Hakatere Conservation Area: Mt Sunday: November 2022

 Return to Mt Sunday in the Hakatere

In late November I did a day trip up to Mt Sunday in the Hakatere Conservation Park....my first trip to this park in nearly a year. I wanted to capture some clips to make a vlog of the track at that location. I love it up in the Hakatere...it is stark but also very beautiful in a harsh kind of way. 

On the way to Mt Somers settlement in South Canterbury

It is quite a long way to Mt Sunday from Christchurch...nearly 150 kilometers so it is good that the track is relatively short once you reach the car park. You drive in via Mt Somers and the Ashburton Lakes passing Lake Clearwater on the way.

On the Potts-Hakatere Road...Hakatere Conservation Park

Mt Sunday has a lovely outlook over the head of the Upper Rangitata River and up the Havelock and Clyde Rivers to the big mountains of the Southern Alps. It is perhaps best known as the site of Edoras in the Lord of the Ring movies and has become a tourist mecca because of this.

Mt Sunday car-park on the Hakatere -Potts Road

I had beautiful weather on the day and this allowed me to get some excellent images of the area around Mt Sunday so let's have a look...

On the Mt Sunday Track:

The Mt Sunday Track is just over 1.5 kilometers from the carpark to the summit of the mountain and takes 40-45 minutes walking time each way. For the most part it is a gentle stroll across some rocky and boggy flat ground with a climb of less than 100 meters in elevation at the end. 

Relatively busy Mt Sunday Carpark

 Normally this area will be swarming with tourists as Mt Sunday had a starring role as Edoras in the Lord of the Rings movies. It has become a LOTR mecca and most summer days would normally see bus loads of international visitors making the journey to visit the site. There were a few people there but luckily the tourist hordes have yet to materialise in these far flung areas. 

First section is along a gravel road: Mt Sunday Track

Map: Mt Sunday Track, Hakatere Conservation Park

The track to the top of Mt Sunday is easy walking...initially across flat land and completed by a short climb up the eastern end of the mount. 

Mt Sunday overlooks the Rangitata River Valley

Some of this track crosses private land so it is important that you only follow the marked track so that access is maintained to Mt Sunday. Do not go haring off overland...high country station owners are notoriously irritated by people crossing their land without permission. 

Eastern flank of Mt Sunday is rugged

...even minor streams are bridged, Mt Sunday Track...

The track is well marked with snow poles with the usual orange sleeve on the top...there are no trees here to nail plastic markers too. It is super easy to follow as it weaves through the Matagouri and across areas of river shingle and grassland. 

Cloudy Peak (2403) looms over the Upper Rangitata

Black Mountain Range behind Mt Sunday

The track is easy but it is also rough...you are walking for more than half the distance in an old river bed and it is rocky and uneven ground. Watch your footing along here.

View up the valley to Cloudy Peak

You follow the snow poles up valley for about half a kilometer before turning left and walking towards Mt Sunday out to the south west. There are a number of creeks and streams to cross along the track...this is old glacial till and it is undulating and filled with bogs and swampy areas. All of the major streams have bridges including a wooden footbridge and a proper swing bridge over the widest channel. 

Footbridge over stream...Mt Sunday Track

The stream is a tributary of the Rangitata

The swing bridge crosses what should certainly be a named river...it is about 15 meters wide, deep and swift but does not have a name. It is certainly bigger than some of the other named watercourses I have encountered before so it is a bit strange. I suppose you would count it as a  tributary stream of the Rangitata River.

...Quite a sizable waterway...

Swingbridge over another side stream...Mt Sunday Track

View from the true right....Mt Sunday Track

These headwater streams all fed into the Rangitata River so they are full of both native and exotic fish species. As well as various Galaxias/Kokopu species there are Trout and various types of Salmon. You can fish these streams but only in season and with the relevant fishing license. I would imagine there are also freshwater eels and koura here but I did not see any. 

Many fish species live in the Rangitata

Mt Sunday (611 asl) is a small outlier mount separated from the surrounding mountain ranges...I would assume that it was harder than the surrounding area so it did not erode flat like its surrounding rock. It is about 100 meters higher than the plain it sits on and has some excellent views out to the Upper Rangitata River and up both the Havelock and Clyde Rivers. 

There are bluffs on the western flank that fall 40-60 meters from the crest and give it a rugged mountainous appearance....

