Bushwalk Australia

Hi Kiwis,

I am interested in some suggestions for a good 5ish day walk in NZ for some long term planning / scoping.

We are keen on something a little less travelled but not pioneering. So by Tassie standards more Western Arthurs than Overland Track. We will carry a tent - no huts not an issue.

We are two fairly fit and experienced walkers. We particularly like getting onto some higher ridges and mountains. Both have experience in glacier travel and limited ice climbing but would prefer to avoid lugging all the gear for this. Don't mind a bit of scrambling as well.

What would be some suggestions? Dusky Track is one I came across that might be an option?

Thanks in advance.

three passes
five passes
olivine ice plateau
garden of eden, garden of allah.
st arnaud to lewis pass.
tararua traverse
gillespie pass
rabbit pass
douglas range dragons teeth
fitzgerald pass (copland pass replacement)
various around Kahurangi, thousand acre plateau, mt owen....arthur range,
tongariro - ruapehu traverse
Kaweka tops
Ruahine tops

if dave noble doesnt see this tread drop him a line. he's done some challenging trips in nz

nq111 wrote:We are keen on something a little less travelled but not pioneering. So by Tassie standards more Western Arthurs than Overland Track. We will carry a tent - no huts not an issue.

A few questions.
Have you tramped in NZ before ??
What time of year would you like to go ??

In February I did a loop variant of the Three Passes walk, near Arthur's Pass. River crossings, high passes, gorges, ice - awesome. Needed spikes. An iceaxe would of been handy.

I took 7 days on an extended route but the core section only needs 4-5 days

I also carried a tent - and had to use it once - despite there being huts EVERYWHERE.

The rivers rise quickly after rain.

Here's a blog I did of the trip: http://trailsandtracks.blogspot.com/201 ... ss-nz.html

wayno wrote:three passes
five passes
olivine ice plateau
garden of eden, garden of allah.
st arnaud to lewis pass.
tararua traverse
gillespie pass
rabbit pass
douglas range dragons teeth
fitzgerald pass (copland pass replacement)
various around Kahurangi, thousand acre plateau, mt owen....arthur range,
tongariro - ruapehu traverse
Kaweka tops
Ruahine tops

if dave noble doesnt see this tread drop him a line. he's done some challenging trips in nz

Awesome - thanks Wayno. That list will certainly do for starters!

forest wrote:A few questions.
Have you tramped in NZ before ??
What time of year would you like to go ??

Fair questions.

Q1 - no, I have only done a few short tourist tramps (if you could call them that) with kids in NZ so far.

But I lived in Tasmania for a while and have probably done around 100 walks there in all conditions. Plus another 100 or so elsewhere in Australia and a few big peaks in Northern California. My walking mate hasn't done as much Tassie walking (been on a few with me in the snow), but is otherwise experienced in the bush, is fitter and stronger than me, and is doing an ice-climbing course this winter in NZ.

So not to be complacent, and I like to do tonnes of research beforehand, but I think we will be ok for it.

Q2. Timing is not yet determined. Takes us about a year in practice to plan these things between work and family commitments - so will aim for a time with a good chance of the right weather (though not high summer ideally).

andrewbish wrote:In February I did a loop variant of the Three Passes walk, near Arthur's Pass. River crossings, high passes, gorges, ice - awesome. Needed spikes. An iceaxe would of been handy.

I took 7 days on an extended route but the core section only needs 4-5 days

I also carried a tent - and had to use it once - despite there being huts EVERYWHERE.

The rivers rise quickly after rain.

Here's a blog I did of the trip: http://trailsandtracks.blogspot.com/201 ... ss-nz.html

Thanks andrewbish.

That is exactly the sort of walk we are looking for. I'll work my way through Wayno's list and develop a short-list.

We are not totally adverse to carrying ice gear - probably more me that considers the weight penalty is the only thing!

Yes - i will definitely carry a tent. I have had the misfortune in Tassie of having to pitch there and then when the weather turned (followed by two days tent bound with wind and ice ). I would hate to have to rely on making it to a hut each night

I understand the river crossings are one of the biggest killers in NZ? I'll do more research but we will take some cordellettes (or maybe rope as well) and bring them out for any crossing that looks remotely dicey.

