St Arnaud to near Travers Falls: South Island, Section 3

Best laid plans and all that...

I had significant plans for section walking portions of the Te Araroa over Summer, unfortunately reality made those plans void. In December my family and I found out my mother had terminal cancer. Obviously, I wasn't doing any tramping as she and my father needed my support. She passed away in early February.


I then injured my foot which meant I could not tramp for the rest of February and all of March.

Mid reaches of the Travers Valley, Nelson Lakes NP

In early April I figured I would go out for a couple of days tramping. My first thought was a St Arnaud to Boyle River section hike. As my pack fitness was low due to a lack of trips I decided on a shorter exploration of the Travers Valley instead. This is the first part of the Waiau Pass Track,  I will be walking the rest of the section through to Boyle River later this year.

The 'Silver Surfer' (third from left) parked in St Arnaud

I headed up to St Arnaud early on a Thursday morning, with an end goal of reaching Hopeless Hut by the end of the day. Unfortunately the extremely slow trip from Christchurch to St Arnaud (6 hours) due to roadworks meant I was too late to get that far up valley.

Day One: St Arnaud to Lakehead Hut, Nelson Lakes NP

As I was saying, I started tramping around 12 noon, instead of the 10 am I was expecting. This meant I only got as far as Lakehead Hut, rather than my original goal of Hopeless Hut another 3 hours up valley. 

Day One: St Arnaud to Lakehead Hut

As always I started out at the Kerr Bay track head, and followed Lakehead Track
(12 km's, 2-2.5 hours) up the eastern side of the lake. This is the second time I have walked this track in the last 6 months (fifth time overall) so it is becoming familiar to me.

Kerr Bay Jetty, Nelson Lakes NP- overcast and late!

Start of the Lakehead Track, Nelson Lakes NP

Lakehead Track- That seems familiar....

Jon on Lakehead Track, Nelson Lakes NP

Lower Lakehead Track in Nelson Lakes NP

A cloud covered Robert Ridge, Nelson Lakes NP

The weather was overcast but warm, probably about 20 degrees and very calm. Makes a change from the rain and wind I experienced when I walked this part of the track in October 2016. 

Looking back over Lake Rotoiti to St Arnaud

Coldwater Hut on the other side of Lake Rotoiti

Here is what Coldwater Hut looks like, this is taken from the jetty right outside the hut...

Coldwater Hut, Lake Rotoiti, Nelson Lakes NP

Interior view of Coldwater Hut- Lake Rotoiti, Nelson Lakes NP

Having walked this track before it was a swift and unsurprising trip. I reached Lakehead Hut at about 2.30 pm after a pleasant trip of 2.5 hours. The track was much nicer to walk on as it was dry, I wasn't walking in pools of water like you do when it is raining.

It's actually about 2 hours to St Arnaud

Travers River mouth in the distance, Lake Rotoiti

The Lakehead Hut jetty, Lake Rotoiti

I got to the hut at 2.30 pm for a late lunch of soup and wraps. I thought about continuing up valley but as I knew it was a least 3 hours to Hopeless Hut I decided to stay at Lakehead Hut instead.

Looking up valley from Lakehead Hut, early afternoon

View down valley from Lakehead Hut

My direction of travel for tomorrow...up the Travers Valley!

I shared the hut that night with a French guy heading to Upper Travers Hut and a German couple who were on their way out to St Arnaud in the morning. It was a pleasant night discussing this and that and I turned in early at 8.30 pm as we had no candles so reading was out of the question.

Late afternoon fog in the Travers Valley

Day Two: Lakehead Hut to Cupola hut via John Tait Hut, Nelson Lakes NP

On day two I was tramping from Lakehead Hut to John Tait Hut (15 km's, 4-5 hours) up the Travers valley. From there I would be walking another (6 km's, 2.5 hours) to get to Cupola Hut which was my destination for the night.

Day Two: Lakehead Hut to the Travers Swingbridge

I was up at the crack of dawn and set off up valley just as the sun was cresting the eastern peaks along the Travers. The first hour or so  was an easy walk over grass flats to the swing-bridge over the Travers River.

