Tramping Literature: Uprising by Nic Low

 A Maori perspective on crossing the Southern Alps...

I enjoy reading books about the outdoors with particular interest in tramping, camping, climbing and outdoor skills and anything dealing with outdoor history. I recently read an excellent book by Kiwi author Nic Low entitled Uprising that I would like to recommend to you.

Uprising by Nic Low

Uprising is about a series of journeys Nic undertook around the South Island following the old Pounamu/Greenstone trails from the East Coast to the West Coast over the Southern Alps. There was a lively trade in pre European times between the two coasts with Pounamu/Greenstone ( a type of Jade) being one of the main trade items. 

About the author:

Nic Low is a writer of Ngai Tahu and European descent who was born in the South Island but now lives in Australia. He writes about wilderness, technology and Maori issues and has been widely published both in book form and articles in magazines and newspapers. 

The author Nic Low in his element...

Nic is a keen tramper, outdoor person and climber with a notable list of accomplishments. He has won several awards for his literary work and his style is engaging and very easy to read.

About the book: Uprising...

 Nic decided to write a book about the many traditional Maori pathways which exist from the east to west coasts of the South Island. There was a well established set of routes which the local Iwi called Ngai Tahu used to transit the Southern Alps. As you can imagine these routes were difficult and hazardous to use...and not to be undertaken lightly. 

Arthurs Pass was a traditional Maori route to the West Coast

Prior to European settlement one of the most prized materials in New Zealand was Pounamu...a type of local Jade.  Pounamu is a handsome, very hard rock and can be sharpened and shaped into many forms meaning it was useful for weapons, tools and decorative items. 

A Pounamu warclub or Mere

Pounamu is only found in the rivers on the West Coast mainly south of Hokitika. Trade in the material was strong and possession of the source of the rock a guarded secret. Pounamu was the main reason Maori crossed the Southern Alps.

Map: Pounamu deposits in the South Island

Pounamu/Greenstone was a valued commodity...

Journeys across the Alps were also undertaken to gather seasonal food, for war and to visit relatives on either coast. Far from being untouched virgin wilderness the area was named, known and owned long before Europeans arrived on the scene. 

Lake Brunner was one of many valued seasonal food sources

Nic's journey was informed by Ngai Tahu's traditional oral histories of the land they lived in and this was an important facet of the planning. This was combined with modern maps of the terrain and the experiences of others who had crossed these pathways before him. 

He crossed the Southern Alps more than a dozen times and tried to see the land as those first travelers must have seen it. The whole book is infused with the culture and history of the local Maori which is rare in books about the outdoors even in New Zealand. 

Hurunui/Harpers Pass was the main route to the West Coast

Covering many different areas of the Southern Alps the author crossed over some of the well known passes such as Arthurs Pass, Harpers Pass and Haast Pass and some lesser known like Harmon Pass, Copland Pass and Whitcombe Pass. Interestingly all of these passes had Maori names long before they were named after European explorers and settlers. 

In the Upper Waimakiriri Valley...the route to Harmon Pass

This was a book I could not put down...it was enthralling. I have talked to others who have read it and their sentiments were the same. It is an interesting, compelling and revealing look at a part of Maori culture very few people truly understand. I cannot recommend it to you more strongly. This should be an essential item on every trampers bookshelf.

From the vault: A Visit to the Kaimanawa Ranges back in the late 1980's

 ...looking back through time...

Here is the first of a new series of posts I will be writing about previous tramping trips I have undertaken. I have decided to call this From the Vault and I will be showcasing historic tramps I have previously covered in the blog. To start with lets take a look at a trip I did way back in 1987 when I first started my career in the New Zealand Army.

Mt Ruapehu from inside the Waiouru Training Area

A bit of background...I served in the New Zealand Army from 1987 to 1991 as a member of the Corp of Signals. I was posted to Waiouru ATG, Addington Barracks and Burnham Military Camp over that time. Waiouru used to be the main training camp for all new enlisted and commissioned soldiers as it has extensive areas of open tussock-land, mountains, volcanic desert, forest and rolling hills ideal for training. 

The Waiouru Army Training Area...tussock and hills!!!

While I was doing my basic soldier training we went for an exercise to the far back blocks of the Army Training Area along the border with the Kaimanawa Mountains. It is wild and seldom visited country up along the northern edge of the Training Area and few soldiers let alone civilians ever get to visit it.

 We criss-crossed between Kaimanawa Forest Park and the Waiouru ATA as we walked out to the Desert Road between Waiouru and Taupo.

The Desert Road near the northern edge of Waiouru Training Area

Anyway...here is a link to the article about one of the more remote places in New Zealand I have visited...the Kaimanawa Mountains. 

Historic Tramps: Into the Kaimanawa Range

A trip into the southern Kaimanawa Range...

Way back in 1987 I visited the Kaimanawa Forest Park as a part of an Army exercise I was a part of at the Army Training Ground (ATG) in Waiouru. During my basic training my unit was dropped by truck on the eastern boundary of the ATG and we had to walk out to the Desert Road over five days.

