Mountain Packraftineering on the Merrie Range
I’m not sure why it has taken me all this time to find the Merrie Range, which lies on the Dusky Track or more accurately, the Dusky Route, since DOC have given up on it. It's been there on the map and I've only given it a cursory look over until recently when I noticed a series of lakes running north from Lake Roe – maybe good mountain packraftineering country? It’s been an awful spring here in Southern NZ and then as Christmas approached, it looked like a fine spell for the best part of a week. Gavin was not available and Belinda was keen so rather precipitously, we arranged a boat up Lake Hauroko with Joyce and Johan.
On Saturday 22nd December we drove both cars to Manapouri, leaving one there and headed down to Clifton. Joyce and Johan were soon hitching on Namu and off we went to Lake Hauroko. Then it was a blustery ride up the lake to the Hauroko Burn where we waved them goodbye and settled into the empty hut. The sandflies were terrible outside but I expected this from my previous visit years before when I hastily departed in my kayak after a brief spell at the hut. The weather was clearing and promised a fine day to follow.
It was a cool night in my thin sleeping bag and Belinda complained that I was “sniffing” and keeping her awake – mea culpa! We got going at 8.00 am on a nice easy track which took us in 4 hours to the Gardner Burn where we crossed on the walkwire at the junction to the TL bank of the Hauroko Burn. Here, there was quite a slog uphill and then a slow sidle until we dropped down to river flats further along. From here, it was much easier all the way to Halfway Hut, which we got to at 2.30 pm. Again, this was empty - an unexpected blessing. We had a wash in the creek and lazed around for the rest of the day. The day was brilliantly fine, an azure sky, the mountains resplendent in the scintillating light, the biosphere in harmony. Outside the hut, the manuka was in flower with delicate white rosettes. I felt in tune with nature again.
It was a warmer night and we had a leisurely start at 8.20 am. It was an easy walk through the lovely bush to the walkwire, 3 kilometres further on. In fact, there were 2 wires and soon we were climbing up to Furkert Pass at 864m. It was another sunny day. We reached open tussock slopes around Lake Laffy and beyond it, we reached Lake Roe Hut which was empty. We had lunch here and then B went and paddled around Laffy. She was keen to paddle Lakes Horizon and Ursula, so we set off for them climbing up a steep hill to 1050m to the lakes. We could see Dusky Sound down the Seaforth Valley. We got back to the hut at 5.30 pm and spent a pleasant evening there.
The next day was Christmas day as we set off fully laden for Lake Roe. Belinda paddled around it while I put my packraft away. It has only been a short paddle for me. Then it was a stiff climb of 200m up a valley to the NE to Lake 1200m. This was in a cirque of peaks with steep slopes falling into the lake. Initially, I intended to climb between peaks 1566 and 1595 but this looked impractical with our massive packs so I elected to climb between peaks 1566 and 1458m. It was an easy paddle across to the slopes beneath it. Here we landed and I waited for B to do her circumnavigation. The alpine flowers were stunning- large mountain daisies, Gentians, Aciphyllia congesta, Ranunculus sericophyllus.
Once on the col, it was a sidle to the left at 1400m. We stopped for lunch while I did a recce. Then we continued on until we ran into a small exposed wall. I carefully climbed this 10m face to easier ground and dropping my pack descended back to Belinda and shouldered her pack to climb it again. Belinda followed right on my heels. Below us, the slopes fell away over bluffs to another lake in a coomb far below. We reached a small lake and following down the creek issuing from this passed several small tarns to a flat gravel plain. The plan was to reach a much larger lake at 1100m to the north and this seemed the easiest route. However, the creek after running across the plain, dived into a short gorge and then over a waterfall maybe 50m high. On both sides, it was pretty near vertical but I figured we could downclimb it on the TL. Carefully zig-zagging down this face, I reached easier ground and then it was a short descent to the lake. Although it was sunny, it was also windy with lots of whitecaps out on the lake – too windy to paddle. I had noticed that the barometric pressure had been dropping all day – not a good sign but I was alert to the first signs of a front. We stopped in the lee of a cliff on the lake – a nice flat area with lots of Bulbinella and Mountain Daisies. “We should see if the wind drops and you can paddle around the lake” I suggested to Belinda. So we spent a few hours there waiting. Then I suggested that I make an early dinner. Christmas dinner was dehi Backcountry Cuisine – not bad! Once that was done, I surveyed the situation again and decided a front was definitely coming. We hastily decided to retreat above the waterfall and bivouac in case of rain. Approaching the cliff, we found it was easier going up. Once above it, we found the easy spur over the range between Tamatea Peak and peak 1595m and camped at the start of it on a level space.
