12- 16th Jan 2024
Five hours wait in the Wellington airport
The start of my hiking trip saw me spending 5 hours in Wellington airport, waiting for my connecting flight to Dunedin!! Not at all exciting, when all I wanted to do was pull my boots on, but bought a good book,” Not Alone” by Tim Voors, who had hiked the Te Araroa so got lost in that and the time flew by. The night before transfer was spent at the Leviathan hotel, a beautiful old hotel in Dunedin which had been built in 1884. There had been some modernizations, like new showers. However the beautiful architraves, dark paneled wood and clunky old lifts were still in place.
Pick up was 8 a.m. Our bus was lovely and spacious. The countryside easily seen through the large windows. We passed through Lawrence, Roxborough and Wanaka as we wound our way to our final destination on the Mt Aspiring station. The old homestead, belonging to the Aspinall family, had been offered to Dunstan High School in 1969 when a new homestead was being built for the family. The Lodge, now named Tititea, which is Māori for Mt Aspiring, is now administered by Mt Aspiring Outdoor Education Trust. Our hosts and guides were from Otago Youth Adventure Trust Rotary club of Milton Tramping club. The Lodge is used by a variety of groups from around the region.
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Tititrea Lodge
Day one was to Glacer Bryne. A shorter hike than all the rest. Up quite a steep hill covered with tree roots . Progressive lenses in my glasses didn’t help so I found this, coupled with hiking poles, very difficult. However although challenging, the views were beautiful. Once we got back, because it was the shortest walk, our group were on providing the dinner for the night so the next little while saw me chopping cabbage very finely for 30 odd people!!!! Lots of fun, sharing of stories from previous trips and laughter. Very happy to crawl into my bunk that night.
Next morning 6.30 arrived far too soon. The weather had deteriorated very quickly overnight. And the rivers had risen. Raincoats were pulled on and very soon our boots were soaked. The stream which had been almost dust the night before was up to my ankles.
We started the walk to the Eastern Matukituki but changed our minds due to the heavy downpour. By the time we got back to the stream it was up to my calves. Really scary how quickly it rises. The rest of the afternoon was spent reading in our bunks.
The third and last day we woke to brilliant weather. With streams quite low again, a group of us headed for the Mt Aspiring hut. I loved this. It was my kind of hiking. Undulating but easy walking.
The track was edged on one side by the Matukituki river and encircled by majestic cliffs, which emitted a slightly purple glow in the early morning. Stopping about 10 a.m. for apples and water we had time to be awed by the grandeur of the cliffs which surrounded us. We were also joined by cattle who shared the shade of the trees with us.
Snow capped mountains was something I didn’t expect to see. I guess the fact that the elevation of Mt Aspiring is 3,033 mtrs had something to do with this.
This return hike was 22 kms but with beautiful weather, a rest at the hut which had 32 bunks and flush toilets, and easy walking, this was the most pleasant day of all.
The fourth day was clean up day and leave. This was extremely well organized by the guides so everything was completed relatively quickly. In a very short time we had completed the cleaning and were outside waiting for the tractor to take us across the creek and back to our bus. (Unlike our arrival when we had to walk 6 kms to the hut. At least we didn’t have to carry our packs). While waiting for the tractor, the farmer, who owned the station shifted some Angus cattle with the help of these beautiful and very efficient dogs. The farmer suggested the cattle were very quiet, but with a couple of bulls roaring and kicking up dirt on the other side of the fence I stayed very close to the trailer of the tractor which I was to travel on!!!!
It took quite some time to get back to Dunedin, with many drop off along the way. Finally, I was back in Dunedin and walked very happily, in the front door of the Leviathan. A very enjoyable few days away