Day 1, Monday, December 30, 2019 Author: Don & Nicola
Start: Trilobite Hut End: Waingaro Ridge, 250m above Fenella Hut
Northbound trampers: Mike (leader), Pat, Sue, Madeleine, Debbie, Sam, Nina, Don and Nicola.
Vehicle logistics: Cobb bound – Mike and Sue’s car took us to Trilobite Hut. Pat’s car taken from Nelson to Quartz Range (?) Farm (Lead Hills route and our destination) by southbound group. Mike’s car collected from Trilobite Hut and taken to Quartz Range (?) Farm by southbound group led by Andrea.
Two vehicles left Kate’s place with 9 trampers shortly after 8.30am in bright sun, with the vehicle logistics having been successfully organised by Mike (and Andrea). Stopping at Riwaka for an extended - due to the inconvenient location of the toilets - coffee (and occasional pie) we headed for Golden Bay. A good run until we turned into the road to the Cobb, where we got caught up in a queue of camper vans and over-packed cars heading for the Twisted Frequency Music Festival. They soon realised we weren’t part of their crowd (age, attire, nature of vehicle, no picnic table on the roof) and we squeezed past and had a very scenic drive to the Cobb and Trilobite Hut, arriving around 12 pm– so we had lunch. The car park was pretty full, so we knew Fenella would be crowded and we would probably be camping.
The walk along the Cobb valley was in the best weather we could possibly have – warm and sunny, not too hot and little wind. Track conditions were good and we were accompanied by fantails, robins and the yellow Māori onion (Bulbinella ) along much of the route – as well as a few groups of trampers going in and out. A great warm-up for what was to come. We had break stops at the historic locations of Chaffeys Hut, Tent Camp and Cobb Hut and arrived at a very crowded Fenella around 5pm. Joe and Lawrence from the Club were already in residence, and said they would join up with us the next day.
As there were few good camping spots around the hut, Nina advised us of a great site near a tarn on the route out to Lonely Lake. After a short but quite rigorous climb, mainly through steep bush and across a boggy stream, we gained the ridge where there was indeed a flattish, sheltered grassy area perfect for camping – just off the route back to Sylvester Hut. The tarn was a bit elusive, even for Sam running ahead to find it. We pitched tents around 7pm and then went in search of the tarn, which was located further along the ridge about 10 minutes from the tents. Fed, washed and watered we slept well in fine conditions – with the promise of an early start for Lonely Lake the next day. Thanks to Nina for suggesting such a magnificent and peaceful campsite.
Day 2, Tuesday, December 31, 2019 Author: Pat
End: Lonely Lake
After a moonlit evening at our lovely campsite, the mist came down as some of us slept. However, it began to lift as we breakfasted and Waingaro Peak came into view. By the time we broke camp and made our famous early start, the day dawned bright, clear and still. The long sidle on the Western side of the peak was thankfully in shade as we toiled away on a fair track that had a lot of up-and-down. 
A couple of hours later found us on a vertical pitch in the bush leading to the long ridge under Kakapo Peak. Another hour and we were at a high point on the track with a route on our right leading up to the Peak. We dropped packs and made the scramble up scree and loose rock to the summit (1783m). Back within the hour for lunch, we then headed along the ridge of the Douglas Range.
The drop under Pt 1610 was quite abrupt and travel became rough along the spur. Then Lonely Lake came into view and although it was still 1.5km away, we had a bit of a spring in our step (and one or two minor route errors with the crude track in bush along or under the spur). Then a short final plunge and we were at Lonely Lake biv, resplendent in yellow after the recent renovation by Golden Bay Tramping Club.
It was lovely to lounge about in the late afternoon at such a superb and remote location. The two remaining bunks were soon bagged (two already taken by Joe and Lawrence, ‘independent’ NTC party) and the rest made camp in various locations in the bush or the tussock basin. After lake swims and dinner, a small quantity of whiskey was consumed for 2020 but none of the tired party saw in the New Year. However, it had been an excellent if hard day as the views from the Douglas Range were spectacular, the country delightfully varied and the destination superb.
