Puketeraki Forest Conservation Park
Labour Weekend 20th – 22nd October 2017
A change in plans because of the weather forecast saw us going to the Puketeraki Forest Conservation area in inland Canterbury instead of the Thousand Acre Plateau near Murchison.
Four of us set off at 8.30am on Friday and drove to Oxford for an early lunch and then along the narrow winding Lees Valley Road for 29kms to a gateway and DOC sign and then a further 3.5kms on a 4WD vehicle track to a carpark.
An easy amble across farmland on a marked track beside the Ashley River took us to a knee-deep crossing of the Lilburne River and then through stands of mountain beech trees, which were a relief to be under as the temperature was up to 24degrees when we left the carpark.
Although there was little sign of deer or possums not many birds could be heard in the beech forest which was covered with a lot of honeydew.
A high sidle to avoid a gorgy section and then a downhill track lead us to a crossing of the Ashley River where we reached the 6 bunk Youngman Stream Hut at 700mtrs our destination for the night after 5hours of walking.
The hut had been built in 1975 for the Forest Service, but had been recently tidied up and freshly painted. We thought we were the only people there for the night, but after getting a fright from a big brown dog the next morning we discovered that a party of 3 hunters and 3 dogs had arrived at 2am and camped out in the tussocks above the hut.
With a cooler morning we re-crossed the Ashley River and started to climb up to the high point, Lilburne Hill (1405 mtrs) Once again we were in young beech forest on a well marked track. This changed after passing through some more mature trees and then out into the open amongst dracophyllum, low scrub and tussock across the tops. As there was a cool wind on top we had a quick snack sheltering in the tussocks and then set off downwards across pig rootings to Tarn Hut (1270 mtrs) arriving at 11am.
The hut, a 4 bunker beside a sizeable tarn has also been painted and tidied up by DOC and NZ Alpine Club volunteers. After settling in and having lunch we gathered wood for the fire which was lit in due course. As there was no toilet, a shovel was provided to dig a hole over the ridge away from the tarn. Hopefully in the future DOC will build one as the tarn is the only water source and could easily become polluted.
By the evening 12 other people with 4 tents had arrived and a couple passed through on route to Youngman Hut.
The next morning was cool and breezy as we left on an old 4WD track and made our way downhill to the junction and the Lilburne River crossing.
A falcon was spotted soaring near a rocky face on our way back out.
The carpark had swelled from having just our car to 10 vehicles with 2 more on the roadside by the gate.
We arrived back in Oamaru at 4pm after stopping once again for lunch at Oxford.( We can all recommend the Shefield Bakery for excellent food and good service).
This tramp is a delightful circuit with varied scenery and good comfortable huts which can be walked in 2 or 3 days, but because of the number of people we encountered, I feel it will become very popular, especially with the proximity to Christchurch.
Thanks for the company of Bronwyn, John and Maurice.
Phyllis.
