John Reid Hut is a cozy neat hut just above the bush line in Wangapeka Valley in Kahurangi National Park. Anna and I went there to celebrate the fact that we’re about to get married. Let’s call it a pre-honeymoon trip.
I’ve been wondering for a while if I can take my non 4WD vehicle into the Lees Valley. There is a long gravel road that I know is inaccessible in the winter for 2WD. After reassurance from a couple of the CTC members that driving on the road in the summer will be fine, I decided that it’s time to give it a go. My friend Jana and I drove there on Sunday morning and yes, the access to the valley is without any issues for a 2WD vehicles.
Anna was sick. She was so sick that she could only do one waist-deep river crossing and a 3 hour a hike with a fully loaded backpack with camping gear and food for 2 days. What a bummer. Pinchgut Hut will do.
Wharfedale Hut is a standard DoC hut with a nice, easy-going trail going all the way from a carpark at the end of Wharfedale Track Road to the hut. To get to the carpark, we had to cross a couple of rivers. One of them could cause troubles to the non-4WD vehicles so if you’re heading up there, make sure the water level is not too high. The crossing would be impassable and you’d have to leave your car by the river and hike about 5 km to the end of the road.
So I did it. I joined the Christchurch Tramping Club. I have to say that I was a bit suspicious of what it was going to be like to hike in a group of a dozen hikers with different life and tramping experience under their belts. Well, I have to say now that it was great fun!
It was dark when Kupkin and I started to hike. We were quite concerned for Emma who was supposed to meet at the car park but she just wasn’t there. Where was she?
Pinnacles Hut is a fairly popular hut in the central Canterbury. Its convenient location makes it a popular destination for Christurchians who want to escape busy city life. It was one of the May weekends when Anna and decided to check the hut out.
Being back in New Zealand after nearly 3 years of nomadic across a couple of continents meant one thing for me: I was ready for a hike. It was the end of March and the first morning frosts had begun to appear across the South Island.