Who woulda thunk??

 A few years ago I got into packrafting. I'd wanted some sort of lightweight, easily packable watercraft so I could potter around on a few waterways. Then I discovered the world of packrafting at a Mountain Film Festival one year. I have Deane Parker to thank for that...

I did some courses, ran some rivers, initially solo and then, due to COVID stranding me in NZ, I found like minded paddling friends in the small, but expanding, packrafting community. I initially struggled with fear when running any rapid whatsoever, but with time and experience I began to enjoy running whitewater, though I was happy to keep with low consequence Grade 2 rivers.

Eventually I began to have a go at a few Grade 3 rapids. Mostly in low flow situations when they didn't seem quite so scary, and I managed to run them all without incident. I still wasn't keen to call myself a Grade 3 paddler though, especially as my boat isn't really suitable for high grade rapids.

Cut to the Anzac Day weekend, and Deane and Hugh Canard organising a weekend of packrafting based out of the Boyle River Outdoor Centre. I arrived on Friday afternoon to freezing cold weather and snow on the nearby hills. None of us volunteered to head out for a session on the local rapid, preferring to stay inside, chat, and stay warm! By evening we had a good crew present and plans were made for the following day.

Saturday we paddled the Boyle River down to Windy Point. The water levels were dropping, but it was still running high enough for us not to have to drag our boats across any shingles. It was bloody cold though, and those only in wetsuits didn't have such a fun time.

A few of Deane's friends arrived Saturday evening, experienced paddlers from Nelson. They were joining us for the run down the Upper Waiau, through Grade 3 rapids which were not portageable. In order for me to join them I asked to borrow a self bailing boat for the day.

My boat is a bucket boat, meaning that once water gets inside it fills up like a bathtub and you need to pull in and empty it out at some stage. Long wave trains can totally fill up the boat. It won't sink, but it's not comfortable...

A self bailer, on the other hand, has holes in the floor and a full length inflatable seat, so most of the water that enters the boat drains back out.

I also don't have thigh straps, which make the boat more manoeuvrable and easier to edge into and out of eddies. Although I can run Grade 3s in it, it isn't really set up for it. And since Grade 3 wasn't really my jam.......

So we dropped the cars at the takeout and met up with the farmer to shuttle the crew in to Tin Jug Hut, just below The Narrows. The shuttling took a couple of hours. Once our gear was stowed and boats inflated we headed off down river.

I had an absolute blast. Seven out of 12 of us came out in one of the rapids, but I was completely unintimidated and enjoyed every bit of the paddle. Except for losing my sunglasses in the aforementioned capsize!!

It's now time for me to upgrade my boat. I'm keen to keep what I have for low grade expeditions, as it's much lighter than a self bailer with thigh straps. But if I'm going to join my friends on some wicked rapids, I need to upgrade to something made for the conditions.

I'm not doing much packrafting since returning to Australia then Japan for the summer months. But I'm mentally ready to tackle bigger rapids, so at some stage I'll be buying a new boat fit for purpose. I think it will be a Wolverine....

But meanwhile, back to more tramping...

Arthur’s Pass Trip, at last...

In all my few years of tramping around the South Island, an area I have mostly avoided has been around Arthur's Pass. It has spectacular peaks and glacial valleys due to being right in amongst the Southern Alps, but the main highway through from east to west is also renowned for being a hot spot for vehicle break-ins at trail heads. Its location also means the weather can be unsettled, so I've mostly stayed away from doing multi day tramps in the area.

The Upper Clutha Tramping Club, however, organised a five day trip based in the village, staying in accommodation and heading out on day trips. I signed up for that, arriving Friday evening to join Jane, Graham, Bill and Tina, with Annette arriving later that night.

Saturday we opted to tackle Avalanche Peak. We set off just after 9 am, rugged up as there was a heavy frost. We walked from our accommodation into the village to the start of track but we soon shed layers for the climb. Through moss covered trees, past an impressive waterfall, the track was steep with regular rock scrambles making the use of poles problematic at times. Jane kept hers on her pack all day, Annette mostly carried hers in her hands, whereas Graham and I made good use of ours for the long steep ascent. 

We were regularly passed by younger, mostly foreign, crew as we slowly progressed above the tree line for some spectacular views back down the Bealey valley. 

Once out of the trees we followed a ridge line up to a small scree saddle, stopping for snacks along the way. By now we could see our destination as well as the opposite ridge line we would descend on our return. 

