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200m per hour and Andy's first forced biv. |
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Written by Weasal
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Friday, 29 June 2007 |
When we left Timaru on Sunday afternoon we had only a vague idea of where we were headed, well I kinda knew 'cos I'm a sneaky weasel, but that is beside the point. It wasn't until we turned south, after dinner at Gore, that we were able to hazard a pretty well educated guess...Stewart Island. I had been to Stewart Island as part of my wilderness expedition in first year and didn't expect to be going back again this soon. I was stoked to say the least. We camped up in a domain between Bluff and Invercargill and it was here that Tully and Tarn we treated to some fine hospitality from a local boy racer. Upon inspection in the morning you could see why the girls were a bit perturbed by the visit; the tire tracks were barely a metre from their tent!
We left early Monday morning to catch our charter boat at 8am. At Bluff we drove around in circles for a bit and performed some 20 point turning maneuvers with the van and trailer before our boat arrived. The swell across Foveaux Strait was alright, although there  were a couple of decidedly unwell faces around. After an hour we pulled into Lucky Beach, past Lucky Point. The charter boat anchored up about 30m off shore and we all looked at each other with the same question running through our minds "how are we getting ashore?" A four person dingy answered that question and we went ashore in two teams. No one got particularly wet, except Jeremy who took one for the team pulling the boat ashore, cheers mate.
It was on the beach that Andy (Fullerton) gave us our maps. For this trip he had marked 3 dirty black crosses on 3 high points, our aim was to hit all of them...if we wanted to that is. Curiously this tramp is optional and doesn't actually count for much except experience. We talked, well not really, and decided to follow a stream then spur to our first objective the summit of Mt Anglem (980m). Now in first year our group headed down a very similar line and it was pretty bloody tough. I know that we had a huge one that day. That was coming down, we were going up. It was gonna be rough but we had to give it a go, the only other alternative was the lovely NW circuit track wasn't really an option. To begin with it was fine. The bush was fairly open but as we got higher it definitely got thicker. And thicker. And thicker. By the time we got to t he scrub line it was proving difficult to see. People a metre or two back were hardly discernible. We took turns at bashing through as it was pretty hard going for little gain. Mike got his brand new machete out and promptly found it next to useless as it was blunter than the knife I use to butter my toast! Fortunately Andy had with him his trusty pruning saw and we went to work...slowly. The scrub was over head height and someone would periodically climb a tree or scramble on top of a bush to ensure we were still heading in the right direction. To make matters worse it was getting dark and we were not even close to reaching open ground, let alone the summit. It was crunch time. We gathered together and decided that it was hard enough to navigate in the day, trying to do so by head torch would achieve nothing. And so we forced a bivvy. Andy's first I'm proud to say.
That night was memorable. As soon as the decision was made it began to rain. We cleared a bit more space; by cleared I mean we broke a few twigs. It was a vain effort really. Andy managed to make room for his Hubba and Tarn, Tully and Pip found a spot for their tent. The rest of us? Well we split into two groups of three and pulled a fly over our heads while we sat on our packs. We took turns at putting on as many clothes as possible and then found ways to make our situation more comfortable. No sleeping bags for us as we didn't want them wet the following night. It was gonna be rough either way.
The other group put up poles and made a makeshift shell. We copied. We got out our space blankets to keep warm. They copied. It was a good way to occupy the time as sleep was going to be very limited. We talked bollocks, played "Who am I?" and shivered a bit. As the rain continued to fall a stream developed under our packs and underneath our feet. We got out a second fly and huddled under that as well. Truth be told I was actually fairly warm, poor Jeremy however keep shuffling and moving to get warmth back into his body. To make matters worse for him, he spent a night on the last intensive in a custom built tent complete with swimming pool. Suffice to say I believe he was off it. I got a few hours sleep as did most others. Not ideal but better than none. The girls in the tent managed to get their sleeping bags out, although they got a tad wet.
When it was light enough outside we packed up what little gear we had out and because we had stayed clothed moved off pretty quickly. The tent took a bit longer to take down though. I was impatient and set off while they were still getting ready. The scurb hadn't magically thinned overnight so with Andy's saw in hand I went to work. Andy took over while I went back to grab my pack. It was really disheartening. A number of times I would bash, cut and bash some more and then when you thought there was a way, it looked heinous every way you looked. Mike would crash through almost anything, that guy is a machine!
This went on for hours, until finally we were out! The scrub was only about knee height and we actually began to move! Andy reckons that first day we averaged about 200m per hour. Some sections were decidedly slower. To be moving, to be free was extremely uplifting. Now this may make the first day and a half sound terribly grim. It was tough, no doubt. Once we all realised that there was not a damn thing we could do about it, we took it. Personally I was having fun, frustrated but overall enjoying myself.
As we moved into larger clearings, I began having deja vu like experiences. I remembered many of the places from first year. Its quite eerie in a way. It almost felt like I was right back there the first time.