Sign warns of private property rights, Mt Sunday Track

Mt Sunday (611) from the Mt Sunday Track

Mt Sunday Track climbs the eastern ridge

The track to the top of Mt Sunday goes from the eastern end of the ridge to the crest...keep on the old farm track and follow the snow poles up past the cattle. The track condition is decent and the gradient is not that step so it should only take 10 minutes to get from the base to the top of Mt Sunday. 

Boardwalk over muddy section of Mt Sunday Track

Steep climbing to the top of Mt Sunday

There are cattle on the plains around Mt Sunday and for the most part they are harmless and will steer well clear of you. Do take care to stay away from cattle with young as they may charge you to protect them. 

People silhouetted on the Mt Sunday Track

Unmarked track to the top of Mt Sunday

The views quickly improve as you climb and you can see down valley to Mt Potts Station and across the Rangitata to Mesopotamia Station. This valley is a couple of kilometers wide and consists of  flat rolling grassland from the hills to the river. It is almost devoid of trees except near the station buildings which have exotic shelter belts to protect them from the fierce winds which often blow off the Southern Alps. 

View east to Harper Range from Mt Sunday

If you look out to the east you can see the Potts Range, the Hakatere-Potts Road and the course of the river that you crossed on your way to the mountain. Mt Potts is the highest peak at 2400 odd meters and there is a public easement track down by Erewhon Station if you want to bag the mountain. 

Mt Potts (2184) from Mt Sunday 

View down to side streams along Mt Sunday Track

View up Clyde River from the Mt Sunday Track

The last 200 odd meters to the crest is along the spine of the ridge running in from the eastern side of Mt Sunday. This is the steepest part of the track but it is short so just pace yourself and take your time climbing. Stay away from the eastern edge of the ridge as there are a series of bluffs right along the track that you do not want to fall off. 

Mt Sunday Track...nearly at top

Mt Sunday Summit is a long ridge

I eventually topped the ridge and found myself in a sheltered depression just down from the trig point which crowns Mt Sunday. This was a good place to get out of the howling wind and I had a drink before walking the last couple of meters to the summit. 

On Mt Sunday.....

The wind was fair wiping over the top of Mt Sunday as I reached the crest...there is absolutely nothing here to stop the wind so it roars down the valley and up and over Mt Sunday before continuing on its way. There are magnificent views of the Upper Rangitata and Cloudy Peak Range from up here..it was especially dramatic with the misty rain clouds rolling over the distant hills. 

Looking towards Bush Stream and Mesopotamia Station

Headwaters of the Rangitata River from Mt Sunday

I hunkered down in the rock garden on the crest and enjoyed the various views on offer. The Hakatere is a bleak looking place but it is also beautiful as it looks totally wild with only minimal signs of human habitation to be seen. The high country stations up here are some of the most remote in New Zealand and it must be a harsh working environment for those who manage the farms in the area. 

View west along Mt Sunday Summit ridge

Mt Potts rises on the eastern side of the Rangitata Valley

Dust blows off the bed of the Rangitata River

There is a trig station on the top of Mt Sunday marking the point where it reaches 611 meters above sea level...its highest point. 

Trip point atop Mt Sunday, Hakatere Conservation Park

Erewhon Station from Mt Sunday

Southern Alps at the head of the Havelock River

From the crest of Mt sunday I could see several tourist buses down near the streams you pass on the way in. The buses tend to stop at the river side as they have to pay a fee to let passengers climb up to the top of the mount. There is an excellent view of the Mt Sunday bluffs from there which make for a good photo background. 

Tourist buses at the edge of the stream...Mt Sunday

Plenty of natural rock seats near the Mt Sunday trig

Wind whipped up from the bed of the Rangitata River

Mt Sunday runs out to the west along another ridgeline but as this is private land you should not venture too far along the tracks. We do not have roaming rights in New Zealand like they do in the UK...you need permission to use the tracks and cross farmland. We are really lucky to be able to visit these places and irritating the station owner is one way to lose walking access to choice spots such as this. Stay on the marked track please....

A Nor-West storm was approaching over the Alps

Erewhon Station is about another two kilometers up the valley from Mt Sunday...it covers most of the land at the top of the Rangitata River. Erewhon is famous as it was land owned back in the 1860's by an English gentleman farmer called Samuel Butler who wrote a fictional account of life on the station. 

He painted a rather rosy view of life on the station markedly different from the hard, dirty and lonely reality. It was widely popular in England of the time and resulted in a great many people heading to New Zealand to start anew.

