Adventure #238

Steep sided Sabine Valley below Blue Lake Hut
The famous hamburger rock and the pristine waters of the Blue Lake
George and Katerina inspired me to reach the top of the Waiau Pass
Today, with hardly a breath of wind stirring
the water, the serenity was still tinged with
a little sadness.
My tramping buddy chose to spend more
time exploring the lake before making his
way back to the hut. I continued my way
up the scree slope to the top of the small
ridge and lingered for a few minutes out
of respect for Andy and pondered the
impact the tragedy would have had on his
friends and family.
Once off the very steep track back down
the lake, I had the good fortune to meet
Katerina and George from the Czech
Republic, resting after lugging their
full packs to this point. It was great to
share the experience with them before I
continued my way.
The valley leading up to Waiau Pass is
a photographer’s dream. Tussock and
other tall alpine grasses layered the
valley floor. Ahead the imposing slopes
of Mt Mahanga (2196m) blocked the way
ahead. I got so distracted by the stunning
scene that I accidently wandered off the
track but thankfully Katerina and George
caught me up and pointed me in the right
direction.
I have to confess that if it wasn’t for the
inspiration of my two new companions, I
might never have reached the pass. They
attacked the slope, leaning hard against
the weight of their packs.
I followed the most obvious of the many
zig zag paths across the scree and
eventually made it to the first of many
false tops. Ahead of me my companions
made it over the crest and disappeared.
Stopping at one stage I turned to take
in the absolute rugged grandeur of the
place, with the striking contrast of the
rocky mountains against the blue waters
of Lake Constance. Sometime later I
made my way - heart rate well about the
80% of max - to the small plateau before
the last 156 metre climb to the pass itself.
A thousand or so calories later I was
standing on the pass, staring across at
the St James Range and the source of
the Clarence River, feeling stoked.
Three thousand hikers were expected to
complete the Te Araroa trail from Cape
Reinga to Bluff over the 2022/23 season
and make it over this pass. It felt good
to have shared this place with those
adventurers.
34//WHERE ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS/#238
Eric chooses to use Backcountry, Macpac, JetBoil and Keen products