hour round trip hike, a 6-hour time limit is ridiculous! I ended up stopping at Sealy Tarn as I knew after seeing the track that it was not the kind of trail that you could descend quickly. After the trip was over ANZ sent me a very detailed evaluation sheet which I very carefully and thoroughly filled out but obviously they are not interested in feedback as I did not received any reply.
For scenery I rate this trip a "perfect 10" but I give Active New Zealand an average rating.
Kia ora
Greetings from Aotearoa "The Land of the Long White Cloud "
I enjoyed two 14-day adventure trips in New Zealand from 2/24 - 3/23/2003. The first was a multi-sport trip & covered most of the South Island, we started in Christchurch and went around the island in a counter clockwise direction staying for at least one night in every city on the following map.
photos & text for Kaikoura, Nelson Lakes National Park, Punakaiki are in this file
photos & text for Okarito, Makarora, Queenstown, Milford Sound, & Mount Cook National Park are in the following file
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Our first stop was for lunch at a lovely small diner that let you feed some of the animals. Here Jacqui, one of our guides, is feeding a lamb.
This is the Kaikoura B&B that most of the group stayed in. However, this house didn't have enough rooms for all of us so Jody and I were taken to another B&B
Dave, our guide for the Swim with the Seals experience, and I in our wet suits
Dave is holding one of the crawfish that he located and took back with him for dinner. Unfortunately we didn't see any seals while we were in the water.
after we got out of the water we walked very close to several seals that were laying on the rocks in the sun
while driving to St. Arnaud to begin our next adventure Ange stopped the bus so we could see a LOT of seals and get some GREAT pictures
next we stopped for lunch & wine tasting at the Forrest Estate Winery in Marlborough - it was very interesting but I didn't participate in the wine tasting
one of the employees is explaining the various types of grapes to us & discussing the cultivation and picking of the grapes
our next adventure was a 3 days "backpacking" trip in the Nelson Lakes National Park (since we were staying in huts & not camping I did not understand that I would be carrying 30-40 pounds on my back - I survived but I NEVER want to do it again & I didn't know until 5/29 that I had incurred an overuse injury of my ilio-tibial muscle band)
map of Nelson Lakes National Park
Nelson Lakes National Park protects 102,000 hectares or 252,000 acres of the northernmost Southern Alps. The Alpine Fault that created the Southern Alps is a result of the Indo-Australian tectonic plate grinding northwards along the edge of the Pacific plate (and vice versa) and it runs pretty much through the middle of the park. The rocks in the northwest part were joined to Fiordland (480 km to the south) about 10 million years ago and they're still moving, albeit extremely slowly, pushing up mountains and ranges as they travel.
During the last ice age (around 12,000 years ago) massive glaciers gouged out troughs in the mountainous headwaters of the Buller River. Today these troughs are filled by Lakes Rotoiti and Rotoroa which are the largest lakes in the area and give the Park its name. Craggy mountains surround the lakes. The park offers a quiet experience of tranquil beech forests, mountains, clear streams, fields of tussock and lakes both big and small. The gateway to the park is the village of St. Arnaud.
The valleys are now covered mainly in beech forest, ranging from predominantly red beech on the valley floors to mountain beech on the higher slopes, with tussock, herb fields and alpine plants on the tops.
Our 3-Day Tramp in Nelson Lakes NP
St. Arnaud to Lakehead Hut: The hike along Lake Rotoiti to the Hut was easy except for the heavy pack that I was carrying. I was shocked by its weight but was determined to do it. The track was flat and easy to follow which was good since Ange left and let me hike most of it totally by myself which was not why I was paying to participate in a guided hike. However, the views of the lake and mountains helped me forget the pain in my shoulders and my loneliness. When I reached the hut I was introduced to NZ sandflies. They don't bother you when you are moving but attack in hordes when you stop. I quickly changed into long sleeves and long pants and that helped. The hut was adequate and the meal prepared by Ange and Dan was good. After dinner I found out the candle was attracting sandflies so I went to bed.
Lakehead to Lake Angelus: On the 2nd day we crossed several small streams then one rapidly flowing stream with water about knee high early and shortly after we started following the Hukere Stream and started climbing. We continued climbing all day! At first we were in a beech forest with some giant trees but gradually the trees got smaller and eventually disappeared as we climbed above the treeline.
The views at our lunch stop were marvelous, and we even refilled our water bottles from the stream. After lunch we began a near-vertical ascent to the ridgeline. I was VERY glad that I had two hiking poles. We climbed a total of 3,000 feet, and I'm not sure I would have made it without the help of Ange, who came back and carried my pack for the last hour and a half. Even without the pack I was so tired I fell 3 times scrambling up the loose rocks. The Lake Angelus hut was full that night and deservedly so as it's a good hut in an utterly beautiful location. I thank God for Dan who stayed with me ALL day and helped me both physically and mentally.
