Mt Owen

The original plan was to head to Kahaurangi National Park to the Dragon's Teeth for a 6 day tramp. We'd bought the food, and planned to meet a friend in Motueka for a BBQ on Tuesday evening before starting the tramp early Wednesday morning. As there was no need for an early start, we left Christchurch at a reasonable 11am and began the long drive north. However, our plan was forced to change due to flooding and slip damage pretty much all over the South Island. We managed to get as far as Havelock before being stranded, so the BBQ and our Dragon's Teeth trip was not going to happen. After finding a nice camp spot in Havelock, we cooked the food we'd bought for the BBQ and came up with a plan B, as by the time the roads would be clear in the morning we would no longer have time to complete our 6 day trip.

Camping in Havelock after being stranded by the floods

 

Plan B was to buy a map in St Arnaud and head to Mt Owen. Although only a 3-4 day trip, it was somewhere we all wanted to go within driving distance. We decided to head up Sunrise Peak on to the tops; a steep 3hr climb to the bushline. Once above the bushline, we scrambled up the tussock on to the tops, which were covered in a maze of limestone rock. As we had a limited water supply, we aimed to set up camp by some tarns shown on the map. However, by 7pm we hadn't found the tarns, so made our way to a small patch of snow to set up camp just below Mt Owen summit.

At the bushline of Sunrise Peak Track

Limestone Maze

                            

After a gusty night we awoke to a calm, cloudless day. We made it to the summit of Mt Owen by 11am, and after an hour sitting on the summit and admiring the views finally came to a decision to head to Branch Creek Hut for the night and then walk out down the Fyfe River the next day. The walk to Branch Creek Hut involved more limestone negotiating, plenty of spaniards, and climbing up long grass and tussock. Branch Creek Hut is in a beautiful spot by the river, and we had it all to ourselves until 8pm when 2 other ladies joined us after a 10 hour walk in along the Fyfe River.

Heading from Mt Owen to Branch Creek Hut

We started our walk out along the Fyfe River early(ish) (8:30am) just in case it was going to be a long day, but it actually only took us 6.5hrs to get back to the car. The walk along the Fyfe River was through beautiful bush, crossing the river frequently and then climbing up to avoid the odd gorge. We spotted one blue duck, and could see how high the river had risen only a few days earlier during the flooding.

Gorge along the Fyfe River

Fyfe River

After a quick pint in the pub in Murchison, we decided to head back to Christchurch and celebrate New Year with some cereal and a cup of tea. I definitely wasn't complaining.