Two carloads of punters drove down to Arthurs Pass on Good Friday. We regrouped for lunch at Moana after driving divergent routes to get there! We then made our way to Te Kinga for a short walk up to a lookout point over Lake Brunner the bush and birdsong were beautiful, although unfortunately the peace was somewhat disturbed by the constant hum of jet skis on the lake nevertheless it was a lovely walk rewarded with an excellent view. We stayed long enough to watch the Tranzalpine chug across the countryside before heading back down and driving on to Arthur's Pass.
There may not have been actual miracles on the Easter weekend trip to Arthur's Pass but there were some mysteries. Why did Richard decide to drive to Reefton via Springs Junction? was he really looking for that golden easter egg as he claimed? Why did Scott think there was a cairn with a hat on top of it ahead of him in the cloud when clearly it was Jo wearing a hat. How did a grizzled 60-something and his companion manage to hitchhike back to Arthur's pass after only having his thumb out for a matter of seconds? and lastly, why did Peter give in-depth instruction on the safest way to conduct a tramp and then hoon off ahead to wait at the hut, not knowing what was happening to the tail-enders? All of these mysteries have an answer but in the meantime here is the serious trip report:
We really enjoyed our stay at the Christchurch Tramping club hut. much nicer than a hut, though! Our first walk was up the Bealey Spur. The weather was rather westerly so we looked back at some stormy weather in Arthur's Pass but were just out of reach of it. The second day being the big climb up to Avalanche Peak; it certainly is steep! the views were great but not perfect, unfortunately we were in a of cloud so we didn’t get the perfect view from the top that we wanted. On the third day, as we headed home, we took a short walk up the Otira Valley. the great thing about that little walk is that you are straight into some beautiful sub-alpine vegetation.
We were a great team, with three newish members. let’s hope they stick around, they were a joy to have with us!
A big thank you to Kath who organised the trip but then sadly couldn’t join us due to covid and a big thank you to Michele for stepping in and being the leader.
Participants: Michele (leader), Peter, Scott (scribe), Richard, Yvonne, Steve and visitors Jace and Jamie