We were away slightly
late but enjoyed a lovely mild, almost summer night. With darkness
at 8:30 pm and the arrival at Arrowtown about 9:30 pm we had some
eventful moments putting up the tents. Terry struggled putting up
his brand new tent - of course, you don't read the instructions! Ifs
learn from your mistakes by putting things where you think they should
go and when they don't fit refer to the instructions. I must say I'm
a hands-on person myself.
We had a stroll
down the main street of Arrowtown and made for the closest pub for
a cool beer and a late night chat. It was such a lovely night that
it seemed a shame to go to sleep, but nonetheless we did, between
the tossing and turning. Morning soon arrived, just as we managed
to go to sleep it seemed, still I was looking forward to seeing a
new area. While I had some cornflakes, milk powder and raisins, Terry
was enjoying some food from the bakery!! Of course, Terry didn't tell
me this until I commented on the fact that I had discovered the bakery
after eating my breakfast. I hate that!
Our party had the
task of taking on Big Hill while the other two parties of five travelled
in via the 4WD track with 20 river crossings or so. There is a very
interesting Chinese village at the start of the track and then...
well a very steep hill, surprise, surprise! As we gained height there
were great views into the Kawarau Valley and Wakatipu area. Some of
the track follows one of many tailraces around the barren hills, then
into some beech forest and up the saddle beside Big Hell (sorry, Hill).
Many of the trees were snapped by either snow or high winds, maybe
a combination of both. Thus Terry's lovely "forest stroll" turned
into a obstacle course. We made a competition of trying to find the
quickest way through, over, under, around, with everyone going a different
way, then meet on the other side for the next obstacle. By the way,
DON'T wear a cap - branches at head height are often hidden, until
suddenly, you guessed it... OUCH! Maybe a helmet with a brim would
be better.
A group of fluffy
black caterpillars, some wild goats, a welcome rain shower with a
rainbow, trick photos of our group on the terrain, and we met the
other parties for lunch down at the Arrow River within minutes of
each other. Just short of Macetown we found a lovely campsite beside
a sheltered bend in the river with a fire and one shady green willow
tree. I had a brief swim by myself, as no one else was game, then
relaxed in the warm sunshine.
Well blow me down,
Terry still wants to climb Advance Peak at 3:30 pm, fully confident
we will make it to the top and back before dark. I had my doubts,
but I was committed. (or is that "should be committed"? Ed)
The peak looked
a very, very long way from our campsite and was sitting at the end
of a long steep ridge topped with snow. Terry, Wilbert, Mary, Jacob
and myself started off aiming high.
Pace walking through
the main street of Macetown, splashing across a stream and straight
into the climb. Jacob turned back to leave four. Up and up and up
into the hot sunshine with little time for rests, Chris's water line
from the 1.5 litre bottle on the side of my pack was proving itself.
With brief map checks, we found the quickest lines along the long
steep ridge as the ground dropped away to either side. Unfortunately,
as time went on Advance Peak seemed to get higher and further away.
We dropped our packs just above the snow line with around 400m in
height to go. Unfortunately we didn't seem to move or feel much livelier
without packs. We had reached our pre-determined comfortable turnaround
time of 6 pm, but the peak was beckoning, it was ours and it had to
be climbed. We all agreed the very latest turnaround time would be
6:30 pm. Mary and Wilbert decided to wait for Terry and I around 250
vertical metres short and enjoy the views while catching their breath.
Terry and I carried on, of course the wind picked up, while not cold
it sure made breathing difficult while pushing steeper and steeper
slopes faster and faster. Fortunately we could see the last and steepest
50m of the climb was around the leeward side of the summit and would
break the wind for us. Terry and I made the top at around 6:20 pm
leaving a few minutes for photos and a quick bite. We had lovely views
out over the top of the now small (I mean) Big Hill, to Lake Wakatipu
and the Remarkables, the back of Coronet Peak, pointy Ben Lomond and
to the north Mt. Aspiring. We could also see the small bend in the
river where our camp was situated far, far away.
Well, now for the
descent, after all, we were only half way. Sliding on snow was quicker
- less pounding on tired legs and, well, simply fun! We met Mary and
Wilbert, then picked up the packs and found it easier to pick quick
routes when coming down from height. Unfortunately, the fallen tussock
leaves matted on the steep ground made slipping over the norm. Well,
I decided, why not just stay down on the ground and slide down? Once
again it was quicker, easier on the legs and we had a ball. In fact
we sought out steeper slopes and tried gaining a little speed to skip
over and between the tussock plants. We made it to the lower slopes
as the sun turned the sky and surrounding hills gold, orange then
light red. We were now on the flat Macetown road and had torches handy,
but made it back to camp just on full darkness.
Thanks to Fiona
and Jacob who had soup and tea ready for Terry and I as we sat around
a flickering orange open fire on a warm starry night, while the river
gently flowed from and into the darkness.
The others at camp
had used binoculars to watch us move up the ridge to the top. It's
a great feeling to know you have safely pushed yourself to near your
limits whilst achieving a goal and a lovely view. Of course we had
the right party members, equipment and weather. While the peak is
not at all hard to climb, pushing for time after an already long day
tramping with heavy packs over Big Hill proved a challenge.
Unfortunately I
still find it hard to remember the sound of the river is not actually
heavy rain, and even after a completely exhausting day it's still
hard to get a lot of sleep whilst camping. On Sunday we enjoyed a
more sedate day, leaving our packs by the restored bakery shop (I
made sure this one wasn't open before eating my breakfast).
We then walked up
the Rich Burn to look at Anderson and Homeward Bound Batteries. It's
almost impossible to imagine the noise and a lunar landscape broken
by a stream filled with miners. The miners must have endured terrible
extremes of cold and heat while the pub and grocery owners made the
money.
We walked out via
the Arrow River gorge, crossing the river many times, and enjoyed
a shower under a waterjet out of the pipeline as the weather was still
hot. It is a very barren landscape but much more interesting and fantastic
than I had imagined. There were many amazingly shaped rocks in a variety
of different colours, always sparkling with mica, and if you were
lucky, gold. Bright splashes of colour like blossom trees, freshly
sprouted willow trees and daffodils. Blue skies, golden tussock and
aqua swimming holes.
We were out around
4:30 pm and had to stop into another Arrowtown pub to sample another
even better tasting beer. Then came the trip home, which took hours
rather than the weeks it would have taken the miners. We didn't even
get wet crossing over the Clutha River - ifs amazing how they managed.
Our party was Fiona
Webster, Terry Duffield, Jacob Yackov and myself. Thanks to Bruce
and all the people who came, making the trip possible and much more
interesting than it otherwise would have been.
Paul Van Kampen
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