Wednesday 26 August 2015

Plans for the 2015/16 Summer

I had meant to go for some Winter tramps this year but due to a number of reasons (post graduate study/lots of snow on the Southern Alps/winter laziness) I don't seem to have done any.

Never mind, time to start thinking about plans for Spring-Summer of 2015-16.
I have a large list of possible tramping locations pinned to the wall next to my desk at work, I like to peruse it when I need some "down" time. I have some big plans for tramping over the next 5-6 months, this is how it breaks down:

Day Tramps


  • Avalanche Peak via Scotts track, Arthurs Pass NP (rained out twice so far)

  • Woolshed Hill, Arthurs Pass NP (rained out once)

  • Anti Crow Hut via Waimakiriri, Arthurs Pass NP (Completed 3rd October 2015)

  • Mt Oxford Track, Canterbury foothills

  • Sawcut Gorge Track, Southern Marlborough (I need a reason to visit Blenheim.....)

  • Lewis Pass Tops, Lewis Pass SR (completed 26 December 2015)


Overnight Tramps

  • Lake Rotoiti Circuit, Travers Valley, I'm doing a recce of Nelson Lakes NP as I'm planning to walk the Travers-Sabine Circuit either in late 2016 or early 2017. I have tramped in the area before but only a really long time ago.

Lake Rotoiti, Nelson Lakes NP


  • Robinson Valley, Victoria FP. This has been on my to do list for several years and in fact I have organized the trip twice only to be put off by bad weather. Hopefully it will work out this time....! (Completed in November 2015, awesome trip excepting falling off a river bank)

  • Lucretia Biv route, Lewis Pass SR, same as above, called off twice due to rain/bad weather.

  • Sudden Valley, Arthurs Pass NP,  same as above. This route is reliant on dry conditions to be viable as you have to cross Sudden Valley Stream a number of times. (Cancelled!....Yep....more damned rain!!!)

  • Wharfedale Track, Lees Valley to Whafedale Hut, Mt Oxford FP. I have previously walked the other end of this track back in 2013, so I'm connecting the dots really.

The Te Araroa Trail

I'm section hiking the Te Araroa over the next couple of years so my main  push will be tramping sections of the South Island Tracks.

Over Summer I will be walking:

  • Harper Pass Track, SH73 to Lewis Pass, Morrison footbridge to Windy Point, NOBO, (4-6 Days) (Set for 18-22nd February 2016: Rained out by a 1-100 year storm, I walked the QCT instead)

  • Migha-Deception track, SH73 to Bealey River,  SOBO (2-3 Days) (rescheduled twice due to rain: Cancelled)


When I have finished these two trips I will have walked the Te Araroa from the Ada River to Lagoon Saddle. This will be roughly 300 km's, or 10% of the total distance.

The TaT Henry River Swingbridge, February 2015


Update 2016: Had some problems so far with weather, Ive had to cancel a lot of trips or redirect to other locations. Other trips I have done include: Kowhai River, Rod Donald Hut, Benmore Hut and Thirteen Mile Bush, Otira Valley, Arthurs Pass Walking Track and some walks in Mt Peel Forest.