Activity Summary
Wednesday 11th January - Day 132
Drive to Arthurs Pass
Kura Tawhiti / Castle Hill
Cave stream scenic reserve
Lake Pearson
TranzAlpine drive (train replacement)
Otira viaduct
Thursday 12th January - Day 133
Millennium walk
Luke: Avalanche peak - Avalanche peak track up & Scott’s track down
Nicola: Bealey valley track, Arthur’s pass track & Temple Basin track
Wash in the Bealey river
Friday 13th January - Day 134
Devil's punchbowl
Arthur’s pass walking track to Bridal Veil Falls
Otira Valley track
Coffee, beer & Kea
Summary
Arthur’s Pass
Enter a new mountainous experience and Luke just gets more and more excited. Seemed we certainly were doing NZ South Island in the right order as each new place just seems to keep one upping the last.
Great walking, wicked views, lovely river and glorious sunshine to top it off.
Accommodation
Arthur’s Pass - Klondyke Corner Campsite
Number of nights - 3
Price per night per person - £5
The price of the campsite was dirt cheap but it was that for a reason. No showers, basic kitchen shelter, drop hole toilets, and barely any water for washing let alone zero drinking water. We slummed it for 3 days.
All this would be fine but there were a ton of sandflies and the pitch was a ‘find a spot anywhere’ sort of set up. As we would find with most mountain surrounded campsites they are predominantly hardcourt and would go on to be a big challenge for Luke but he eventually makes it work.
Turns out there was a great free toilet area in Arthur’s Pass village so our morning & end of day rituals ended up being conducted in this finer establishment.
We had absolutely zero choice in a campsite for a tent in Arthur’s Pass however so we just ran with it.
Diary
In Luke’s opinion, the real fun begins now.
Arthur’s pass is the first proper stop off for us in the Southern Alps of which we would be skirting in and around for the foreseeable future and Luke’s new love of climbing mountains would be well and truly tickled. Nicola’s feet would likely continue to get munched by a combo of her ‘special’ walking technique and shoes disagreeing with said technique.
On the scenic drive over to our DOC campsite in Arthur’s pass we had planned to stop off at various points along the way and with the rest of the day, continue on driving essentially recreating the best parts of the TranzAlpine train route but far far cheaper.
Our first stop was Kura Tawhiti / Castle Hill which seemed like the entrance to the Arthur’s pass National park; the glorious mountains in the backdrop while the site itself had a spattering of big old rocks almost like a mountain beginner session. It was only a short walk around the rock formations, made less entertaining by a drone being flown around. A good proportion of the time these are thankfully banned but honestly these things need to be perm grounded. They are so loud and annoying which completely takes away from the calm and peace. Fuck em.
We had some lunch here before carrying on down to Lake Pearson for a very quick look. Along the way to the village there were cracking views on the drive so had a couple of roadside pics as well.
One of the coolest stops was the Cave stream scenic reserve. We didn't go far into it but the steep walk down, river crossing and short wade through was pretty entertaining.
Once at the campsite we had to spend a fair amount of time choosing where to pitch up. The campsite in the mountains gave us some added complication in the hard rubble ground had top soil of about an inch and no grass area seemed to be flat. Our first attempt at a pitch site was so bad for the pegs we had to move. The slope was pretty savage but Luke managed to get a more stable tent set up with the pegs half way out, multiple pegs pinning down seriously hard parts and all sorts of angles going. A lot of effort on his part while swatting away sandflies and fortunately we had a lack of wind throughout our stay.
We emptied the car and continued through Arthur’s pass stopping at various points along the way up to Jackson before turning back. The most picturesque part was certainly the Otira viaduct with the mountains as a backdrop. Before returning we stopped via the DOC information centre to conclude that Luke was able to do his walk the next day.
Once back at the campsite we cooked a very basic meal utilising the kitchen shelter and then hid away in our tent from the sandflies. Not the most comfortable place, compounded slightly by the lack of showers for 3 days but it was very cheap and we had no other option for pitching a tent.
Great weather for a big walk day. Luke was going to solo hike Avalanche peak via the Avalanche peak track up & Scott’s track down. He was very excited.
Nicola had planned a variety of smaller walks which were the Bealey valley track, Arthur’s pass track & Temple Basin track.
We aimed to start the walk at a reasonable time in the morning as there was expected rain in the afternoon so once at the start of the avalanche peak track we both had a short walk up the Millennium path and then lovingly parted ways.