The clouds were now pouring over the divide and it was pretty windy. I was worried about our exposed situation, a sleepless night, so I took a sleeping pill and knocked myself out (no point in staying awake all night, fretting about something I had no control over, right!). I awoke hours later to a flapping tent. It was light at 5.00 am and I could see the col on the ridge was below the cloud layer so I suggested to Belinda that we “move, immediately”. Now Belinda is not an early riser but she got the gist of this "emergency" and we wasted no time in getting out of there. The ascent of the spur to the col was easy and went fast and soon we were up at 1540m looking straight down to Lake Roe. Off to our right, Tamatea Peak was somewhere in the storm wrack. On the other side, an easy spur of scree and tussock took us down to the lake. We were back at Lake Roe hut at 9.00 am. There were a lot of young trampers milling around as we made breakfast outside and chatted to some of them. By now the weather was picking up though still windy.
After breakfast, we got away on the familiar track to Lake Horizon. It was now sunny but cool with an SW breeze. It did not take long to overtake the parties in front of us. The Pleasant Range is very scenic as it drops towards the Seaforth. Cruising along we met a nice Chinese Chemistry teacher called “Fan” after the “Fantail” or so I surmised. He was resting and enjoying the view. He joined us later for a while. He seemed very impressed by our route and the packrafts we were lugging around. He asked if we were “Hah Cor". I laughed and said I only wished we were. As he was moving at a snail's pace, I had to leave him. Abruptly, the track now in the upper bush zone suddenly dived down cliffs. Thank God for the roots or we’d need a rope! On and on it plunged down interminable cliffs until hours later we merged beside the Jane Burn. We had already passed the last lot of trampers as we emerged beside the last walkwire before Lock Maree Hut. The hut was OK but we did not fancy sharing it with the trampers, so carried on for another half an hour to camp in a tiny clearing opposite Deadwood Flat. The sandflies were bad but we coped. It was a sheltered spot and we could hear wind gusts roaring up the valley though we could not feel them. That evening in the tent before I'd taken off my socks Belinda remarked offhandedly “you’re feet smell like vomit” and then proceeded to spray them with deodorant- sigh!
On 27th, we set out for Kintail Hut. There were some nice riverine tracks but an awful lot of bog holes. We crossed the walkwire over the Kenneth Burn and then it was a long climb to Gair Loch. Here there were some open flats but beyond the lake was a swamp and few track markers. The word “horrible” was recorded in my diary and it was. Later we found a nice trail all the way to the junction of the Kintail Stream and Seaforth River where the Kintail Hut is situated. This was a welcome sight and no other parties were in residence.
On 28th, we got up to a blue sky and sunny weather. Just down from the hut, we crossed the Seaforth on another walkwire and further on a second one. Beyond this second one was a remorselessly steep climb to the bush line at 900m. Ahead was Centre Pass and behind us a great view down the Seaforth Valley, Tripod Hill and Gair Loch. It was very windy and we had lunch in a sheltered spot hosted by the visiting kea community. Then it was a steep descent down into the Warren Burn, a tributary of the Spey. At 700m it took a dive into the Spey and we eventually reached the Upper Spey Hut at 460m situated beside a swamp and a ferocious cloud of sandflies. I would have loved a wash but the local denizens were decidedly hostile – pass! Belinda was complaining of pack rubbing on her chest so some leucoplast was applied in a horizontal pattern. However, her feet looked much worse.
The Spey was much easier walking than the Seaforth and we made good time down this easy valley to the road over Wilmot Pass. From there, it was a bit of a road bash all the way to West Arm. There we met many gaily-dressed tourons and together with this eclectic group, we boarded the ferry to Manapouri. Unwisely, we filled up on fish and chips in the pub in Otautau on the way home.
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