Mts. Alexander and Nobbler
Sunday 28 January 2018
Mounts Alexander (1357 metres) and Nobbler (1550 metres) stand at the northern end of the Kakanui Range and are most readily accessed from the top of the Danseys Pass Road, just over 71km from Oamaru and at 935 metres. Seven trampers set off from Oamaru, picking up an eighth on the way. Fortunately, most of the road had just been graded so only the last climb was badly corrugated.
We set off just on 9.30 on a 4wd track which wound up the hill to the south of the road, past a fertilizer bin and then more steeply up to a station hut at just on 1300 metres, where we met the final two members of the party. From there, the track undulated to the south-west, crossing two knobs before reaching the shallow summit of Mt Alexander shortly before midday. After a brief stop and survey of the rather daunting route to Mt Nobbler, the party split with one group backtracking to the fork before heading down and the other descending directly through tussock and Spaniards to the valley some 300 discouraging metres below. There the two groups met up and first lunch was taken before the climb.
Mt Nobbler loomed 500 metres above. The group again split, the gung-ho types heading straight up a fenceline, which was direct but steep, and the remainder opting for the straight out slog up the zig-zag track. The Nobbler summit – or at least the point with the remains of the trig on it – was reached between 1.30 and 2.00pm. The splendid 360 degree views were enjoyed as some tucked into a second lunch and all rested and pondered the return track. The weather had held – forecast thunderstorms did not eventuate – and light cloud cover ensured that the temperature remained warm rather than excessively hot. To the north and south, Mounts Domett and Pisgah remained shrouded in cloud most of the day.
Fed and rested, we headed down to the valley, up the zig-zag track to Alexander, then back along the undulating track (the undulations had grown since the morning) to the hut. Water bottles replenished, and it was down the final leg to the cars, reaching them just over 8 hours from the start. The total trip had been around 21km and involved two climbs totalling 800 metres plus undulations in warm conditions. And so the two northernmost peaks of the Kakanui Range could be ticked off by Bess, Dean, Mark, Bron, Jane, Anne, Steve, Helen, Rodney and John.