Starting out from Lakehead Hut, Travers Valley, Nelson Lakes NP

The Travers River used to run down the eastern side of this valley, but re routed itself during a big storm back in 2010. If there is a lot of rain then the river will still use the old bed as well as inundating the flats between the two braids of the river. Be aware of this if you are planning on camping up this valley...

The old Travers River bed 25 mins up valley from Lake Rotoiti

Flood debris over 200 metres from the Travers River....

Matagouri and long grass- Travers River Valley

The old course of the Travers River, Nelson Lakes NP

Once across the flats there is a short 20 minute section of forest and bush to pass through before reaching the Travers swing bridge. There are several places along here where the river has eaten the track away and you need to navigate past them.

A short forest section heading up to Travers River swing-bridge

O.K......weird stuff on the Travers Valley Track!

The Travers River has eaten the track.....Nelson Lakes NP

Last bush finger before swing bridge, Travers Valley Track

Old cairn on the Travers Valley Track

If you are doing the Lake Rotoiti circuit and are unable to use the lower ford this is the bridge you need to cross to get to the true left of the Travers River.

Travers River swing bridge, Travers Valley, Nelson Lakes NP

From the swing-bridge it is about 40 minutes to Hopeless Creek, it is then another 2-2.5 hours to John Tait Hut closer to the head of the valley.

Hopeless Creek to John Tait Hut

The track between the swing-bridge and John Tait hut is very nice. The track is a mixture of bush, river flats and small up and down climbs over the tail end of the ridges.

Travers Valley: heading up valley from the Travers swing-bridge

Travers Valley: Eroding river bank you need to negotiate

Approaching Hopeless Creek on the Travers Valley Track

Jon on the Travers Valley Track day two

Travers Track- nice easy tramping in Nelson Lakes NP

Mt Travers in the distance from the Travers Valley Track, Nelson Lakes NP

Climbing up to Hopeless Creek Track, Nelson Lakes NP

Foot bridge over Hopeless Creek

Hopeless Creek has a hut an hour and a half up this side valley. It is a small 6 bunk ex NZFS hut off the TA, it is most commonly used by climbers accessing the surrounding peaks.There is a possible campsite just past the Hopeless Creek turnoff, it is just off the track.

Travers Valley: the track junction for Hopeless Hut...

A possible camp site just past Hopeless Creek, Travers Valley

Travers Valley narrows as you climb higher

This fantail below followed me for about 30 minutes as I walked up the Travers Valley.

New Zealand Fantail...

A Fantail...shakin' that ass...!

 
There are a number of very nice looking camping sites up the Travers Valley, none of them are official but it is perfectly legal to camp provided you are not right on top of the track.

Nice camping spot 2.5 hours up from Travers Swing bridge

Travers Valley:  possible camping spots an hour from John Tait Hut

Travers Valley: Camping spots and small tarn next to the Travers Valley Track

Travers Valley Track alongside Travers River

It is a nice wide track up the Travers Valley, Nelson Lakes NP

You strike a foot bridge and attractive cascading stream about 30 minutes from John Tait Hut. 

Bridge about 30 minutes from John Tait Hut

Nice cascade 30 minutes from John Tait Hut, Nelson Lakes NP

First view of John Tait Hut through the forest...

The Upper Travers Valley is notorious for avalanches in the winter/spring, hence all the warning signs. Both John Tait, Upper Travers and Cupola Hut's all sit on or near avalanche paths so can potentially get hit at any time from May through December. 

Avalanche warning sign on the Travers Track

I finally arrived at John Tait Hut after 4.5 hours of trekking. This is an awesome hut, 28 bunks and is in excellent condition given it is over 40 years old. It was recently re painted and some maintenance has been done on it from the look of it.

This is the second John Tait Hut the original from the 1940's was replaced with the current hut in the late 1960's.

John Tait Hut II

Eating area at John Tait Hut

Cooking space in John Tait Hut

The bunk area- John Tait Hut

I stopped at the hut for about 40 minutes as I rested and ate my lunch, much better than being eaten alive by the sand-flies sitting on the side of the track somewhere.

Jon still feeling o.k at John Tait

Trampers Lunch: Wraps, pate, soup and tea- I have a big climb ahead!

