Gravel bashing in the headwaters of the Waimakiriri River...
Earlier this year I went for an overnight tramp to the head of the
Waimakiriri River to visit Carrington Hut. Carrington Hut is another of
the series of Lockwood huts built in
Arthur's Pass National Park, they were much in favour with the park
board back in the 1970-80's.
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Carrington Hut (1975) |
Carrington Hut is a behemoth of a building, built in 1975 it has bunks
and living space for 36 trampers and is the gateway for trips to Barker Hut, Waimakiriri
Falls, the Three Passes Track, Mt Rolleston and the headwaters of the
Rakaia and Rangitata Rivers.
This was my first visit to Arthur's Pass NP in two years and it was good to be back home.
Day one: Klondyke to Carrington Hut
I
started out from the Klondyke Corner car park at around 9.30 am. You
follow a gravel road from Klondyke for 2 kms till you reach a parking
area and toilet.
Normally I would be a bit wary of
parking my car here...there are vandals who cruise up and down the
Arthur's Pass Highway breaking into cars as they go.
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Heading for the Southern Alps, just outside Kirwee... |
It
was more secure this weekend as the Coast to Coast was running and
there were people and police everywhere for three days...they camp
overnight at the Klondyke Corner camp-site between stages.
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The Silver Surfer parked at the Klondyke car park...lots of others had the same idea! |
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The Surfer with the Waimakirirri River valley in the background |
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Waimakiriri River Valley from the Klondyke Car-park |
The
beginning of this trip is a crossing of the Waimakiriri River. Normally
this would be a slightly sketchy undertaking even is summer, but it has
been so hot and dry the river is very low.
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Waimakiriri River Valley: Klondyke Corner to the Crow River |
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Bealey Spur from the car-park near Klondyke Corner...heading to the river crossing |
Even
though the river was low I still did the full river crossing procedure.
I checked out a hundred meter stretch of the river till I found the
best crossing spot, stowed all my gear securely, found a stick to assist
me and very carefully crossed the river.
The flow was swift but only reached up to my knees so it was safe to cross.
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Waimakiriri River with Mt Harper and Mt Stewart in the background- this is a very low water level |
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Crossing the Waimakiriri River at Klondyke Corner, Black Range in background |
Luckily
there was only one braid to the river, normally there are 2-4 braids
which need to be crossed. If the Waimakiriri is too high to cross at
Klondyke there is a flood track (O'Malley Track) running down the true
right of the Waimakiriri. It can be accessed from the small car park
next to the bridge on SH73.
Be
aware though, there is a mandatory crossing of the Waimakiriri required
further up valley so if you can not cross at Klondyke you probably wont
get further than the Anti Crow River.
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View back to Klondyke Corner from the true right of the Waimakiriri River |
To
start you need to head for Anti Crow Hut. I decided to walk up the
river bed direct to Anti Crow Hut and use the track across Turkey Flat
on the way back. Both will get you to the hut but it is far better to
walk up the bed of Jordan Stream and intersect the track to Anti Crow
Hut.
Following the track will save you about 30-40 minutes as walking over those river rocks is damn hard work....
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View towards the head of the Waimakiriri River from near Klondyke Corner |
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Set of foot prints from another hardy soul, Waimakiriri River valley |
It
is hot sunny work walking up the bed of the Waimakiriri river so make
sure you have a good sun blocking hat and sunscreen with you.
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Channelling Ed Hilary in the hot summer sun....Waimakiriri River |
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Pt. 1582 from the Waimakiriri River bed |
The
Anti Crow track intersects with Jordan Stream about a kilometre from
the banks of the Waimakiriri. There are snow poles marking the track so
just keep climbing until you see them.
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Looking up Jordan Stream to the Black Range...go up here and find the Anti Crow track! |
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Side view of Mt Bealey from the Waimakiriri river bed |
There
are some great expansive views of the Southern Alps as you move up the
valley. Normally the tops of most of these mountains would still have a
dusting of snow but it has all long since melted away.
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Classic gravel bashing terrain up the Waimakiriri River |
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Mt Stewart further up the Waimakiriri River Valley |
The
Anti Crow track runs along the tussock/grass flats you can see between
the riverbed and the bush..it is much easier travel than the river bed!
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Bealey Spur from the bed of the Waimakiriri River |
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Native Clemensia flower on the bed of the Waimakiriri River |
Another
nice side trip in this valley is a visit to the Crow Valley, almost
directly opposite Anti Crow Hut. There is a very nice 10 bunk hut up the
valley and the mountain flowers are very picturesque in mid to late
spring.
Crow Hut
is also accessible via a 'sporty' track up Mt Avalanche and then down a
long scree slope into the Crow Valley.The track starts right behind the
church in Arthur's Pass township.
