ENJOYABLE HIKE

Southland Times, Issue 22214, 5 January 1934, Page 2

ENJOYABLE HIKE

SOUTHLAND TRAMPING CLUB UPPER HOLLYFORD AND ROUTEBURN. Thirteen members of the Southland Tramping Club, accompanied by Mr F. Dawson, of Dunedin (who acted as guide), spent their Christmas holidays tramping through the Upper Hollyford and Routebum district. Leaving Invercargill in the early hours of the morning of December 24, the party proceeded by bus to the Eglinton Valley, arriving at Cascade Creek at 12.30 p.m., where they enjoyed an excellent dinner. After the meal they proceeded by bus to the end of the road. Here the packs were shouldered and a start was made for’ their first objective, Howden Hut. This hut is within easy distance of the main road and is reached by climbing a long zig-zag path, on the top of which a fine view of the Lower Hollyford may be obtained, while Mt. Christina, Mt. Crosscut to the left and the Harris Saddle on the right are to be seen. From the top of the zig-zag. to the Howden Hut is only fifteen minutes’ walk. Many visitors up for the day or week-end visit this hut, also the Key Summit, which is only half an hour’s walk from the Howden Hut. With the pushing on of the new road, the trip from Howden to the Homer is much easier than formerly. From the end of the road a formed track leads nearly to Fall’s Creek, which is a third of the distance from Howden Hut to the Homer Hut. The party were most fortunate to have a beautiful day for travelling up to the Homer Hut. The scenery along the Upper Hollyford river is magnificent, and will prove a fitting climax to those travelling up from the Eglinton road when the road is completed. The scenery up the Eglinton road, lovely as it is, is only a prelude to the rugged grandeur of the Upper J-lollyford. Notwithstanding the hot day and travelling with heavy packs, together with many halts to admire peaks, waterfalls and the fast flowing river, the party reached the Homer Hut in very good time.

This hut is smaller than the Howden Hut, but is more comfortable. Situated quite close are the Homer and the Gertrude saddles and the Grave-Talbot Pass. An additional room to the hut is very necessary, over 40 persons having to find accommodation during the club’s visit.

Unfortunately the next day was wet and the trip to the Gertrude Saddle had to be abandoned. The return trip to the Howden Hut was a fairly easy one. The weuther showed an improvement upon that of the previous day. A heavy fall .of snow the next day prevented the party from moving on to the Routeburn Track. A day was spent at the hut trying to get fires going, but the wood around the hut was very wet, and very little wood seems to be left inside to dry. A welcome innovation would be the placing of some person in charge of these huts during the summer months, and a small charge should be made for permission to use them.

The next day the weather was perfect, but the snow was low down on the hills. At 8 p.m. a start was made for the Routeburn huts. The first few miles to the Earland Falls were done under schedule time, the track being in good condition. The falls, which are situated about one and a half hours’ walk from the Howden Hut, are well worth a visit. The morning was delightfully clear, with the snow hanging heavy on the branches of trees and bushes, through which one may obtain an occasional glimpse of the neighbouring peaks. A short distance after passing the Earland Falls the track became obscured, the going from there on to Lake MacKenzic being very heavy. The track leading up from the other side of the lake through the bush towards Ocean Peak was also bad, two hours being taken to travel one mile. The bridle track around the side of the hill to the Harris saddle was fairly easy going. Here a wonderful panorama presented itself. On the opposite side of the Lower Hollyford valley no fewer than seven peaks were in view, ranging from 7000 to over 9000 ft in height, between which lay snow fields of great expanse. There is not much climbing from here to the Harris Saddle, but one gets quite a surprise to find a fairly large and deep lake just below the Saddle, namely, Lake Harris. This lake is shaped like a huge bowl or cup, its banks being almost perpendicular and rising to great heights. There is an outlet at the lower end of the lake, and just below the Harris Falls. The track down to the Routeburn huts is in bad order, some parts being quite overgrown and badly marked. It is a long day from Howden to the Routeburn huts, and with heavy rucksacs it is very tiring, but one is compensated on reaching the huts to find they are comfortable and command a lovely view.

The next two days were .very fine with .clear blue skies and moonlight nights. Excursions were mide from the huts, a particularly fine one being the one following the right arm of the Routeburn river up to the Saddle, where there was an excellent snowfield half a mile long. The flats all along this valley would provide ideal places for camping, the lower ones being large enough for an aeroplane io land. At 8 a.m. on New Year’s Day a start was made on the final stage of the trip, the objective being Kinlcch, which is 17 miles from the Routeburn Hut. This distance was covered in just under six hours. The scenery at the beginning of this journey was delightful, but below the Routeburn Station was not so interesting. The party then proceeded to Queenstown by boat. During the trip several other parties were encountered, the largest being a party of 17 from Canterbury led by Mr Charles Clark (formerly of Invercargill). The Southland Tramping Club’s party consisted of six ladies and eight men. All the provisions for eight days had to be carried, which made the trip a fairly strenuous but nevertheless an enjoyable one.