Mt Ruapehu from inside the Waiouru ATG

We started at the end of  Moawhanga Bridge Road in the Stowman Range where we walked along the range before dropping down and staying the night in the vicinity of Bobs Hut. This was an old musterers hut just inside the ATG used by the farmer who managed the land in the southern part of the training area. We weren't allowed inside the hut itself as this was officer country and the unit HQ.....we slept in the forest and tall tussock outside.

 

Bobs Hut on the Upper Wairakatoke Stream from ATVrider.com

Map: Waiouru ATG, near Bobs Hut

Sleeping in tussock is an interesting experience...it keeps you warm and reasonably dry but you do get uncomfortable sleeping on the hump of roots at the base of each tussock. You can make a nice little rats nest under the tussock with just your head and shoulders outside so you can observe, brew up or cook some food. 

Nice!!! 

It is best done with a bivy bag or cover for your sleeping bag to keep it dry and free of bugs...give it a go sometime.

Typical terrain in the northwest of the Waiouru ATG, from Zoomology.com

Over the next two days we patrolled along a series of old tank tracks to the remote north eastern edge of the Waiouru ATG. This is an area of low rolling hills and tussock lands seldom visited by anyone including the Army and criss-crossed with a number of creeks, streams and rivers. There are a series of swamps in the low points but we tended to walk around the worst of them on the low sides of the surrounding hills. 

Tussock valleys in the north east of the Waiouru ATG, from Zoomology.com

Late 1980's early 1990's Kiwi soldier patrolling...

This corner of the ATG is home to the famous Kaimanawa wild horses. We often used to see the horses in the distance when in this corner of the ATG.  Beautiful animals...they are the descendants of escaped farm animals which have lived in this area since the late 1880's. They are super cautious about humans and will try to stay at least a kilometer away from you at all times. 

Map: Waiouru ATG, Motumatai Range

At one stage the herd was as big as 1500 horses but it has been reduced now to around 100 as they are hellishly destructive on the environment. Some were rounded up and sold or given away but unfortunately some were also put down. There is a group dedicated to maintaining the breed called Kaimanawa Heritage Horses who work with DOC and the Army to manage the herd.

Some of the wild Kaimanawa horses from Kaimanawa Heritage horse site

We conducted some live fire exercises around the Motumatai Range from dug in positions on Pt. 1470 and Pt.1454.  These are a couple of flat peaks here which dominate the surrounding area...perfect for a live fire exercise!!! 

View from the Motumatai Range, Waiouru ATG

Then over the next two days we moved along the northern edge of the ATG using the well known Kaimanawa Forest Park Walkway and Southern Access Corridor on both sides of the ATG boundary. 

DOC sign along the Southern Access Corridor, Kaimanawa Ranges from Geocache.com

On the border of Waiouru ATG and the Kaimanawas's

Army tarp set up in bush in the Kaimanawa Mountains

The Southern Access Corridor is a right of way open to civilians so they can access the southern Kaimanawa Range from the Desert Road. This area is more mountainous and covered with bush, forest with open tops along the dry crests of the ridges. It is mostly on the northern side of the ATG boundary but does cross into ATG land at a couple of spots. 

Map: Waiouru ATG,  Southern Access Corridor

Scattered bush pockets along the Southern Access Corridor

The walk along the Kaimanawa Range is one of the classic tramping trips in the North Island with views out over the ATG, north to Lake Taupo and the volcanoes of the Central Plateau. There are few huts along this track and camping is discouraged near the ATG border as the area is sometimes used by the Army for live fire exercises. Most tramping parties will walk the length of the Access Corridor over one day...it is about 20 kilometers or 5-6 hours walking. 

Southern Access Corridor: the threat is very real, from Geocache.com

Approaching the Desert Highway along the Southern Access Corridor

We eventually arrived out on the Desert Highway near the Rangipo Desert where we were collected and trucked back the Waiouru Army Camp for a well deserved shower and some hot food. I actually enjoyed this Army exercise a lot as it was some beautiful terrain we were covering. We also got to fire off a pile of live ordinance which is always a lot of fun....

The Kaimanawa Range from the opposite side of Desert Road

The Desert Road near the northern edge of the Waiouru ATG

The Rangipo Desert backs onto Tongariro National Park and is a massive expanse of sand, stone, rocks and ash left over from when the Central Plateau volcanoes were more active. I did one exercise in the area and it is really like a desert as the poor volcanic soils will not support much life. It is not utilised much anymore as it is such a delicate environment but it is still part of the Army Training Area.

View towards Waiouru ATG across the Rangipo Desert

This was the first of three trips I made into this area the second was a hunting trip with some of my Army buddies and the third another Army exercise but I might cover that trip separately one day. I can recommend the Kaimanawa's to you as a trip destination...it is good classic back to basics tramping terrain. 

Cheers.....