Leader: Chris Louth
Typical of the upper Brook in winter, it was cold and frosty when a good-sized group of eleven met at the Sanctuary carpark.
Most hadn’t spent much time in this area, even though a maze of tracks and it’s proximity to Nelson make it so accessible, so it was all new to them.
Our route was to take us deep into the valley, up onto the ridges then back down again to complete a rough circle.
The sun hadn’t yet pierced the valley as we made our way up the true right of the stream and onto Jacob’s Ladder. Half an hour of of steady uphill saw the first layer stripped off before we diverted onto trapline D and sidled towards the headwaters of the Brook, deep in the ferny steep-sided valleys.
Those with too many layers peeled another on the steady climb up Toutouwai Ridge to Third House.
Gail’s knees didn’t fancy the steep downhill that was to come later so she left us here for a leisurely walk down the Dun Walkway to her car.
The rest of us headed along the well-used track towards Jenkins Hill. Halfway along, on top of a short, we eventually located the barely discernible start of the track down Tuatara Ridge.
Near the bottom, this track is very steep and it was necessary to hang on to the vegetation to avoid possible calamity. Picks and shovels were evidence that Pat and his track-building cronies had recently been doing some work here.
A young weka, distinctive by its misshapen sideways curving bill, was taking advantage of the recently disturbed earth to forage. Back on the valley floor the tracks were better and it was easy going again. There were a few smiles as Dongrui, our Chinese visitor, who had carefully avoided getting her feet wet on the many creek crossings during the day, misjudged a step on the very last crossing and filled her shoes.
Six-and-a-half hours after leaving, we arrived back at the visitor centre after an enjoyable and diverse walk.
Participants were: Sue Henley, Roger and Maureen Cotton, Dan McGuire, Andrea Cockerton, Kate Krawczyk, Gail Malinosky, Dion Pont, Ken Ridley, Chris Louth (author) and visitor Dongrui.