Well another trip
is at end and it is time to write the trip report. So it was on a
cold winter's evening five of us headed south in search of fresh air,
tall peaks and maybe a little good food. The drive south was uneventful
in the rattley red van through to Gore. Where a party member decided
that this was a good time to purchase some nice wooly gloves and maybe
a pair of overtrou since we were heading up a mountain and it might
be just a little chilly. Fortunately a department store in the metropolis
of Gore was open and an expedition of epic proportions was engaged
to purchase the above items. Soon our party now fully attired in new
gloves, trou and the odd pair of new socks, continued on our way to
the camping ground at Te Anau, where we spent a comfortable night.
Bright and early...
well it was actually still dark.... we set off for the control gates
and the start of the Kepler track. The track, like any of the 'Great
Walks', is a tramper's motorway - a full metre wide, evenly graded
and wonderful to walk on. While the others enjoyed the pleasant walk
I headed off with the intention of stopping often along the way to
take photographs. A few opportunities presented themselves, though
it was still a little too dark to give a good exposure. Again I had
left my tripod in the vehicle considering it to be to heavy to carry,
never again though!
At Brod Bay some
beautiful scenery opened up and I finally got a chance to take a couple
of great images. A friendly tit decided to do a little posing, which
required a couple more frames. The party then regrouped and regrouped
for the long grunt up to Luxmore hut. As with most steep climbs, this
one consisted of long periods of placing one foot in front of the
other, and short spells of enjoying the bush, bird calls and waiting
for the heart rate to come down. Mt Luxmore hut, for those who haven't
seen it lately, has grown again. A fire during the 1998 tourist season
badly damaged the hut, and I would not like to guess how many bunks
the place now has. Suffice to say that there was plenty of room for
our small party. While we were settling in, four very friendly kea
paid the hut a visit Their antics provided the party with several
minutes of amusement, allowing me to capture some classic kea photos
and Fee to have a long involved chat with one of the young chaps.
The group then decided
to make the requisite visit to the limestone caves 10 min from the
hut, and so with torches in hand we set off. The caves are set into
a sheet of limestone, which extends throughout this part of the south
and is of the same age as the limestone of the Oamaru and Waitomo
districts, around 25 to 30 million years old. Caving is a pastime
suited to those of trogulitic tendencies and preferably with fresh
batteries in their torch. The caves give easy access to the beautiful
underworld of stalactites, stalagmites, crystal pools and flow sheets.
Sadly, as with all similar caves, human impact is apparent throughout,
with brown stains on most of the surfaces where greasy hands have
been, and evidence of recently broken stalagmites.
It was then time
for the advertised purpose of the trip - cooking! This consisted of
a fine vegetable chicken soup slowly simmered over the potbelly stove,
followed by stir-fried vegetables, mince and a huge helping of rice,
with a glass or two of an imported wine, finished by steamed pudding
and custard. No one was hungry that night including the two OUTC members
who were also spending the night. Eventually people started to head
to bed, apart from Wilbert who, noting that there was a full moon
and that it was to early to go to sleep, headed out for a moonlight
stroll. I believe his comments were that the moon was as large as
a dinner plate and that you could see forever. I was sound asleep
by that stage so missed the return of our night time wanderer. The
night, whilst peaceful, was interrupted in the early hours of the
morning by the desperate scrabble of a small mouse attempting to steal
the contents of a packet of double chocolate chip biscuits.
Bright and early
the next morning ... still very dark, it was up to a hearty breakfast
and grab some photos of the sunrise over lake Te Anau before the party
headed in separate directions again. My intentions were to find an
important fossil locality on the south side of Low peak, while the
rest headed up to the top of Mt Luxmore. Well the best laid plans
don't always work and after a hour and a half sliding around in three
inches of snow and ice following compass bearings that didn't seem
correct, I gave up and decided to climb to the top of Low peak. A
nice little scramble leads to the top where I arrived just as the
rest of the party topped out on Mt Luxmore. From there it was back
to the hut, boil the billy for the rest and sit down for a leisurely
lunch before we all headed back down the hill to the vehicle.
Back in town we
changed, signed out and fuelled up another group of tired but happy
trampers headed back to Dunedin.
A vote of think
must be give to Jenny Lowe, who did a sterling job of organising this
trip, only to not be able to come.
NOTES:
1) Petzi batteries
last for ages, then fail just when you need them the most.
2) The low peak
of Mt Luxmore is magnetic, not a good place for running compass bearings.
3) Always take twice
as much film as you think you will need!
Andrew Mac for Fee,
Chris, Wilbert and Jonette
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