View down Travers Valley from the verandah at John Tait Hut

As you can see from the photo below the avalanche path is literally 5 metres from the hut. That slide is made of decades if not centuries of avalanche material coming down. There is a photo inside of both the clearing AND the hut totally covered by an avalanche back in 2008. Not a place to be if there are heavy snow storms in the upper valley.

Avalanche fan & avalanche debris piled up near John Tait Hut

Some information about John Tait and the first hut

Look at all that lovely wood....!

After lunch I refilled my water bottles and set out for my destination for the night, Cupola Hut. Cupola Hut is about 3 hours up valley, there is a side track about 30 minutes from the hut, it is then 2-2.5 hours to the hut.

John Tait Hut to Cupola Hut

The time to both Upper Travers Hut and Cupola Hut is around three hours- the distance to both is 6 km. Slow, slow travel, yes...it is steep in places!

Heading for Cupola Hut after lunch

The Travers Valley track starts off flat-ish after John Tait...

...then gets steeper!

I was staying at Cupola Hut that night, it is another ex NZFS hut off the main TA route, but has been on my hut bagging list for a while.

The turn off to Cupola Hut, from the Upper Travers Valley track

After turning off the main Upper Travers Track you start a gradual climb up to the head of Cupola Creek. You are on the true right to start but cross over another foot bridge about an hour up the side valley and stay on that side all the way to the hut.

Starting up Cupola Creek Track

Cupola Creek is your companion for awhile

Crossing the bridge mid way to Cupola Hut

The last section of the track is a switch back, it takes longer to cover the distance but it sure is a lot less painful way to do so.

It wont be the original track: back in the old NZFS days they just went straight up ridge lines, none of this fancy back and forth switch-back stuff...

...because they were HARD!

Start of the switch back climb to Cupola Hut

Nearly at Cupola Hut

I arrived at Cupola Hut around 4 pm. The view from Cupola Hut isn't magnificent, there are too many trees in the way for that. It is in a nice location though, perched high up on a ledge on the mountain side. The hut is a modified NZFS70 6 bunk hut from the 1960's. 

View from Cupola Hut- not much of a view!

I was surprised because the hut has a water tank, the DOC website says there is no water source. Also bloody irritated as I had lugged 3.5 litres of HEAVY water up the track as I was expecting a dry hut

End of Cupola Track, Cupola Hut flat

The hut is classic NZ Forestry Service goodness: it has 6 bunks, an open fire, a small table and bench seats, cooking bench and a selection of FMC and hunting magazines. It is mostly used by hunters and climbing parties attempting the local peaks.

View of the outside of Cupola Hut

I had the hut to myself that night which was nice as every other night I was sharing a hut. Just as well as I was knackered- 8 hours on track doesn't sound like much to a young bugger but I'm a semi fit 49 year old. I lay down for a 'short rest' when I arrived and didn't wake up until 7 pm.... 

Cupola Hut Interior from Tramping.net website

Cupola Hut Bunks from Tramping.net website

Cupola Hut exterior from Tramping.net website

Potential avalanche source above Cupola Hut

 Cupola Hut is also on an avalanche pathway, in this case high steep cliffs above the hut sometimes release snow after large storms. There are signs on the track warning of the avalanche danger.

  Day Three: Cupola Hut to Travers Falls, then back to John Tait Hut, Nelson Lakes NP

Day three was a short trip back down to John Tait Hut (7 km's, 2.5 hours)  for the night, as an added bonus and because it was only 30 minutes away I went up valley to visit Travers Falls. The first hour and a half was back out to the main Travers Valley track, then right turn and marche.

Cupola Hut to John Tait

Once on the main Upper Travers Track it is a steep climb uphill to the Travers Falls turn off about a kilometre away. The track follows alongside the Travers River with the occasional climb to avoid gorges.You are just able to make out Mt Travers as you climb the track.

View of Mt Travers through the trees on the Upper Travers Valley Track

Bridge over Cupola Creek, main Upper Travers Track

Cupola Creek: Deep gorge down there!