Erewhon covers the eastern side of the valley

Erewhon farm buildings just visible from Mt Sunday

Erewhon is still a running station and they primarily raise cattle, deer, high quality Merino sheep and large working horses like the Clydesdale. You can visit the farm on tours that include a look at the workings, horse treks and traditional morning tea...surely one of the most remote tourist attractions in the country.

Rest of the ridge at the western end of Mt Sunday

NW storm coming over Cloudy Peak

I didn't spend long on the summit of Mt Sunday as it was windy, cold and I was getting hit by the occasional rain drop and I wanted to be gone before it let rip. I spent about 10 minutes on the crest and then headed off the top via the eastern ridgeline I had climbed on my way in. 

Potts River passes in front of Harper Range

That vista looking towards the head of the Rangitata is very compelling...I have taken multiple photos as it draws your attention. It might not be quite so interesting if it was a calm, sunny and cloudless day but the moody, stormy air makes it much more interesting. 

Sitting on the trip point on Mt Sunday

Mt Sunday was a place that was infrequently visited by walkers until quite recently..it was mostly Kiwis who knew about it...that was until the Lord of the Rings. Mt Sunday was the location of Edoras (capital of Rohan) in the LOTR movies and a small temporary village set was built on the crest of the mountain while filming was underway. 

The LOTR Edoras set on the top of Mt Sunday...

There was some talk of leaving the site set up as a tourist attraction but it was decided to remove all the workings after filming was completed. The harsh winters up here would have destroyed it within a couple of years. Today it is on the LOTR tourism fan route so most days over the summer the area would be swarming with fans of the films. 

Potts-Hakatere Road heading back to Lake Clearwater

Tourist buses around the bridges on the track

I was quite taken by all the kettle lakes you can see on the plain surrounding Mt Sunday. They are glacial in nature...large chunks of ice from the glaciers that once filled the valley got covered by dense layers of glacial till. Long after the rest of the glacier is gone they melt and the till collapses into the resultant hole forming a small lake. 

These kettles will infill with silt and become swamps, bogs and mires...a natural progression as old as time. Some of these kettle lakes are huge...the one to the south east of Mt Sunday is probably 300 meters across and is now filled with reeds, rushes and swamp grasses. Some time far in the future it will dry out and you will never know it existed at all. 

Kettle lakes around the base of Mt Sunday

You can see Bush Stream and the Mesopotamia Station on the far side of the Rangitata River...this is one of the oldest high country stations in the country. It was originally owned by Samuel Butler (who owned all the land at the end of this valley including Erewhon Station) from 1860 to the late 1860's. It is a huge station at nearly 90 000 acres with a mix of freehold land (15 000 acres) and Crown lease land (65 000 acres)

Most of the land is due to undergo tenure review soon and it will probably form the basis of a new conservation park. There has been talk of a 'Eastern Rivers National Park' similar to the one proposed on the West Coast.

Mesopotamia on the far side of the Rangitata

 The Hakatere area contains the headwaters of several large rivers...the Havelock, Clyde, Lawrence, Hakatere/Ashburton and Potts...they all feed into the larger Rangitata River.

Mt Sunday...heading for home....

I headed off as it looked like some rain cloud was heading for me down the valley and it was approaching 3pm by that stage. Heading back to the car-park is along the same track you followed to the summit and is perhaps 5-10 minutes faster as you are walking down hill for part of the way.

Heading down the eastern ridge of Mt Sunday

While the track off the mountain is easy do take care as there are some bluffs along the eastern side of the hill...don't be tempted to try taking a short cut!!!

North Eastern flank of Mt Sunday

You get a good view of the eastern bluffs as you walk off Mt Sunday...they are not massive by any means but they do give the mount a more rugged appearance than would otherwise be the case. You certainly wouldn't want to fall off them...you might not die but you would be in hospital for quite some time...the bouncing would hurt a bit!!!

There is a right of access sign on the fence...

It was looking stormy up valley from Mt Sunday with thick dark cloud and obvious rain squalls visible for all of the time I was walking the track. There was a good strong Nor' wester blowing as well so I hustled along the track to ensure I finished the track before it started raining. Although I did get hit with the odd bit of wind blown water it did not rain while I was there. 

Storm brewing up the Havelock and Clyde

I stopped down by the swing bridge for a break and had a good look at the creek while I was there. It is really deep and moving a significant amount of water. I am surprised it has no name but then I suppose they just consider it a part of the Rangitata River.

 You should take care if messing around near the river...I don't think it is suitable for swimming. Beside being polluted with cow manure it would quite easily carry you away downstream and it is perishing cold water. 