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Rolleston Glacier at the head of the Crow Valley |
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Close up of Rolleston Glacier from near Anti Crow Hut |
After about an hour
Anti Crow Hut
hove into view....it sat temptingly on its grassy clearing as I slowly
worked my way across the rocky river bed. That last kilometre seemed to
take an awfully long time to pass...
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Anti Crow hut from the bed of the Waimakiriri River |
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Close up of Anti Crow hut from the Waimakiriri River bed |
A respite at Anti Crow hut
It
took me about two hours to get to Anti Crow Hut from Klondyke Corner so
I was ready to get out of the sun for awhile. I sat in the hut and had a
snack and some water, noting my passing in the hut intentions book
while there.
I was last at Anti Crow Hut back
in 2015,
Ive been meaning to come back up this valley but just never got around
to it till now. The hut was stifling hot in the sun, I opened the
windows to let some of the heat out......
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Anti Crow Hut (1960) |
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Anti Crow Hut: entrance, bench and storage cupboard |
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Anti Crow Hut: Bunks, note my new Osprey pack inside the hut |
The
track to the upper Waimakiriri River continues at the side of Anti Crow
Hut. It is a mixture of short bush tracks, river crossings and river
bed travel for the rest of the way to Carrington Hut another three hours
up valley.
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Track to Carrington hut at the back of Anti Crow Hut |
I crossed over the bone dry river just past the hut, most of the side streams and creeks have dried up in the extreme heat...
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A side stream near Anti Crow Hut...bone dry in a hot summer! |
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The mid reaches of the Waimakiriri River Valley |
After
about 20 minutes you come to the remains of the original Anti Crow Hut.
This hut was built in the 1920's and burnt down in the late 1950s so
saw some good use. All that remains are the steps that went into the hut
and a few sheets of rusted roofing tin....
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Site of the original Anti Crow Hut (1926) |
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Front step from the original Anti Crow Hut |
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Remains of the Original Anti Crow Hut built in the 1920's |
About
30 minutes from Anti Crow Hut you come to the bed of the Anti Crow
River. This river can easily become impassible in the slightest of rain
as it has a huge and steep catchment area. If it is difficult to cross
this river do not venture further up the Waimakiriri as there is a
mandatory crossing of the Waimakiriri an hour upstream you will not be
able to negotiate.
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Swamp on the approach to Anti Crow River |
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Crossing the Anti Crow River, note the catchment area in the background |
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Anti Crow River: easy to cross in this hot dry summer weather |
Past the Anti Crow River you climb to the top of some roche moutonees. A
roche moutonee
is an area of harder rock that the glacier that once graced this valley
was unable to wear away. They often have the scratch marks of passing
rock debris upon them.
A interesting geological oddity...
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View of the Anti Crow River from one of the roche moutonees |
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First view of the mid reaches of the Waimakiriri River from the roche moutonees |
About
20 minutes further up valley there is a mandatory crossing of the
Waimakiriri, it is one of the smaller side braids of the river. Even in
this very hot dry summer it was still up to my knees and quite swift,
take care when crossing this point!
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Looking towards Mt Harper and Mt Speight in the mid-reaches of the Waimakiriri |
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Crossing a braid of the Waimakiriri, this is a mandatory crossing point!!!! |
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Rounding Mt Stewart in the Waimakiriri River bed |
Once
past the flank of Mt Stewart you are able to see the upper reaches of
the Waimakiriri River Valley. After crossing Greenlaw Stream it is about
four km's to the hut, mostly on decent bush tracks.
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Crossing Greenlaw Creek, Mt Campbell it the peak to the right... |
There
is a section of bush track past Greenlaw Stream which you need to
follow as the river comes in close to this side of the valley.
Carrington Hut is on an old forest covered debris fan you can see in
front of Mt Campbell in the photo below.
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View of a distant Mt Campbell and the White-Waimakiriri River confluence |
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On the Waimakiriri River flood track near Carrington Hut |
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Carrington Hut lies on the bush tongue coming in from the left, Mt Campbell behind |
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Mt Stewart from near Harper Stream, note the rouche moutonees... |
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Resting near Harper Stream...my Lowa Boots and gaiters |
At Carrington Hut, Waimakiriri River Valley
Finally
after five and a half hours I arrived at Carrington Hut..I was pleased
as I was a bit knackered by that point. Even with a light load the
distance, sun and heat had really kicked the stuffing out of me. That is
travel in this kind of terrain: hard, hot and tiring!
I was really looking forward to that first brew at the hut and boy was it satisfying!
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Last bush track before Carrington Hut |
Isn't that a grand sight....
Carrington Hut is huge...easily one of the biggest huts I have yet had the pleasure of visiting....
The
location is spectacular...it is surrounded by 2000+ meter peaks in all
directions, I can only imagine what it is like in winter...