Travers River from the Upper Travers Valley track

Below is a classic form of track marking, the top of a can has been cut off and nailed to a tree. In the old days the Forestry Service used old paint tin lids and later strips of Permolat which was a reflective strip much like a metal Venetian blind. The ubiquitous orange triangle only came in with the birth of DOC in the late 1980's.

Old style NZFS paint lid track marker....

The Upper Travers Valley track is steep, rocky...

...and covered with roots!

A high Alpine mire or swamp near Travers Falls

Heading down to Travers Falls from the Upper Travers Valley Track

Travers Falls is only 15 meters high but the volume of water passing over it still makes it worth a visit. It was really loud as it is in a water carved amphitheatre, be careful of the track/ viewing area as it is steep and wet from the spray. I recommend you go have a look if you are passing this way. 

Travers Falls from the viewing track

I continued on up the track for another 15 minutes to see what I could see, I turned back at the first stream/avalanche path as the bridge that used to cross the stream has been washed away.

Upper Travers Hut is 2 hours that way....

Then it was back tracking to John Tait Hut for the night, and a return to St Arnaud several days later. I will be back to finish this section of the TA in late 2016, watch this space...

Tramping skills: Fire starting

Holy blazes.... fire starting, a vital outdoor skill!

The ability to build and light a fire when required is still a vital piece of tramping knowledge. Although the use of the fire as a cooking method has waned (with some exceptions discussed below), fires built for heating, drying and survival purposes still have a place in the outdoors. 

Blazing fire in Lakehead Hut on a cold rainy day

I have no pretensions as an expert on the subject, what follows are just a few tips I have picked up over the years.

Do I REALLY need a fire?

 The very first question you need to ask yourself is 'Do I really need to light a fire'?
Most people will say yes, but actually for much of the year a fire is total overkill. Rather than lighting a fire why don't you put some more clothes on?

 If you are sitting in a hut and it is 30 degrees outside it would be madness to start a fire. You may laugh but this has happened to me a couple of times. One blistering hot summer afternoon I arrived at Boyle Flat Hut where two Swiss hikers had the fire going. The hut was hot...like 45 degrees hot! They had all the windows open because it was too damn hot in the hut to sit inside.

Blazing hot 30 degree day on the St James- not a good day for a fire!

 I suggested politely but firmly that possibly that wasn't an awesome idea...



Again if you are camping and it is raining it would also be mad to start a fire. You are going to find it hard to find dry wood, the rain will dampen your fire and you would be sitting outside getting warm on your front and wet everywhere else. You would be better staying in your sleeping bag in your tent.

Are we having fun yet?

You need to carefully pick if and when you are going to light a fire.

When is a fire appropriate?

Good question. Here are some things to consider when deciding if a fire is suitable:

Boiling the billy- a classic tramping tradition!

• How long is your stop? In the old days Kiwi trampers made a fire every time they stopped so they could make a brew, you can still do, this but is it necessary.
• Wood supply: is there any wood available? Often the answer will be no, especially around the well used non serviced huts and above the bush-line.
• Temperature: Do you REALLY need a fire if it is 30 degrees Celsius?
• Is there a fire ban in place? This is a lot more common now with climate change.
• Is a small fire more appropriate than a large one? You may only need a small fire to heat the newer 'insulated to death' DOC huts. Don't go overboard and try to melt the window glass...

  Wood selection for fire making

  So, you have decided a fire is needed and now you are going to build one. You will need wood, so what kind works best and how much do you need. 

The quick answer is any wood that is dry- unfortunately this is often hard to locate. Look for standing dry wood, or wood which has been kept dry in a wood shed (at most DOC huts), under a large bush or over hang.

Plenty of standing dry wood there...

Do not bother with rotten wood, it will never burn even if it is bone dry. Bark is also difficult to light- keep it for when the fire is really blazing.

Wet, rotten wood will not burn...

Wood types that burn well are soft like pine, beech, manuka/kanuka etc. Native hardwood's such as Rimu, Totara and Matai are hard to light but will burn for a long time, keep them for when the fire is roaring.

You need three types of fuel for a fire:

Tinder: Tinder provides the fire-starter for your blaze- it might be paper, dry grass, dry pine needles, frayed twine, steel wool, birds nests or dry papery tree bark. I like native Fuschia bark, it is a light paper like bark that will take a flame well.

