Routeburn/Caples – 10th-3th May 2012

At 8am on Thursday, five members left Oamaru on their way to the Routeburn Track Shelter near Glenorchy. After stopping for a break and early lunch at Cromwell, we arrived at our destination after mid-day. Conditions were overcast as we made our way towards the Routeburn Flats Hut, passing a new toilet on the side of the track after about an hours walking.A leisurely afternoon tea was taken here before ascending to the Routeburn Falls Hut, our home for the first night.. Upon our arrival we were met with a kitchen filled with black smoke. A couple had lit their stove and it had gone on fire along with a litre of fuel. Thank goodness for metal benches as the result could have had serious consequences.We later watched in awe of the precision in lowering building materials by helicopter to the construction site of the guided walkers’ accommodation which is being enlarged to cater for over forty clients. A lone kea was seen near the hut in the evening.

Friday morning was misty around the tops but we still had clear views of the waterfalls, Lake Harris and the stunning scenery in the upper basin. We decided not to climb Conical Hill from the Harris Saddle as the views from the top would have been poor. Instead we sat in the public shelter and had morning tea. From here the track has been re-routed, passing several tarns and then linking up with the old track to traverse the Hollyford Faces. Fog hung in the valley below so we were unable to see Gunns Camp and the secenery in the Lower Hollyford Valley. The sun appeared briefly as we arrived at McKenzie Hut in time for lunch. Alterations here were also being carried out on the guided walkers’ accommodation as we wandered on passing another toilet on the side of the track and then on to Earland Falls and Howden Hut. Five DOC staff were waiting for a helicopter to come and pick them up after having spent the last few days there replacing the warden’s quarters with a new roof and replacing the hut windows with double glazed ones. We again watched as the pilot carefully winched up the old windows and repositioned some large containers and fadges. The workers were then taken out to the Divide to drive back to Te Anau.

After settling in our bunks for the night we were woken at 11pm by a party of 6 youths and their leaders from Invercargill.  Silence returned after midnight.

At 6am we were up and after breakfast made our way towards the McKellar Saddle in overcast conditions. The track up to the saddle has been re-routed and up-graded to a very high standard which was very much appreciated by all.It had become quite cold on the top so we donned our parkas and crossed over the board-walks to link up with more new track down towards the Caples. A new bridge meant we didn’t have to ford the river halfway down the valley. For the last hour though it was back onto the old track negotiating the numerous slippery rocks and roots. At 1:30pm we arrived at the Upper Caples Hut to be met by several teams on a SAR exercise in the area. They were later picked up by an Iroquois helicopter and taken down to the Mid Caples Hut. As the rain came down, we settled in with seven others cooking our evening meal and later playing a card game, Up and Down the River.

By Sunday morning the rain had stopped so we set off down the valley in fine weather to the Mid Caples Hut for morning tea. As we soaked up the sunshine on the veranda the Iroquois landed below on a terrace and airlifted the SAR personnel once again. The scenario for the SAR exercise was that they were searching for two persons reported missing while researching a route suitable for an adventure race.The sound of the helicopter was heard coming and going as we made our way down the picturesque Caples Valley to the bridge across the Greenstone River. We crossed the bridge to have lunch in the sunshine and then back again to join the track and on out to the car park where our transport was waiting to take us to the Routeburn Shelter. Next stop was the Glenorchy Camping Ground for a shower and then the Omarama Hotel for tea .

Although we encountered helicopters at every hut it was a thoroughly enjoyable trip which I would highly recommend to anyone of average fitness and my thanks go to Bill, Steve, Robbie and Maurice for the great company. Phyllis