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Carrington Hut on the confluence of the White and Waimakiriri Rivers |
The
hut is built on an old forest covered debris field. From the looks of
the terrain it slid down the side of nearby Camp Spur but it must have
been historic as it has fully mature beech trees on it that must be at
least 300-400 years old.
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Great view from the veranda at Carrington Hut |
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The veranda at Carrington Hut...my Osprey pack is next to the door |
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DOC sign on the outside of Carrington Hut |
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Nice French style doors leading to the coat-room at Carrington Hut |
I
love these old 1970's Lockwood huts: they are all wood, varnish and
airy space. They were really popular with the Arthur's Pass NP
board....other notable examples are Goat Pass, Hamilton Hut, Edwards Hut
and both Hawdon I and Casey Huts.
Both
Hawdon I and Casey huts have burnt down which is one of the flaws of
building a hut out of such flammable material. All that varnish has a
down side...when these huts burn THEY REALLY BURN!.
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Detail of one of the dining areas: firewood storage, mountain radio and one of the bunk rooms |
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Detail of the dining area: Shelves and the entrance to the room...lots of varnish!!! |
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View from inside Carrington Hut, Waimakiriri River Valley |
There
are two dining areas in this hut, I used the one on the left as it also
contained the firebox. The building has very little heating for such a
huge hut so I imagine it is awesomely cold in the depths of winter.
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The dining area I used at Carrington Hut, note the wood burner is in this room |
Later
in the evening I sat on the bench on the hut veranda and admired the
scenery with several of the other people staying for the night. Very
pleasant it was as there are not a lot of sandflies around the hut.
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Carrington Hut: the clearing in front of the hut |
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Carrington Hut: the track to the lower valley from the hut veranda |
I
had a chat to a trio of kiwi trampers at dinnertime as well as a lone
French tramper. The French guy has been cycling around the country for
the last two months inter spaced with time off to walk a few tracks. He
was bound for Julia Hut in the Taipo River Valley the next day.
The
three kiwis were on their way home after a trip up to Harman Pass and
Waimakiriri Falls Hut. There were also a group of four German guys who
were walking the Three Passes Tramp.
Lots of interesting destinations at the end of this valley...
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My dinner for the evening: Thai Green Chicken Curry, tea and an isotonic drink |
The
hut has four bunk rooms with nine bunks in each room....the additional
bunk spaces are in the dining areas, each of the dining spaces have an
additional three bunks/seats with mattresses. In winter that would be
the best spot to sleep as the wood burner is in the dining room. I have
heard of people needing to dig themselves into and out of this hut after
a good snow dump.
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Carrington Hut: sleeping quarters..my new Exped 500 Lite pit in use |
Day two: Carrington Hut to Klondyke Corner
The
next day was another cracker, blue skies and beautiful warm weather
encouraged me to get up and start walking early. After packing up and
eating a quick breakfast I set off down valley heading for the car
park.
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The nice French style doors at Carrington Hut...just like a home really |
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Early morning light on Mt Campbell, near Carrington Hut |
The
sun had just started to rise over the eastern mountain ranges as I set
off down valley. I was in full sunlight after the first hour of walking
which made for some hot walking as it was already about 18 degrees. It
eventually got up to 29 degrees so the afternoon was steamy....
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Waimakiriri River Valley: start of the track near Carrington Hut |
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Waimakiriri River Valley: heading towards Harpers Stream |
If
you look at the topo map for this end of the valley it shows a track
through the bush along the true right. This is out of date....there is
an active slip half way down the valley which has covered the track so
the track markers have been moved onto the bed of the river.
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Map of the Upper Waimakiriri Valley: note the new poled track in red |
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The active slip near Carrington Hut, Waimakiriri River Valley |
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Waimakiriri River Valley: view back towards Mt Campbell from the track |
There
is a bit of a climb past the slip then a short but very pleasant
section of track through the bush to Harper Creek. The light on the
trees this early in the morning is very appealing.
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Bush track travel near Harpers Creek, Waimakiriri River Valley |
I
stopped in Harper Creek to resupply with water, the water in the creek
was a lot cleaner than the tannin stained water from the hut. The level
of the creek was very low....normally the creek is much wider and
deeper.
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Looking to the catchment for Harpers Stream, Mt Harper in background |
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Water resupply point in Harper Creek |
It
is back into the bush for a spell until you break out onto some river
flats as you approach the 'Big Bend' in the Waimakiriri River.
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Early morning light on the bush track near Harpers Stream, Waimakiriri River Valley |
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Waimakiriri River Valley: approaching the 'Big Bend' in the Waimakiriri River |
You
have two options at the 'Big Bend': either stay in the riverbed and
cross the Waimakiriri River several times or follow the flood track
along the true right of the valley. Being ever cautious I chose to
follow the slightly sketchy track. It wasn't too bad though a couple of
times I went erckkkkk....I'm constantly thinking about rock fall danger
and there is a bit of it on that section of the track.