Day 3, Wednesday, January 1, 2020 Author: Mike
End: Bush, Below Adelaide Tarn Saddle
Today would be the longest and most challenging day of the trip, where we diverge from the high route to head down into the Anatoki River, then up to Adelaide Tarn. As we ascended towards Drunken Sailors I reflected on the previous two trips; December 2007 we descended in rain and in March 2014 we encountered snow. This time I had the views, and taking seven days, plenty of time to absorb the surroundings.
At the Drunken Sailors we turned right and followed a route that sidals under the Drunken Sailors. Joe perhaps took the easier route, following cairns down into the basin and joining us where the track starts along the ridge. Descending into the Anatoki River was fairly straightforward, just watching out for and detouring around a few bluffs. We had lunch immediately after crossing the peaceful Anatoki River. Tying a piece of 2mm Dyneema around the front of one of Don’s boots resolved the problem of the sole further parting company with one of his boots. [Note: I repeated the same mistake; pulling some boots out of storage for an 8 day trip up the Wanganui River and onto the Bracken Snowfield. Both soles started to part company on Day 2! Dyneema cord saved me on this occasion, plus some screws “borrowed” from the coat hangers in Smyth Hut. The moral of the story is don’t take boots that have been in long term storage for a walk; it is a known fact that rubber deteriorates in storage. If you do, take along some Dyneema cord and a multitool.] Don’s boot survived to the end of the trip. The single piece of 2mm Dyneema cord lasting the rigours of the Lead Hills.
There was an option to camp at Pt 744. This was duly discussed, but we decided to plod onwards and upwards. The track was less defined than I thought, from my recollection (12 years ago). We continued up, deciding to pause every 100m height gained.
We followed cairns through the house size boulders and then on upwards, and then they stopped. Rather than religiously follow the GPS we searched around for cairns. By this time we had been going for a while and with only a couple of hours daylight left, the topic of camping came to the forefront. Joe and Lawrence (travelling independently) decided to press on. After dropping a very short distance we found some flat spaces and home was quickly established. Brews, dinner and a plunge in the creek (for some) ended a long day, but placed us well for a short day tomorrow to Adelaide Tarn.
Day 4, Thursday, January 2, 2020 Author: Madeleine
End: Adelaide Tarn
Everything seemed to be clear in the morning, we made our way uphill through the bush keeping close to the stream. It was quite enjoyable going and it didn’t take long until we saw the bluffs looming through the trees. A big cairn and a light trail led us up through the last steep tussock terrain to the ridge. And wow what a view. The Dragons Teeth were a bit further away now and in front of us in a basin, beautiful Adelaide Tarn. The timing was right, with the Southbound group just climbing up from the lake to the ridge. After a good chat and information exchange we parted and strolled downhill through tussock to examine the hut and camping space. Adelaide Tarn Hut with 4 bunks was basic but in good order. The sunny afternoon was spent with cups of tea, swimming and taking photographs.
Day 5, Friday, January 3, 2020 Author: Sue End: Boulder Lake Hut
Our day began with a loud knock on the door of the hut and demands from our esteemed leader as to why we weren’t up having breakfast and packing for the next leg of our journey.
As I remember my sleepy reply was, we thought the weather was too bad! How wrong I was. The winds from the previous night had completely dropped and a beautiful day lay ahead. After a quick breakfast and superfast pack up we said our goodbyes to our rather nice hut companion who had come in cold and wet the night before, we ladies made sure he was well looked after.
As we made our way up to the first ridge the views of Adelaide tarn with the Dragons teeth behind were completely stunning, no shortage of shots here!
The route along the ridge was varied and interesting with great views, patches of bush, lots of dracophyllum trees and plentiful bird life. It was a nice surprise to see a number of Tui at this altitude. We eventually made our way to green saddle and found a warm sunny spot with views attached for a great lunch spot. After lunch we continued along the ridge a short way before starting our descent to Boulder lake. When we reached the Boulder Lake flats a jungle of high tussock awaited us, large holes hidden under tussock were numerous and we fell victim several times with much giggling and laughter.
Boulder lake hut was a welcome sight and it wasn’t long before water was on the boil for a welcome cuppa. We all took turns for a chilly and reviving swim at the waterfall behind the hut with plenty of time to relax and chill before turning in for the night.
