To avoid the narrow winding road from Arthur’s Pass to
Klondyke Corner, Rob and I turned into railtrack hobos for a while. We jumped
clear of the tracks when a maintenance vehicle suddenly came towards us – we thought
we would be in big trouble, but the driver just smiled and waved at us. It was
a great way to travel fast in a straight line, but eventually we had to leave
the tracks and climb a brier bank to the road - blood trickling from Rob’s
finger - short cuts don’t always pay. A cheeky kea harassed us as we ate lunch
at the Klondyke shelter. Even though it was only early afternoon, we couldn’t
resist a slight detour into the Bealey Hotel for a cold beer before continuing
on to Bealey Hut for the night. |
| Waimakariri River |
 |
| Lagoon Saddle |
We loved the trail up and over Lagoon Saddle – the climb was
gentle, the terrain varied – through beech and exotic forest, tussock tops, alongside
pretty tarns, over river flats and gentle rivers. The forecast bad weather
never eventuated, the tracks were obvious and well maintained apart from a few “blowdowns”
(fallen trees), a cute A-frame hut provided a comfortable spot for morning tea,
and we saw kaka, kea and flocks of brown creepers.
The 3-wire emergency bridge over the Hamilton River was a laugh – it was so high that a pile of rocks had been stacked up underneath it, and even when I managed to clamber to the top of pile I still couldn’t reach the wires to haul myself up. Rob managed to swing himself up like a monkey, but thank goodness the river was low so I could just splash my way across. Hamilton hut was pure luxury after the old Bealey Hut and the historic West Harper Hut with its dirt floor. But, where is everyone? Again, no one arrived to share the 20 bunks with us.
The 3-wire emergency bridge over the Hamilton River was a laugh – it was so high that a pile of rocks had been stacked up underneath it, and even when I managed to clamber to the top of pile I still couldn’t reach the wires to haul myself up. Rob managed to swing himself up like a monkey, but thank goodness the river was low so I could just splash my way across. Hamilton hut was pure luxury after the old Bealey Hut and the historic West Harper Hut with its dirt floor. But, where is everyone? Again, no one arrived to share the 20 bunks with us.
 |
| Harper River Track |
It was a foot-numbing experience criss-crossing the Harper
River down through the Craigieburn Forest Park and into Glenthorne Station –
now owned by a rich American. The landscape around us was enormous and we were
dwarfed by rounded and eroded mountain tops on either side.
We made good time to Harper Village, got confused by directions to a campsite, walked about six extra kilometres and wasted nearly two hours. Ended up camping by some derelict baches but at least there was a composting toilet and a tap, and Rob turned one of the old, partly demolished baches into a handy kitchen/dining area with table and “chairs”.
 |
| View from Lake Coleridge Lodge |
The next day was all on back roads, a very long day
especially as we missed a track and again walked about six extra kms. By the
time we arrived, hot and dusty, we needed all the pampering we got from Toni
and Dean at the Lake Coleridge Lodge. They gave us a warm welcome, a lovely
room and wonderful food. So we were well rested and ready to go by morning.
Notes:
Day 31: Arthur’s Pass to Bealey Hut. 14 km
Day 32: Bealey Hut to Hamilton Hut. 15 km
Day 33: Hamilton Hut to Harper Road campsite. 23 km
Day 34: Harper Road to Lake Coleridge Lodge. 33 km
Notes:
Day 31: Arthur’s Pass to Bealey Hut. 14 km
Day 32: Bealey Hut to Hamilton Hut. 15 km
Day 33: Hamilton Hut to Harper Road campsite. 23 km
Day 34: Harper Road to Lake Coleridge Lodge. 33 km
I'm most envious of the Hamilton Hut night and the Lake Coleridge Lodge sojourn. Says quite a bit about my back country ambitions doesn't it? I'm so glad this bit at least was reasonably event free, despite the extra 12 kms.
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