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Waimakiriri River Valley: on the sketchy flood track |
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View of the 'Big Bend" from further down the Waimakiriri River Valley |
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Avalanche Peak and Mt Bealey from the bed of the Waimakiriri River Valley |
I
struck an interesting thing on a section of the track through the
bush...in the space of 5 meters were three of the methods used to mark
tracks in New Zealand. These are the standard DOC triangles, NZFS
permolat strips and NZFS round markers.
This track has been in use for a long time.
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Waimakiriri River Valley: Standard triangle and Permolat markers |
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An old NZFS track marker on the flood track to Carrington Hut |
There
is a section of board-walk on the track approaching the roche moutonees
at Anti Crow Stream. This is provided to protect the delicate swamp
plants not your footwear...
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Waimakiriri River Valley: board-walk near Anti Crow Stream |
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Waimakiriri River Valley: view of the valley from the roche moutonees |
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Waimakiriri River Valley: classic glacial scarring on the roche moutonees |
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Anti Crow Stream and looking at the last bush finger before reaching Anti Crow Hut |
The
last section before Anti Crow hut is through some forest, it was very
nice to get out of the hot sun and into some shade. The finger of bush
the hut occupies is quite lush given the number of people who must have
scoured this area for firewood over the last 120 odd years....
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On the last bush track before Anti-Crow Hut, Waimakiriri River Valley |
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Anti Crow Hut....nice porridge decorating feature on the hut exterior |
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Last view of Anti Crow hut on my way back to Klondyke Corner |
From
the flats in front of Anti Crow Hut you can see right up the Crow
Valley, there is a very nice ten bunk hut there, accessible from the
Waimakiriri or via Avalanche Peak. I hear the valley is very pretty in
spring when the alpine flowers come out of hibernation, I've only ever
been in the summer.
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View up the Crow Valley towards Mt Rolleston from outside Anti Crow Hut |
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Using the Waimakiriri River bed to circumvent a section of the flood track |
The
final leg of the journey is the slog across Turkey Flat. The flat is
massive, it is easily 3-4 kilometres from one side to the other. The
flat is made up of alluvial spoil deposited by Jordan Stream over the
centuries. A lot of water obviously comes down the river as it is about a
hundred metres higher than the Waimakiriri River bed.
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The extent of Turkey Flat in the Waimakiriri River Valley |
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Heading out across the grasslands that cover Turkey Flat, Arthurs Pass NP |
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On the apex of Turkey Flat looking back towards Anti Crow Hut |
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Jon you are so cool.......my usual summer tramping attire! |
Once
you reach the apex of the track over Turkey Flat you turn left and walk
down the bed of Jordan Stream to the Waimakiriri. Then it is a matter
of finding the best place to cross back over to the car park near
Klondyke Corner.
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View of Klondyke Corner and The Dome from the apex of Turkey Flat |
I
suggest you walk down the main channel of Jordan Stream if going this
way, I walked down one of the braids and it petered out in thick
matagouri bush just shy of the river.
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Heading down the dry bed of Jordan Stream to the Waimakiriri River |
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A dry Jordan Stream emerging from the Black Range |
Once
I reached the riverbed I headed for the same general area I had crossed
on the previous day. The river was flowing at the same rate, so I found
my crossing pole from the previous day and made my way across.
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View towards Klondyke Corner from the Waimakiriri River, note The Dome (1945) in the background |
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Waimakiriri River: preparing to cross the river |
A
great trip in Arthur's Pass National Park to a great hut. Having made
it up to the hut I now have plans for all sorts of side trips
formulating in my mind. I see a trip to Barker Hut or Waimakiriri Falls
hut in the future or possibly even a crossing of the Alps using the
Three Passes Route.
Access: O'Malley Track from the bridge across the Waimakiriri at Bealey Spur, across Turkey Flat to Anti Crow Hut OR cross the Waimakiriri River from the Klondyke Corner car-park direct to Anti Crow Hut. See the DOC website for more information on the Carrington Hut route.
Track Times: 14-16km's or 4-6 hrs depending on the route followed.
Hut Details: Anti Crow Hut: Standard, 6 bunks, wood burner, water tank, toilet; Crow Hut: Standard, 10 bunks, wood burner, water
tank, wood shed, toilet; Carrington Hut, Serviced, 36 bunks, mountain radio, wood burner, water tank, wood shed, toilet.
Miscellaneous:
Rivers and major side streams can rise quickly and become dangerous.
Ensure you have the latest weather information and are confident in
reading rivers and know how to cross them. There are two options to
reach Carrington Hut, depending on whether the river is high or low.
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