Arthur’s Pass
After a few days enjoying Christchurch (pre-quake), I set out with Dane and Graham from the ice and a German backpacker named Nele that Graham met in town. We wanted to do some trekking, and just an hour and a half northwest of Christchurch is one of New Zealand’s great national parks, Arthur’s Pass.
I was not well prepared – I didn’t know what we’d be doing, and so I didn’t arrange to have any camping gear. Dane loaned me a hammock and I decided I could treat it like happy camper. Wear lots of layers and deal with the chilliness at night. We headed off with the plan of hiking down the Otehake gorge, completely traversing the mountains and the park. The park ranger we spoke with (also the SAR lead) told us he thought this was the hardest trek in New Zealand and that there was an impassable landslide and that the river at the end of the trek might be impassable depending on the water level. We weren’t discouraged.
We camped near the trailhead (a cold night with my gear, but manageable), and headed off the following morning. We would be spending 3 night in the park, the first two at locations with backcountry huts and the final night would be camping. There was usually no trail. We spent the first day following the river, frequently crossing it to get to passable land or bushwhacking through the steep sides of the valley. Unfortunately I hadn’t charged my camera, so this is where the photos end! We arrived at the Edward’s Hut after 5 hours, and had a quick dip in the near-freezing water of the mountain stream that came nearby. The hut was rustic but sturdy, and had a nice wood burning stove to dry our wet shoes and a radio for contacting the Department of Conservation. Surprisingly, my friends Kevin and Katie from the ice were in the same park and joined us in the hut for the night on a different route. We saw no one else hiking that day, nor was anyone else staying in the hut so it was a nice coincidence.
In the morning, we radioed in for a weather update and learned that rain was predicted for that evening, progressing to heavy rain the following day. This would make it very likely that the river would be impassable, meaning our trip could almost double in length to get backtrack out of the park. I decided that it wasn’t a good idea for me to try to continue on the original route, given the likelihood of rain and my dependence on all my clothes being dry for warmth at night so I joined Kevin and Katie on the alternate route while the others pressed on.
The following day was a challenge. We started by crossing a massive boulder field from an old landslide, climbed a saddle over the mountains that was dangerously steep (almost like climbing a ladder of grass clumps, a few hundred meters above the valley), and then clambered down a steep ravine to the next hut. We spent over 8 hours hiking that day with only a 30 minute lunch and covered maybe 7kms! It was tough terrain. The hut we ended up in is an easy hike from outside the park though, and was newly constructed after the old hut had burned. It was very modern for a “backcountry” hut.
Finally, we did an easy 4 hour hike out of the park the next day, and hitchhiked back into town for a great dinner at the café. In the end the rain never came and my friends were able to make it through the original route the following day, though they were bruised and bitten by sand flies while crossing some very rough ground. The Department of Conservation told us that only 3 parties had tried that route this summer…two had turned back and the third made it to the river but had to be helicoptered back because it was impassable! So this was a big achievement for them.
Arthur’s Pass has tons of short hikes and day hikes as well, and the scenery is beautiful. So I would definitely recommend this park to anyone that visits New Zealand.