Day 6, Saturday, January 4, 2020 Author: Debbie
End: Boulder Lake Hut - Sam’s day of adventures
The morning dawned with a cold wind and clouds spilling over the ridge into the valley. Is the weather turning? Will it start raining, sleeting or snowing? Should we go home today, or hope for the best and spend another day in this wonderful environment? We stayed.
After a light breakfast, the morning commenced with Sam’s yoga class in the hut. Three yogi’s followed Sam in doing downward facing dog, pigeon pose and extended child’s pose among other stretches and poses, ending with a short relaxation moment, not long enough for a Nana nap. That completed Sam’s Yin program. Then it was up and out the door on Sam’s adventure # 2.
Five intrepid adventurer’s then followed Sam up the hill behind the hut to do a spot of early morning canyoning in the river above the waterfall. The river was nestled in the womb of the earth, having cut a head high canyon into the soil, with trees arching overhead, creating a sacred and protected environment. In places the river had carved smooth and rounded shapes into the rocks, giving the space the essence of a sensual female’s body. We walked upstream and soon came to a series of deep pools with waterfalls cascading into them. Unperturbed, Pat lead us through the bushes around the side and we had soon climbed above the waterfalls. Above that was a section of the river that was completely enclosed by vegetation creating a narrow green tunnel for us to walk through. At the end of the tunnel we came to yet another waterfall, too high for us to climb around this time. We stood in the morning sun like lizards warming ourselves while a lone weka pecked for food around our feet, completely unafraid of us. He eventually moved off to fish in the river, which seemed richer pickings. Coming back downstream Debbie decided to complete the canyoning experience by jumping the two waterfalls and swimming the pools, much to the amazement and encouragement of the rest of the team, as the water was cold. Photos and a video were taken to prove it happened. Back at the hut hot tea warmed up cold bodies. So we completed Sam’s Yang program.
After lunch a lone female tramper, carrying a rifle arrived at the hut. “What are you hunting?” we asked. “Goat” she replied. “You are in luck”, we replied, as Sam had spotted a family of goats grazing on the lake water’s edge the previous evening. “Oh good”, she replied, “I have run out of food, so need to hunt for dinner today otherwise I don’t eat”. We asked her name. “Miriam” she replied. We soon worked out it was Miriam Lancewood, the Author of the book entitled ‘Woman in the Wilderness”. She went off to put up her tent and four of us set off on Sam’s adventure # 3.
We walked around the lake edge, Sam showing us where he had communicated with the goat herd the previous evening, to the now destroyed dam wall. The 10 – 15 m dam wall was built to augment the water supply to sluice gold claims on the gold mines on the Quartz Range goldfields, 6 km away. It was amazing to consider the hardy, (or fool hardy??) construction of previous generations. The outlet of the lake falls down a spectacular 65m waterfall within a steep gorge. We then went to clamber up the large rock slabs and boulders that form the base of the ridge up to Lake Clara and ultimately the Lead hills route out. Sam even had time to strike a yoga post on top of a large boulder, despite the strong wind. Mike joined us at this stage, and we all scurried around the slope looking for cairns to confirm our route the next day.
Back at the hut we drank more tea and Sam discussed the niceties of hunting with Miriam. Miriam entertained us with stories of her exploits before Madelaine breathlessly arrived back to announce “Miriam’s dinner was grazing at the lake edge”. Off Miriam went to shoot her dinner, while we prepared and ate our last dehydrated dinners. She was gone for about 2 hours, and we were envisaging her gutting and skinning the goat before returning triumphantly for a satisfying dinner. Regrettably, the goats had gone by the time she arrived, and despite walking up one ridge then another looking for them, she came home hungry and empty handed. Sue was able to share her dehydrated dinner with Miriam, so she didn’t go completely hungry that evening.
An early night for us, all packed like sardines in the hut, as we had an early wake up scheduled, to be on the trail home by 7am the next morning. It was with mixed feelings that I fell asleep…. Home – comfortable bed, good food, family and pets … compared to the companionship of my fellow trampers, the adventures of each day, the wonderful wildness of the surrounding mountains and of course, the feeling of being one with it all.
