A fantastic weekend was had by a large group of 20 enthusiastic trampers in the Capies Valley. The friendship created over 3 days was illustrated by the comradeship, which had developed by Sunday evening. All participants had thoroughly enjoyed the superb late summer weather and tranquillity provided by the Caples Valley.
This popular trip was capably lead by charismatic leader Ron Minnema. Ron divided the party into five groups of experienced and members new to the OTMC experience such as myself. At 6 pm on Friday evening two vans departed Dunedin with a positive weekend weather forecast After 6 1/2hours of non incident travel we were relieved to finally arrive at the shelter at the start of the Caples and Greenstone Tracks, the last 2 hours from Queenstown being made more challenging by the uncompleted flood repairs to the Glenorchy Road. The majority of the party sought refuge on the concrete floor of the well equipped shelter. First lesson of the OTMC was that members do not like to sleep in on Saturday mornings! By 8 am most groups were on the track whereas Nic Schofield and myself were still dismantling our tent after a prolonged sleep. This meant that our group of five, lead by experienced tramper Fiona, was last to leave the shelter.
All parties were destined for rendezvous at the 20 bunk Upper Caples Hut, approximately 16 km upstream from the Shelter. Tents were carried by some in order to lighten the demand for bunk space at the hut. The Caples track can be described as a comfortable tramp on generally easygoing terrain. Early morning cloud cover had dissipated by the time we reached the Mid Caples Hut for morning tea and the warm weather was to continue for the remainder of the weekend. The valley features 3 species of beech
- red, mountain and silver. Hilda highlighted the smaller leafed red beech to our group as we progressed up the valley.
An extended lunch break was had at the sun?soaked Upper Caples Hut, which allowed time for 'recharging of the batteries' and blood donations to the local sand fly community. Afternoon activities included various independent explorations of the Caples Valley and surrounds. Alan set off in the direction of Kay Stream while our group was joined by Bess, Peter and Ron for a challenging tramp up the Steele Creek Route. Packs were lightened, and in some cases discarded, for the climb up to the bushline at 1200 metres.
This route was more difficult to follow and all found the climb challenging. We marvelled how Jonette Service of the OTMC had set off individually on this alpine crossing with a fully laden pack earlier that morning, After 2 1/3 hours of 'blood sweat and tears, we were rewarded with glorious views of the Humboldt mountains, Death Valley and Fraser River to the north and the broad Caples Valley and Lake Wakatipu to the cast. An interesting observation from this vantage point was the fully forested south facing slopes of the valley in contrast to the burnt off north facing side of the valley. The rapidly setting afternoon sun and equally rapidly failing energy levels meant an assault of the summit 300 metres above was left until next time!!
Meanwhile back at the hut, Bess's group of Sue, Rachel and Judy were setting exceptional OTMC culinary standards for their evening meal, which included "fresh salmon and lightly sautéed fresh vegetables". I was astounded at the quality of meals prepared and the lashings of whipped cream available in the slightly crowded hut that evening. I believe the secret to Bess's group's success can be attributed to a pre trip meeting.
Sunday morning and the weather was again fine and frosty. Jenny and Chris set off (in a more depleted party than was indicated on Saturday evening) at 6 am to the McKellar Saddle. The remainder of the groups tramped at their own pace to meet at 3 pm at the shelter. Several parties reported 'running the gauntlet' past a rather upset Hereford Bull "with large horns" prior to the Mid Caples Hut All parties arrived on time and some members, in true 0 T M C fashion, enjoyed a very refreshing swim in a superb back eddy located by David.
Thanks to Alan for acting as a packhorse on Sunday afternoon and also to Su for providing the vaseline for our squeaky trailer. Special thanks to Ron Minnema for organising such great weather for this trip and making an excellent job with Fiona of cleaning the hut A potential future trip in this area could involve a crossing of McKellar Saddle by two parties, with van keys swapped at the Upper Caples Hut.
Graham Brown for Ron Minnema, Vivienne Brennsell, Peter Sanderson, Allan Perry; Jenny Lowe, Greg Powell, Richard Powell, Jenny M~. Fiona MePhee, Hilda Firth, Graham Brown, Nick Schofield, David Jackson; Bess Taylor, Sue Galloway, Rachel Boon, Judy Wilson; Chris Wells, Leslie Turner, and Su White
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