Kahurangi reverse traverse completed
Back from an epic adventure in the wilderness of one of NZ's great national parks.
Kia ora and good day to you!
I’m back in civilisation! Yesterday, after nearly six days in the wilderness, I walked in the sopping rain down the Wangapeka valley and landed at the Dart River. It marked the end of an epic time away from our ‘everyday world’.
On the way out, I followed the historic Wangapeka Track. A challenging 4-6 day hike, that twice crosses saddles at over 1,000 metres, not to mention the unlimited rugged terrain the non-saddle1 parts of the trail force you over. It’s a historic gold miners’ trail that links Tasman District with the West Coast. Funnily enough, the gold was in Tasman, so miners would head from the coast inland to find their ‘pay dirt’.
To return to Tasman, I tried to ‘avoid’ the Wangapeka and find a new way. My makeshift route saw me follow a locals-made trail out to the ageing-but-loved Kākāpō Hut, bush-bash my way alongside the rainfall-raised Kākāpō River to reach the saddle of the same name and then cross several peaks of over 1,400 metres. It was epic!
Other people were in the park. I know, because I saw some of them. Six in total, but there must have been others as the hut intentions book had inserts from some I didn’t meet. All up, however, to see six people in six days was like an ‘end of the world’ scenario; it’s almost I Am Legend proportions. Adjusting to crowds again is gonna be the bigger challenge.
I’ll fill you in more on how it all worked soon: the route, the challenges, the food, the pics, the accommodation and everything else. It was a beaut of an adventure!
Isn’t it interesting, and indeed pleasing, that nowhere in New Zealand is there a Jimmy Saddle? I mention this for no other reason than to illustrate the type of thought my wandering mind has while on a wild adventure. Though, it’s obviously pleasing because of the name-like pun it could be construed as. The calls to rename it would be deafening. However, I also find it gratifying as any mountain saddle named Jimmy would have likely got its name from a cockney settler and we can guess why he would’ve named it that. Yes, he.