This might be a bit obvious, but do have a look at www.tramper.co.nz and www.doc.govt.nz

Ok - the ones tweaking my interest the most so far are:

three passes
five passes
gillespie pass
rabbit pass
douglas range dragons teeth

I'll start some proper research on these.

this book covers all those except gillespies
http://www.craigpotton.co.nz/store/book ... ew-zealand

gillespies and especially rabbit pass are dry weather trips..
the rabbit pass trip has issues of being held up by rising water courses in heavy rain, rabbit pass itself needs to be dry on the ground to attempt. , its too steep, slippery and treacherous with the tussock grass if it's wet.
gillespies isnt recommended in the wet either. allow extra time for delays, if you can't do that, then be prepared to abandon the trips if the weather goes against you.

if i'm walking an exposed route i try and allow extra days and don't fix the exact dates for the trip till i have a weather forecast for the period to try and avoid any particularly bad weather that could threaten the success of the trip. otherwise i alter my plans

Ok, thank you everyone for suggestions.

Working winner is Five Passes Tramp. I figure:

[*]It is easy access (close to Queenstown (direct flight in) plus starts at the Routeburn track so regular transport options available)
[*]Good mix of valleys, slopes, passes and terrain
[*]Possibility to add some side peaks if all going well
[*]A little less travelled but not pioneering
[*]5 day route so gives some bad weather day allowance
[*]If the weather turns out really knarly can do the Routeburn or similar in the area instead and at least get some walking out of the trip

Would March be a good bet to try it?

We will carry crampons, ice axe, harnesses and cordellettes/ double ropes in case the passes are icy (not technical ice gear - just glacier / neve travel gear). Will also carry the usual gear including four/five-season tent, extra food/fuel, 2x gps, waterproof map and PLB.

Any feedback on the plan?

mid jan through to mid march, depends on how the weather pans out... as to how the end of march looks , weather can start to get changeable again. talk to doc in queenstown closer to the time to find out about any remaining snow or ice....

If you're doing rabbit pass, you'll see Top Forks Hut not far from there.

From that hut, I would highly recommend to head north into Lucidus lake. Some seriously impressive views there, and Mt pollux is right beside the lake.

wayno wrote:three passes
five passes
olivine ice plateau
garden of eden, garden of allah.
st arnaud to lewis pass.
tararua traverse
gillespie pass
rabbit pass
douglas range dragons teeth
fitzgerald pass (copland pass replacement)
various around Kahurangi, thousand acre plateau, mt owen....arthur range,
tongariro - ruapehu traverse
Kaweka tops
Ruahine tops

if dave noble doesnt see this tread drop him a line. he's done some challenging trips in nz

You are a wealth of information Wayno. I am going to look at everyone of these hikes for when I go to NZ.

i dont know anyone who's needed ropes in summer on five passes. contact the queenstown doc office closer to the time to see if they can tell you what the ice situation is like, ice axe and crampons should be enough and event then, walking pole and crampons more than likely to be enough

nq111 wrote:Working winner is Five Passes Tramp

Yep, Five Passes is a class tramp. Obviously, weather is variable but March is almost as good a proposition as Feb.

Unless there has been significant snowfall (and no following warmer weather) in the month before you go, I wouldn’t bother with the climbing/ice gear (ice-axe, crampons, harness or rope). Only the south side of Fiery Col would be of any issue at all – and that not likely. Closer to your tramp, the best source of near-current conditions would be http://www.tramper.co.nz. The photo below shows the remnant snow in mid-Feb 2013.
Here’s a link to what we did this year in Feb. http://www.tramper.co.nz/?8505 I would highly recommend the anti-clockwise direction - then at Park Pass, you can decide to do the Lake Nerine / North Col extension or stay with the traditional route if you are short of time.

As well as Lake Nerine, side trips to Sunset Peak and Park Pass Glacier are highly recommended.
.