Luke story time:
Having already done the gorge walk in Palmy I was pretty comfortable doing the walk by myself with additional comfort after getting some information from the DOC guy. A lot of people do the Scott’s track up and down because it’s a lot more gradual up to avalanche peak but I’m enjoying seeing how far I’ve come with my new found fitness. So it was steep up and less steep down with the hope my left LCL plays ball.
Avalanche peak as a track was absolutely cracking fun. It was hella steep (1,000m gain in 3.5km) which was a solid workout plus the added fun of scrambling up a lot of the route. Had a lot more in the tank still.
After crossing the tree line (a pretty decent way up) it was like stepping into the mountain ridge as the beacons of Gondor were lit.
Absolutely loved it. Passed a few people on their way up but really not many. The most hilarious of them were some Aussie gym bros who were stacked but dying by the time they reached the top. Made me feel pretty good about my functional fitness.
The views at the top were stellar as well so I pitched up with a variety of other people and had some lunch. A French couple wouldn’t shut up so I moved down the peak a little bit to get some desired peace and quiet.
The route down wasn’t particularly exciting and is the part I don’t overly enjoy and most likely to stack it as I attempt to get down quicker. My left knee did indeed start twanging but thankfully it was near the end and didn’t need to overcompensate too much.
No falls later and Nicola and I were reunited at the Bealey river.
Overall:
8.75km
1,103m gain
3hr moving / 4hr 23min elapsed
Luke story time over.
Nicola story time: I headed to Bealey Valley track for a lower level hike, I'm still very aware of hiking alone as a woman and there weren't many people on the track, but armed with my hiking pole and penknife I started my hike. The first 2km were great, but the track slowly became more overgrown and with zero mobile signal I headed back after getting freaked out about breaking my leg and being uand started on the more popular routes, doing a 10k loop in all. From there I headed to the end of Luke's walk by the river until he turned up, with no mobile signal it makes planning much harder and we'd just relied on the old school method of arrange a time and place and just wait until the other shows up.
Nicola story time over.
Nicola had chosen an absolutely perfect spot to relax by the river and chill in the sun. Luke stripped down to his boxers and went straight into the water to wash off the sweat and sunscreen combo in that fresh fresh glacial river melt. God damn it was cold.
We spent the next few hours chilling by the river before the sun got too much and went back to the campsite via the Arthur’s pass village toilet block. This absolutely shat all over our campsite facilities (pun intended) so we ended up using this so Luke could cleanly insert his lenses into his eyes, trying to avoid the drama of Malaysia, and drop peaceful sandfly free deuces.
Back at the campsite we hid away again after cooking a basic meal although we did have a conversation with a Canadian family who had pulled their kids out of school early before the summer to travel NZ so we’re homeschooled on the road. The possibility of doing this from the UK blew our minds, sounded great and absolutely impossible. They then wanted Luke’s opinion on doing Avalanche peak with kids which absolutely stumped him given he has only just started getting himself up mountains, let alone advising on children.
We continued the Arthur’s pass walking itinerary by choosing to do a number of smaller walks given the previous day's antics. This proved a bit harder than we expected as the better rated walks being those that required slogging up a mountain and getting past the tree line. So quite hard work and Luke’s legs were not fresh.
A very easy short walk we did was to Devil's punchbowl, a short walk over to a large waterfall which was pretty good. On the viewing platform a NZ family were letting their children run wild which really ruined any potential vibes. We did see a number of people walk off track closer to the waterfall however and so decided to do the same in order to escape the unnecessary screaming. Turned out to be a blessing because the views were much better.
The Arthur’s pass walking track was a natural continuation, and the part Nicola hadn’t done the day before and over to Bridal Veil Falls. The best part of the walk really was the bench with a view near the falls, which was not overly impressive, so we sat and had lunch here while trawling through AllTrails to find another walk.
We settled on the Otira Valley track and it was great. Had a bit of steepness to it but it was an interesting and varied walk starting in low shrubbery, along a beautiful river and ending in the valley on bare rocks trying to find the cairns telling us where to go. With the views of the mountains and snow we turned back the way we came.
Once back in Arthur’s pass we sat and had a terrible coffee in the cafe before getting kicked out sooner than we expected, then realising the bar opposite was actually open so ducked in there for a beer and cheesy garlic bread. Great decision. We did get to see our first kea that clearly had gotten a habit for stealing people’s food!
Now well and truly knackered and dirty from not showering and walking we were pretty thankful it was our last night slumming it in our campsite.
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