Lake Angelus along Roberts Ridge back to St. Arnaud: We scrambled up one more small hill with a lot of loose scree to get to the top of the ridge then followed the ridge for a LONG time. We had to do a lot of scrambling around some bad sections. We saw some very beautiful plants and were told they were "vegetable sheep" (I will discuss these and include pictures later). We also saw stunning views of the surround-ing ranges and peaks. Eventually we had to come down off the ridge and at this point the trail began a LOT of short steep switchbacks. I'm glad I was going down and not up. It was a good 3 days with stunning scenery, good huts and some challenging sections that I managed with a LOT of help.
in brief
Day 1 we hiked along the lake
Day 2 we hiked up the valley & up to the top of the ridge
Day 3 we hiked along Roberts Ridge & down steep short switchbacks back to the road
this picture shows a closeup of our first day hike along the left side of the lake all the way to the end BUT day 2 and the first half of day 3 isn't on this map--however, the steep descent off the ridge is shown followed by a less steep descent down to the road
my first view of Lake Rotoiti and as you can see it is VERY beautiful
the track went through a beautiful beech forest
possums (& other predators--stoats, ferrets, cats, dogs) are a big problem & they are trapping them & even trying to prevent them from climbing trees by wrapping sheets of aluminum on trees
this is one of the little creatures (a possum) that is doing so much damage in New Zealand (for example, they are killing birds and also eating their eggs)
the Lakehead Hut
Steve, Val, & John
(the hiker at the end of the table is from Spain and he is trying to figure out what he wants to do for the next part of his vacation)
Clare (and her husband Arthur) selected top bunks the first night--we had sleeping bags that we spread out on the mattress platforms
at the beginning of the 2nd day we hiked across the valley in our aqua shoes crossing several streams before putting on our hiking boots and starting to climb!
as you can see we are no longer in the flat open valley
as you can see from this & the next picture the Hukere Stream was beautiful as it plunged down the cliff we were climbing
here I'm resting & Dan took a picture of me & my pack (small compared to his) but too big for me
here we can see where we are going as we climb up to the top of the ridge--of course, we don't know IF that is the top or IF more lies beyond (the answer turned out to be YES there is more)
2 beautiful views
this is PART of the beautiful view at our lunch stop and ...
...after lunch we started climbing
Angelus Hut is located near the ridgeline beside beautiful Lake Angelus
Lake Angelus
Ange cooking dinner in the Angelus Hut
this beautiful reflection of the mountains was visible in the lake the next morning
from the top of the ridge Angelus Hut located on the arm of land in the middle of the lake looks very small and insignificant
here I used the zoom lens to get a little better view of the hut from the top of the ridge
Vegetable sheep is a dense, compact shrub which form irregularly shaped, cushion-like masses 7-12" or more in diameter and 4-6 inches thick. They are so tightly packed together that only their growing tips are visible, and the surface is covered with a dense, brush-like mass of white hairs. The flower heads are about 1 inch in diameter and are sunk amongst the foliage. They can be found on the South Island in low- to high-alpine regions from eastern Nelson and Marlborough to Central Otago and are usually found on rock faces and rock outcrops but sometimes occur on shattered but stable rock jutting out of scree.
It is native to NZ and has a white or grayish appearance from a distance. Only the tips of the leaves are visible and the bluish-green leaves seen through the white hairs creates a beautiful effect. With the leaves and branchlet tips all pressed into a hard mass the plant has an almost perfect protection against the elements of its harsh environment. Inside the cushion, protected from sun and wind, the old leaves form a rotting, sponge-like mass which holds water and ensure that the plant does not suffer from lack of moisture. Its roots are usually deeply anchored into a rock crevice.
view from the ridge
the trail can be seen extending off into the distance just below the top of the ridge
here the trail crosses a rather tricky pile of boulders
at this point we are traveling right along the ridge
Rotoiti Lake from the Ridge
a map of the entire Inland Pack Track--we hiked the small loop at the bottom opposite the label "Punakaiki Township"
my first view of a Rimu tree (the trip is named after this tree)
a Koru Fern Frond - the frond has a curled-over tip which unfurls and becomes a fernleaf; the koru, represents the unfolding of new life and renewal and the spiral shape is a dominate part of Maori carving and tattoo
closeup of the koru tree frond
Steve in the NZ temperate rain forest
a Kiwi in a tree
another Rimu tree
Paparoa River
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