We stopped for lunch and it decided to snow. When we finished eating lunch it finished snowing. Odd. Abi got Kitey out which was a first for me. Seeing someone fly a kite in the middle of a remote island is quite absurd. Entertaining though.
From this point we were virtually at the summit. We hooked onto the track and moved up through the snow. It was about 10cm deep and so didn't hamper us in any way. It did make me wish for my mountain boots though, as they didn't have a partly mesh upper like my tramping ones. Wet feet. Not like it mattered they already were.
The summit of Mt Anglem is dull. It's wide and flat. It's only 980m. Hardly even a summit really. But it was big black cross number one and we got there. My second time if fact. From the summit we looked out towards big black cross number two. Little Mt Anglem. We scoped the route out and came to a decision. Well we didn't really scope it out because we didn't go down and have a look. We surmised what it was gonna be like and made a decision. We would head down to Bungaree Hut and reevaluate from there. This is fairly typical of our group. We rush a decision, possibly so we can say we're being efficient, and head off without a  care in the world. Then a few of us would still be hanging around looking at where we had to go, thinking, maybe we should have had a go. And so it went this time. After we had climbed down the snowy uphill we had another meeting. Mike raised the issue. Shan tried to get some storming happening. We expressed our opinions and asked for Andy's. Now in my mind it was what he said that caused us to go back up again. But we were all agreed and everyone was happy. The peasants rejoiced.
And so it was that we summited Mt Anglem twice in a day. This time we headed down the opposite side and along the ridge. It was good going and we made good time, arriving at a good camp site mid afternoon. Dave and Jeremy went for a scout to make sure there wasn't anything better and closer to where we wanted to be. It also gave them a chance to see what the following day was going to be like. We hoped that by stopping here we could get ourselves refreshed and then hit Little Anglem tomorrow. Dave and Jeremy confirmed that this place was the most ideal and so we made it our home while the sun was shining. Andy ran off, obviously to investigate for himself.
With the tents up and info from Dave and Jeremy it was time to make the plan for tomorrow. The route goss was that it looked like more of the same as the first day just steeper. Based on this we decided to go for it. As an after thought we asked what Andy thought. He reckoned we ALL should go have a look as to be better informed. And so we did. And we pretty much changed our minds right there. It was steep. The other side we would have to go up looked horrid. If we did go for it it would be a very, very long day, with a good chance of another forced bivvy. Hmm. Back to the hut the next day then. There is no route information available for much of Stewart Island aside from the track and even Andy hadn't expected it to be quite like this. He didn't want a second forced bivvy to his name and quick frankly neither did we.
And so it was. Eat, then sleep. That night it snowed. I woke at two and had a peep outside. I'm not sure what it was but it put a big grin on my face. A few years ago I would have cursed. That night I was overjoyed. Perhaps it was the knowledge that others would be cursing, perhaps it was because I love the snow, what ever it was I went back to sleep a very happy man. Even the fact that when I woke my lighter was dead and I was gonna to miss a hot brew did little to dampen my spirits. As Vaughan Skea would say " whooop whooop!"
Day 3 would see us on the summit of Mt Anglem for the third time. I had now been on top of that wide rolling dome four times and I found it hilarious. We were treated to a surreal sunrise as we set off down the track. Usually when you think of a track you think easier going, but the track to Mt Anglem is typically a waterlogged, boggy mess. You had to bridge on either side to avoid the mud, which could get up to your thigh if you weren't careful. We weren't quite moving as fast as I think everyone thought we would be, but at least it wasn't as slow as that first day.
From here on out it was simply a matter of negotiating the mud (Stewie is infamous for it) and walking up and down. Jeremy and Dave took a side track to a hut, much to all of our amazement. Sorry guys but there was a big bloody sign! We continued going up and down passing some of the islands amazing beaches. They really are quite beautiful and were one of my highlights the first time I went there. As dusk was approaching we arrived at the hut. Situated above Bugaree beach it is a stunning place to stay. We took turns at attempting to get a fire going and it wasn't until some dry wood was obtained that the bloody thing finally went. By this time though most were getting ready for bed.
I had hoped to get a wicked sunrise photo that next morning, but that dastardly cloud had other ideas. We weren't leaving until 9:30 that morning but by 8 I was restless and had to get up and finally enjoy a hot brew and cooked breakfast. It was such a contrast to that second morning surrounded by scrub. Our aim for the day was the road end at Lee Bay, where we would stay the night before catching the ferry the following morning. This section of the track improves after Port William Hut and becomes a highway. Before that it's more mud and more up and down. We boosted along the beaches and cruised along the track. The bush is superb, thick, green and very fresh. I felt the need to run and did so. It was again mid afternoon when we arrived at Lee Bay and made camp for the night.
That morning we rose early and walked in the dark along the road. Not the most exciting way to finish a trip but definitely a way. We caught the ferry and had breakfast at Bluff.
And that as they say is that. Stewart Island 2007. I don't think anyone will want to go up that way again, but the NW circuit is definitely a treat. I took plenty of photo's and you can find them here.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 29 June 2007 )
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