A tinder bundle made of dried grass

Kindling: Think finger sized or smaller;  sticks, branches or slices cut from a larger log. I usually use a mixture of sticks and slices. If the sticks have thick bark try to slice them in half so they catch fire better as bark is notoriously difficult to light.

Cutting logs into kindling, Lakehead Hut

Logs/splits: These will range in size from arm thick to thigh thick depending on the type of fire. All logs work better if they are split i.e. cut into several slices. Wood with edges burns better than full round logs due to the bark. If the fire is in a hut make sure the splits are short enough to fit into the wood burner.

 

Some log splits for the fire box

Tools of the trade

Once you have your wood sorted you need some tools to break it into manageable pieces.

Your first tool is yourself, break small branches in your hand, over the knee or around a tree. Slightly larger versions can be leaned against a rock and broken in half with your feet. Breaking wood this way is as old as humanity, we have used this method for the last 100 thousand years.

Other tools you will use are axes, saws and knives. If you are in a DOC hut there will probably be either an axe or a saw for firewood preparation. It is easier to saw any wood into manageable logs and then split them with the axe- chopping through a log is an exercise in futility!

Tools of the trade: Axe and saw

If you are camping you will need to make due with what you can find, break by hand or use whatever knife you carry. If you are a machete, parang or kukri carrier you are set...they are all basically small axes.  If like me you only carry a Swiss army knife hand broken wood is your only option.

The Kukri I carried in the Army- awesome knife but bloody heavy!

If you have a suitable knife, grab a piece of hard wood and use it as a hammer to drive your knife through thinner pieces of wood.

Using a knife and a log to split wood, photo Paul Kirtley

Regardless of the tool always be safety concious- take care using any sharp blade, don't let minors cut wood, wear boots when chopping and try to get home without slicing yourself up to badly....

Types of fires

 There are many different formations you can use when you first start a fire, the most common are the teepee, log cabin and upside down pyramid. All of these use the same basic premise; a structure is built around and above the tinder. Once the blaze is going well the larger splits will collapse forming a good bed of coals for large pieces of wood.

Some different types of fire formation

Another type is the star fire. The star fire formation is a good choice for a slow burning fire in areas with little wood or where only larger logs are available.

Classic star fire set up

With a star fire set up, once the fire is burning the various logs are slowly feed into the centre maintaining the fire.

Building an outdoor fire

The skills used building a fire indoors or outdoors are very similar, you use the same process in both cases.

A scratch camping spot with fire circle near Mt Richardson, Canterbury

When building an outdoor fire you need to follow these steps;

• Locate a site for your fire. Using 'leave no trace' methods this should be in an existing fire circle, or on a hard impermeable surface such as rock, compacted sand or compacted soil
• Gather your wood: you need tinder, kindling and fuel wood. Make sure you have enough fuel to maintain the fire until it is going well enough to allow you to find more wood
• Place a bunch of tinder in the middle of your camp-fire site, if the ground is damp construct a wood platform with larger wood raise the fire and stop the tinder from getting wet
• Form an initial teepee of small kindling around your tinder regardless of the form of fire you are building
• Add kindling to the pile, working up to pencil sized pieces
• Create a larger teepee/log cabin/upside down pyramid around and above your kindling teepee using fuel wood,
• Light your fire. If you have some type of fire starter (commercial/rubber inner tube/candle stub/parafin soaked cotton waste) this is when you should use it.

Different types of firewood ready for use

Lighting a classic 'pyramid' fire outdoors

A suitably small campfire at the Ryde Falls camp-site, November 2012

Make sure that you:

• Conserve wood- only use what you need, when you need it- don't waste wood just because it is there. Leave some for other trampers if you can
• It isn't the size, its how you use it- keep fires small, they use less fuel and usually do the job perfectly adequately.
• Don't use smooth river stones in a fire circle- they may explode as the moisture in them heats up and makes them expand.
• Don't light a fire on humus (the dry, crumbly soil you find on a forest floor) as it can smoulder and eventually catch fire long after you are gone. Also be careful in a tussock field- they can smoulder for days if not weeks!
• Watch your fire, never leave it unattended in case it gets out of control and starts a larger fire. 
• Make sure it is fully out before departing: use the douse, crush and mix method. Put the fire out with water/soil/sand then crush the embers with your feet. Mix it around with a stick to make sure all embers are out. Repeat until fully doused.