Once across the saddle it was a fairly intense rock scramble up to meet the other ridge. Jane got her foot caught behind a rock and took some time extricating herself, and Graham hopefully asked if there would be a bar for refreshments at the summit. 

The final push to the summit wasn't steep, but was very exposed across a narrow ridge. There were quite a few others around, most having walked up Scott's Track, but we only shared the summit with one couple, who helpfully took our group photos and we returned the favour. 

We saw a couple heading off to traverse into Crow Valley but everyone else was returning to Arthur's Pass. Lunch was enjoyed in the sun, somewhat protected from the mild wind, back down off the exposed ridge walk but just above the track junction, with spectacular views across to Crow Glacier. As we ate our well earned meals we watched the progress of those two tiny trampers making their way along the ridge towards their descent line into the Crow. 

With perfect weather and not a cloud in the sky we could have stayed there longer, but it was a long way yet to go, so reluctantly we set off, descending the ridge line we were already on, down Scott's Track. I packed away my poles for the descent, which was just as rock scrambly as the way up had been. Down climbing was required at times, having free hands was an advantage. More people passed us on the way down, some even still heading up despite the increasingly late hour. We met 3 lads who had walked up Mt Bealey then crossed the ridge to Avalanche Peak before descending down Scott's, now that was a mission!

As we descended the mighty Devils Punchbowl Falls came into view, and then Bridal Veil Falls, as well as vistas up to Arthur's Pass and the track up into Temple Basin. We took a break at the tree line, then pushed on for the final descent through the beech forest to the road. Then all that remained was to walk back through the village to our palatial accommodation, arriving back around 5pm, where the bar was indeed open!! Aside from a few sore feet, we all managed the moderately tough climb and descent with legs feeling good.

After refreshments, hot showers and a pot luck dinner, and the addition of Sue to our party, we retired fairly early.

Sunday we headed up Bealey Spur. We drove to the carpark and set off a bit after 9 up past the holiday houses and then along the track. A kea was hanging around one of the houses that was under renovation, no doubt up to mischief. It was an easy walk through forest, with a gentle climb all the way. About half way along was a great viewpoint above the Waimakariri Bridge looking up both valleys. 

The remainder of the walk was across a swampy area traversed on boardwalk with a few tarns, then a bit more of a climb through forest to arrive at a clearing and Bealey Spur Hut. None of us felt the need to walk higher up the ridge, so instead we boiled the billy for a cup of tea, and had lunch in the sun, finished off with birthday cake.

We were back at the cars before 3. We had booked a table at the Bealey Pub for dinner, so after showers we enjoyed some very tasty burgers for dinner. Not a bad way to spend my 60th.

Monday we walked up to Temple Basin. The tops were shrouded in clouds, which we hoped would clear. The track up from the carpark was quite rough, with lots of loose boulders but it was a good zig zag track the whole way. The alpine vegetation was spectacular, and would be more so in summer when the flowers are in bloom.

Up at the ski field we had a bit of a wander around all the buildings and beyond to look up the basin more, but we didn't go all the way to Page Memorial Shelter. It certainly whet my appetite for going skiing there some time. The last few years it hasn't had great snow cover though...

After a snack, or lunch in my case, we made our way back down. Annette and Sue drove the cars back whilst Jane, Graham and I returned via the walking track. This walking track is an absolute gem, with a good surface all the way and accessible to those who don't want to tackle harder walks. We detoured in to Bealey Chasm, which is quite spectacular, then continued downhill, crossing the highway at Jacks Hut.

We dropped down to pass by Bridal Veil Falls before climbing again to a lookout, where we stopped for Jane and Graham to eat lunch.There were gnarly mountain beech forest, and lots of Bellbirds. 

Back down in the village we veered off to visit Devils Punchbowl Falls. After three days of walking, the multitude of steps up to the falls lookout took it out of all three of us. But it was well worth the effort. Our reward was a stop at the Alpine Parrot cafe for coffee and cake!

With so much food brought for our potluck dinner Sunday night, we had enough left over to have tacos for dinner.

Tuesday I took a rest day, after not sleeping very well. Jane, Annette, Bill, Tina and Graham walked up Otira Valley. They were back by 12, so Jane and Graham went off to visit Castle Hill. The rocks, not the village! That evening we went to the Alpine Parrot for dinner, for a very disappointing fish and chips.

Wednesday we all headed home. Well they all did, I just headed on for more adventures. I stopped in at the Otira Viaduct and saw some more Keas, and then headed up to Murchison. I had to pick up my drysuit from the Kayak School after having the neck gasket replaced, because I was going packrafting again.

That's Next!!