Tramping Day 20 Dec 15th Pakituhi Hut to Wild Camping Timaru River 13km
The weather had closed in so I decided to go towards Stodys on the 4WD tack rather than via Breast Hill – it was a pretty straightforward tramp to the hut – as I said it's pretty basic so I pushed on for a few km. The track after Stodys is pretty tricky – a lot of up and down – narrow track with steep drop offs so quite slow going. I camped in some nice birch forest just before you hit the Timaru River – sandflies aplenty as you would expect but a lovely place to camp.
 |
| Stodys Hut at the edge of the forest on the right pic - I preferred to camp in the Birch forest |
Tramping Day 21 Dec 16th Camping to Top Timaru Hut 12km
This section was pretty straightforward and was only about 5 hours tramping with breaks. Top Timaru Hut is fine but the mesh windows leak sandflies and ventilation is not great which makes it warm if full.
 |
| Top Timaru Hut |
Tramping Day 22 Dec 17th Top Timaru Hut to Tin Hut 13km
Easy walk up the valley – Mount Martha is easy to go up and down as the track up the scree slope is very wide. Descended to Tin Hut and had lunch there. The intention had been to go on to camp just before the Ahuriri River but heavy rain set in and I decided to stay at Tin Hut. This is not a DOC hut but a private hut that can be used by TA trampers. It could be lovely but several people had left a mix of gas bottles, glass bottles and food wrappers there - not TA trampers I hope. I took the opportunity to have a bit of a spring clean but sincerely hope that people respect this hut more in future.
 |
| Tin Hut |
Tramping Day 23 Dec 18th 2017 Tin Hut to Camping at end of Pine Forest 15km
Didn't get as many km under my belt today as I should have due to a bit of a wrong turn. It's important to remember that the orange triangles are not generic for TA - they can indicate other tracks as well! As I found out!
Tramping Day 24 Dec 19th 2017 Camping at end of Pine Forest to Lake Middleton Camp 24km
A tough day this one - first 5km quite straightforward but then really rough ground, stony and tussocky - about 2.5km per hour stuff.
Had a strong headwind though which slowed my up and a bit of elevation to get up albeit not too steep - descent from the top was easy walking with a bit of road walking at the end to Lake Middleton DOC camp
Had a strong headwind though which slowed my up and a bit of elevation to get up albeit not too steep - descent from the top was easy walking with a bit of road walking at the end to Lake Middleton DOC camp
 |
| The Kiwis love a bit of poisoning! :-) |
|
| Camping at Lake Middleton |
A couple of km of road walking to start with then onto a lakeside cycle track so fast easy walking. Bit of a nasty few km along the state highway into Twizel though - although there seems to be some road path parallel to the highway - not sure if it's private but might be worth looking at as an option. Twizel has a couple of Four Squares for resupply - one is bigger/better than the other. There are a couple of nice restaurants there if you want to spoil yourself ... Took a zero day in Twizel the next day...
Tramping Day 26 Dec 22nd 2017 Twizel to Lakeside Wild Camping 30km
A km or so of road walking until you reach the Alps to Ocean cycle trail. A bit dull but the reward when you reach the lake is worth it - if you have a sunny day like I did the views of Mount Cook will be incredible. Despite all the tourists it's worth sitting down at the visitors centre and soaking it all up. Great salmon sashimi there as well! I then tramped up the lakeside - I took a detour from the official TA at this point. Instead of tramping across the canal to Tekapo I did the following 3 day tramp...
Day 1 Twizel to Lakeside Wild Camp about 3km N of the power station 30km
Day 2 Lakeside Wild Camp to Telegraph Hut 25km
Day 3 Telegraph Hut to Tekapo 16km
This a route described well here by Atholl McCredie - thanks Atholl for putting it online. His NOBO guide is well worth reading.
So ended up at a really nice lakeside spot - very peaceful, no sandflies and a great spot for a swim but test the water before you dive in - chilly!!
 |
| Awesome views of Mount Cook |
 |
| 2 options for travelling NZ - backpacking or enormous motorhome!! |
 |
| The road up the lake - little traffic and great camping spots... |
Tramping Day 27 Dec 23rd 2017 Lakeside Wild Camping to Telegraph Hut 25km
Lots of road walking on this alternative route but gravel and barely any traffic. The views over the lake and of Mount Cook were amazing - can't imagine the canal walk would be better in any way...
Was another stunning spring day and quite hot by 10am - then a tramping fantasy came true - a car stopped and the driver asked my if I wanted a cold beer!! Life doesn't get any better than this!
I even met some locals and they let me help bring in the hay on their farm - got a 5 minute tractor driving course and I was off!
I even met some locals and they let me help bring in the hay on their farm - got a 5 minute tractor driving course and I was off!
The lakeside road (Hayman Road) eventually meets Braemar Road - take a right here and it's 13km to Telegraph hut - easy to find just off the road - it's only a 2 bunker but plenty of space to camp if it's occupied - which would be very unlikely. If you are NOBO there is a big stream about 50m before the hut.
 |
| Met some locals and the invited me bring in the hay! Telegraph Hut on the right |
Lots of great old (and some new) graffiti on the walls of Telegraph hut
Tramping Day 28 Dec 24th 2017 Telegraph Hut to Tekapo 16km
A short day but if the weather is good it's worth getting to Tekapo early. The walk from Telegraph hut to the highway is gravel and quiet but then it's 5km of state highway into Tekapo ugh! Resupply at Tekapo Foursquare (now large and has everything) and spend a night at Lakefront Lodge Backpackers as they have a great spot for relaxation.
Tekapo was a nice place to spend Christmas Eve - I went to a carol service at the Church of the Good Shepherd - a great way to see in Christmas Day
 |
| Lakefront Lodge Backpackers Guard Cat! |
 |
| Church of the Good Shepherd Lake Tekapo |
Tramping Day 29 Dec 25th 2017 Tekapo to Wild Camping at start of Richmond Trail 16km
Christmas Day but not a day of rest for a TA tramper! Bit of a late start as phone calls home had to be made.. I tramped out along Lilybank road - again a quiet gravel road - there was a huge headwind and the going was slow so I decided to camp just at the start of the track rather than trying to make it to Camp Stream Hut a further 18km away. With an early start from Tekapo it would be doable but it would be a big day..
 |
| My Christmas present from NZ - a beautiful camp spot and the most amazing sky over the lake |
