Leader: Sue Henley
DAY 1: Our trip began on Boxing day morning with a quick car shuttle to avoid having our cars targeted by thieves while parked at Mt Robert car park for seven days.
The track to Speargrass Hut proved to be quite greasy underfoot due to the recent rain, with seven days worth of food, tents and equipment, the going was slower than usual.
We stopped at Speargrass Hut for a good break before carrying on toward Sabine Hut and Lake Rotoroa. The track heading towards Rotoroa is relatively easy for the first couple of hours before it again becomes like the rest of the track – rough and undulating with tree roots and minor creek crossings – before a long winding descent down to Sabine Hut.
We arrived at the hut to find it already about 3/4 full of people, many of the occupants having caught the boat in that day. Some of our party opted to set up their tents rather than spend the night in a busy hut with lots of kids who, I must say, were really pleasant and well behaved.
DAY 2: After an unexpectedly good night’s sleep, we were up early to beat the forecast showers. Preparing to walk to West Sabine, we bid our farewells to one of our party who decided his knees were not up to the job. He decided to take the boat out instead.
The remainder of us carried on up the valley. At around half way, we started to meet lots of people returning down the track. We learned of a rather rowdy group of party-goers who had carried in their portable stereo, disturbed the peace and generally made a nuisance of themselves at the hut for a couple of days. Thankfully, we met this group on their way out, looking totally unprepared, one of them wearing a towel around him, others wearing sneakers and other unsuitable clothing.
Somewhere along the way, a couple of us also had an unwelcome encounter with some nasty’s of the flying kind. Unfortunately, they had a dislike to one particular member of our group throughout the whole trip. Luckily, we kept him dosed up on antihistamine and some Ibuprofen.
We arrived at West Sabine Hut. As we entered. we were rather puzzled by the two sets of gumboots sitting in the porch, wondering who they might belong to.
Some light rain set in shortly after we arrived. We sat in the hut enjoying some refreshments, while listening to the rather far-fetched and amusing theories of one particular occupant. After having heard enough of his anecdotes, some of us opted for a cold swim or wash in the river.
At some stage, over the next few hours, we learned that the gumboots belonged to the two Asian occupants who had worn them on the Travers-Sabine circuit. How they made it out in one piece beggars belief.
DAY 3: After another early start we headed towards Blue Lake. Along the way, we encountered a massive boulder which seemed to have landed beside the track very recently. There was fresh earth and damaged trees where it had landed, dislodged by earthquake perhaps? Scary stuff.
After a steep climb we arrived at beautiful Blue Lake. Though the hut was half full, Kate and John listened to a tip by a fellow tramper and quickly set their tent up by the lake in the most idyllic camping spot you can imagine.
After some rest and refreshments, we said goodbye to another two of our party who decided not to tackle the steep climb to Moss pass with its knee-crunching descent over the other side.
The remaining four of us took a scenic side trip up to Lake Constance. It was wonderful not to be carrying a pack and the views were stunning. We returned to the hut, which was now full, but throughout the day more people trickled in until about 8pm. Some arrived in a sorry state from Caroline Bivvy after 12 hours, under-prepared and barely able to walk; others arrived without any food or adequate equipment. One of this group was also complaining of stomach pains and feeling ill.
DAY 4: After another early start we began the grunt up to Moss Pass. It wasn’t as bad as I had anticipated and the views at the top were worth the climb. We found a spot out of the wind and stopped for a break before beginning the long knee-crunching descent down into the D’Urville Valley.
When we finally reached the bottom, we celebrated with a much-needed lunch stop by the river.
We reached George Lyon Hut much earlier than expected and so decided to carry on to Morgan Hut instead. The views along the D’Urville Valley were beautiful – and peaceful after Blue Lake. We had the really lovely Morgan Hut to ourselves. The location was stunning.
DAY 5: After another good night’s sleep we made our way towards D’Urville Hut and back to Lake Rotoroa. The wasps decided to pick on Graeme once again, who had, by now, had enough. We bumped into two trout fisherman who were the only people we’d seen since leaving Blue Lake.
We stopped at D’Urville Hut for a cuppa and bite to eat. While we were there, a rather annoyed water taxi driver showed up looking for another tramper who was nowhere to be seen. We continued, easily fording the D’Urville River. However, finding the track on the other side was somewhat of a challenge; not very well-marked.
We continued along the lake track towards Sabine Hut, I have to say this track in some parts is in serious need of some maintenance; not recommended for trampers wearing gumboots! As we got nearer to Sabine Hut, we began to hear stories of people with vomiting and diarrhoea.
We eventually arrived to find the hut almost full, with some of the occupants looking rather unwell. Kate and John wisely decided to sleep in their tent while Graeme and I risked the hut. I used the hand sanitiser after touching anything, while Graeme got OCD about hand-washing. All our precautions paid off, either that, or we were very lucky, as we escaped unscathed!
Having heard reports of bad weather on its way, we decided to skip the night at Speargrass and instead carry on through to Mt Robert car park.
We left Sabine at around 7.30am. The track seemed much less of a challenge this time and we made Speargrass Hut in good time. After some refreshments, we returned to the cars before the rain set in.
After arriving home and cleaning and sorting some of my gear, I checked my emails, shocked to read the newspapers had been in contact and there was some concern that our group may have contracted the dreaded Noro-Virus! Of course, we were all fit and well, but I have to say, I took extra care to disinfect, wash and scrub every bit of gear that I had used on the trip.
A big thank you to all those who joined me: Kate Krawczyk & John Whibley, Cary Richman, Carole & Rod Lewis, Graeme Ferrier, & Sue Henley (scribe).