Deep water in the side stream...Mt Sunday Track

I'm sure you could probably raft or kayak this river if you could be bothered lugging a boat this far inland...I think it would be worth the effort. The river joins up with the Potts River and then the Rangitata River about six kilometers down the valley so you could get a decent run out of it. 

Deep enough for kayaking along?

Once over the rivers it is just that last kilometer or so across the old river bed shingles and through the Matagouri back to the car. This is the easy part of the track and you cover the distance swiftly.

Back in the Matagouri scrub...Mt Sunday Track

...follow the snow poles to stay on track...

The trig point on Mt Sunday is atop the slight bump in the middle of the ridge...it gives you a sense of scale about how big this mount is. You can see why they would have thought it a great film location...you can just about imagine some eyrie like castle perched atop the mountain waiting to repel all attackers. 

It would certainly make a fine defensive position. With some mortars, half a dozen machine guns, lots of ammunition and a company of men you could hold off most of a Brigade from the top....

Mt Sunday...an ideal defensive position?

Looking over the Matagouri towards Cloudy Peak

Still snow on the highest points...Cloudy Peak

The Te Araroa Trail goes right across the Hakatere Conservation Park...it comes in from the Rakaia River at Glenrock crosses several mountain ranges and then crosses the plains of the Hakatere from near Lake Heron to the Potts River. 

Potts River is along the distant tree line

The Rangitata is a hazard zone along the track...the TA trust does not recommend crossing the very dangerous Rangitata. Rather they advise you to travel right around the river and restart at Mesopotamia Station on the true right of the Rangitata. It is a long way between the Potts River and Mesopotamia...over 100 kilometers by road so every year foolhardy folks attempt to cross the river. Nobody has drowned yet but it is only a matter of time. 

The Te Araroa Trail continues south from here

Lets just say you wouldn't see me trying to cross the Rangitata under any circumstances. 

Anyway...I digress! 

You are just about back at the end of the track when you see the roof of the vault toilet at the car-park hove into view. You just have the last hundred or so meters along the track, down the gravel road and through the gate to the car-park. 

Nearly at the end of the Mt Sunday Track

More tourists heading out to Mt Sunday

It is a bit quicker to walk back to the carpark as you are walking downhill for some of the way. I found myself back at the carpark about 35 minutes after setting off from Mt Sunday.  

Mt Sunday car-park comes into view

Vault toilet at Mt Sunday car-park, Hakatere Conservation Park

Last 30 meters of the Mt Sunday Track

There were about half a dozen vehicles in the car park which is way more than last time I was here. With Covid restrictions abating and the reappearance of tourist this will be a busy place going forward...

At the Mt Sunday carpark..the end of the walk

The distant Sinclair Range near Mesopotamia Station

There is space for about 20 cars at the carpark for the Mt Sunday Track...it is relatively secure as you are a gazillion miles from anywhere but I still wouldn't leave any valuables on display while walking the track. Best not to tempt those with weaker moral fortitude than yourself!

Silver Surfer parked at the Mt Sunday trailhead

Last view of Mt Sunday from the carpark

The Hakatere is a bleak and starkly empty place but it has an ascetic appeal all of its own. I can see why people have built holiday homes at Lake Heron and Clearwater....the views would be spectacular right through the year. No more houses will be built up here as all the freehold land available in the park for dwellings has now been built on. The rest of it is all DOC/Crown land...so this is how it is going to stay. 

I hope to visit again soon...!!!

Access: From Rakaia on SH1 follow Thompsons Track to Tramway Road and Mt Somers village. Join Ashburton Gorge Road to Hakatere Station and then follow Hakatere - Potts Road past Lake Clearwater Settlement and over the Potts River bridge to the sign posted turn off to Mt Sunday. 

Track Times: Mt Sunday Track to the summit of Mt Sunday is 45 minutes walking. It is approximately 2 kilometers from the carpark to the top of Mt Sunday. 

Miscellaneous:  It is 45 km's along gravel roads from Hakatere Station to Mt Sunday...it is accessible by two wheel drive vehicles. Mt Sunday is near the headwaters of the Rangitata River not far from Erewhon Station (one of the most remote stations in New Zealand). This is in the shadow of the Southern Alps so it is a alpine area with the resultant changeable weather. There are two fords near Mt Potts Station that may be flooded in very heavy rain. Access over winter can also be blocked by heavy snow and ice. This is a remote area so make sure you have sufficient clothing, equipment and consumables to sustain your stay. 

You Tube: Mt Sunday