Building a fire in a hut

Almost all DOC huts will have a heat source of some sort, generally these will be open fires, pot belly stoves or wood burners. A few of the Great Walk huts have gas heaters, usually only during the Summer season.

The classic 'corker cooker' wood burner, Magdalen Hut

In general terms you need the same resources for a hut fire as a camp fire: tinder, kindling and wood. If you are lucky (for instance I was at the hut before you) you will arrive to find a supply of all three ready and waiting. If you are unlucky you will need to gather your own.

Fire prep done and wood laid in for when needed

Your first port of call should be the hut woodshed; most serviced and standard huts will have one, wither there is any wood in them is a different matter. If there is no wood shed or it is empty start foraging in the bush for your wood.

Partially full wood shed at Nina Hut

Look at that beauty: a full wood shed at John Tait Hut

Construct your wood burner fire as you would for a camp fire. Use either a tee pee, pyramid or log cabin. The tinder goes in the centre with small kindling stacked around and over it.  Have a supply of larger pieces of wood on hand for when the fire takes. Once you have a base of coals in the fire box you can start to add these larger logs as they need intense heat to ignite.

The basic framework for starting a fire

Firebox prepared for starting

Slightly shambolic stack but it will work!

Some huts will also supply coal for the hut fireplace. I'm constantly surprised by the number of people who have never used coal before, when I was young everyone used it on their open fires so everyone knew how to use it. 

A bag of coal in fire wood shed, Lake Daniels Hut

To use coal, first build a fire as described with wood. Once you have a nice bed of hot embers evenly spread a small shovel full of coal over the top. Take it easy with that shovel though, too much and you will smother your fire.Watch the coal dust as it can be explosive in the right conditions.

 

Coal being used in an open fireplace

I know there are environmental issues with using coal, but it is much more efficient that burning wood. Coal will give you a long, slow and even burn and it puts out a lot more heat than wood so if it is available use it. 

 Practice makes perfect

It is really important to practice your fire construction skills, even if you don't actually light the fire. Take the opportunity when you go for a tramp to locate and prepare fire starting materials. Chop wood at huts, and split some for kindling- you are practising your skills and making someone else's visit easier.

In the firebox and ready to go, Mid Robinson Hut

 Keep an eye out for good tinder, I collect peeling Fuschia bark every time I see one of these trees as they make excellent tinder. I have a couple of kilos of it at home waiting to be used.

Paper like bark of the native Fuschia Tree

Over the Summer months I always take the opportunity to cut & gather wood when I get to a hut. I cut some kindling and gather dry branches, put these in the woodshed, under the veranda or under the hut if possible so they can dry. I wont need it but I'm providing for leaner times when dry wood is not so easy to locate.

Best way to stack wood- cross hatch stack- it dries faster

 If you pass a likely looking log close to a hut by all means carry it with you, chop it up and put it in the wood shed, every little bit helps. 

Cooking with twig stoves 

I occasionally see TA trekkers using stick/twig stoves when I am out and about. They are thin fold away metal designs that use small sticks and twigs as fuel, sort of a mini campfire just for cooking or boiling water.

A classic twig fire in use at a campsite

Their main advantage is light weight: no gas canisters, camp fuel or meths with these. Just the stove and whatever sticks you can find.

Starting a fire in one uses the same methods as a larger fire, they all have their idiosyncrasies so I wont go into any more detail, if you are interested check out this Section Hiker article.

Twig fire cooking in the snow....

Personally, I would find using one more hassle than its worth but those who use them are ardent in their views of their usefulness. Just don't over stuff them with wood like the one below...no water for tea coming from that abomination.

Too much wood = no damn fire!

These are not for use in huts; the heat, fire risk and carbon monoxide they put out mean they are an outside tool only. 

 So that's about it folks, I hope that is useful....happy fire making!