Day 7, Sunday, January 5, 2020 Author: Sam
End: Road End
Please permit me to conclude our tramp along the “Northbound Dragons Teeth Route”. Afternoon rain was in the forecast for Sunday, the 5th of January, 2020, so we discussed our exit strategy the night before. The nine of us woke up at first light and promptly organized breakfast and our backpacks. Soon we had assembled our group in front of the Boulder Lake Hut ready to start the days adventure.
Reviewing back to day 1, where we hiked up the easy Cobb Valley track in the warm and sunny, not too hot with little wind conditions demonstrates how quickly mountainous weather and track can change. This morning we were bundled up in our warmest clothing ready to head out into the cold windy conditions. Pat commented that it could be a bigger challenge if the winds were blowing from the North. Luckily for us, the wind was blowing from a southerly direction.
Straightway we started out off track by first crossing Suspicion Creek next to the hut and then Arena Creek at the head of the lake before high stepping up the traverse through the knee high bush as we climbed out of the Boulder Lake basin. The ridge we chose was near a large dome shaped rock located above Boulder Lake’s outlet to the Boulder River, which some of us had climbed the previous day.
Once everyone was on the spur, Mike took his usual command position as the Tail end Charlie. We hiked upward toward Lake Clara following Nicola and Don as they scouted out the rock cairns until we reached a decisive ridge. The group split up as some of us followed the ridge up and some of us crossed it to drop down to Amphitheatre Creek and fill up with water.
It is no surprise that the bush covered terrain can swallow up a hiker from view in a matter of seconds. The two groups were out of sight of one another for some time before reconnecting beneath the Clark Peak amphitheater near the shores of Lake Clara. This reinforced just how easy it is to get separated from the group in this environment. We took a short break using the large scattered boulders for protection from the wind. Nina and Mike confirmed that we were at the correct elevation (approximately 1100 meters) to begin side hilling across to the Lead Hills ridge. We didn’t take time to acknowledge that this was our last major uphill section, as we pressed on to the next windy challenge.
Reviewing back to the previous days, we were challenged with everything steep; uphills, downhills, and sidehills, valleys and ridges, some with track and some without. Over the demanding terrain, we consumed our food and tallied up the kilometers. Our packs changed from very heavy to less than heavy as we all gained strength and agility day by day.
The group toiled away for some time in the wind and the steep sections of mountain side covered in challenging track and bush for nearly 2 kilometers. Sam scouted ahead like an Alaskan mountain goat over the rough terrain finding the well placed rock cairns that lead us safely through this rough land. The five women in the group: Debbie, Sue, Nina, Madeleine and Nicola demonstrated remarkable endurance to conquer terrain that only the hardiest of gold miners trudged through. This would be our last major sidehill as we looked out across the vast wild valley carved out by the Boulder River.
A narrow barren saddle finally appeared between the Lead Hills summit and the ridge we would travel down to enter the bush at the end of the ridge, where the cars were parked. Before we could reach the bush, we were exposed to the strongest winds of the day as we watched the rain coming toward us across the far valley. The ridge track was barren but well marked with cairns. The steep loose rock made for slow going as we careful picked our way down to the bush line. We regrouped and confirmed our next route section was through the dense bush covered ridge. It was important for the group to stay close together so that we didn’t get lost or separated in this dense bush.
We made our way along the ridge as a slow moving drizzle began to wet everything down. Parts of the track were tricky to follow, and we lost the path (and each other) at times but we were determined to find the end of the track where our cars would be parked. It was a long 3 plus kilometers trudge, at one time needing to climb down a steep incline hanging onto handfuls of ferns. By the time we walked out of the bush onto the road, we were wet, muddy, and likely all had a tumble or two. The rain was steady by this time, so it was a quick change into dry clothing as best as possible, down the hill through the farmer’s paddocks of sheep and out to Collingwood. We stopped for comfort food at Takaka before heading home for a welcome bath.
The team: Mike Drake (leader), Pat Holland, Debbie Hogan, Sue Henley, Nina Solter, Don Morrisey, Nicola Harwood, Madeleine Rohrer, Sam Young.