December 2018 – Te Wai Pounamu Revisited

Debriefing: Queen Charlotte Sound

Different means of travel, different speeds. This sort of put trip planning off a little. On the other hand, not having to spend a whole day slogging on towards some distant goal had its benefits, not least of which was enjoying the scenery. More could have, should have been done, but I’ll happily leave that for another time.

Section (with links)	Distance	Track Time	Break	Mean speed	Median time\|distance
Picton – Mistletoe Bay	19.4 km	3:26 h	2:14 h	5.65 km/h	6.53\|6.76 km/h
Mistletoe Bay – Kumutoto Bay	19.9 km	3:44 h	2:54 h	5.35 km/h	5.74\|6.18 km/h
Kumutoto Bay – Blumine Island	21.9 km	3:42 h	1:34 h	5.94 km/h	6.60\|6.73 km/h
Blumine Island – Cannibal Cove	16.3 km	2:46 h	1:21 h	5.92 km/h	6.55\|6.68 km/h
Cannibal Cove – Ship Cove	7.8 km	1:34 h	0:54 h	4.99 km/h	6.04\|6.29 km/h
Totals	85.5 km	15:20 h	8:49 h	5.57 km/h	6.35\|6.57 km/h
Summary of paddling the Queen Charlotte Track

Way to go: Speed distribution by time, Queen Charlotte Sound

The boat was no doubt fast (and special thanks again to Marlborough Sounds Adventures for a very reasonably priced 5-day hire and return transport – $240 per person), possibly due to the fact that it was not packed to the hilt. A later trip in western Sweden using plastic boats and carrying all supplies for twelve days proved to be somewhat slower. Read more…

Debriefing: Wangapeka Track

This was one of the more enjoyable options of returning from the Heaphy Track, by as direct a means as possible, and as such is one of the classical combination routes. With accommodation and the supermarket in Karamea, this was also an ideal way of doing a much longer hike than would otherwise be possible.

Section (with links)	Distance	Track Time	Break	Mean speed	Median time\|distance	Ascent	Descent
Little Wanganui Road End – Taipo	20.3 km	6:56 h	0:47 h	2.93 km/h	2.74\|3.66 km/h	1475 m (M+)	835 m (M+)
Taipo – Stone	18.6 km	6:09 h	0:40 h	3.03 km/h	3.12\|3.52 km/h	889 m (M)	911 m (M)
Stone – Price’s Clearing	19.7 km	4:56 h	0:40 h	4.00 km/h	4.21\|4.51 km/h	646 m (M-)	1033 m (M)
Totals	58.7 km	18:02 h	2:07 h	3.25 km/h	3.29\|3.93 km/h	3000 m (M)	2772 m (M)
Summary of the Wangapeka Track. Climb categories are: Flat (< 1.9°/3.3%), Easy (> 1.9°/3.3%), Moderate (> 3.8°/6.6%), Demanding (> 7.5°/13%, < 15°/27%)

Wangapeka Track, speed distribution by time

The only thing that was worrying about the track was the fact that it had been reclassified as a “route” from previously being a track. This means that upkeep of the track is downgraded, and any further slips, etc. which might impede progress will no longer be bypassed (as was the case near the Karamea end, where recent windfall has almost obliterated the track, but temporary signs have been erected to allow passage, and shortly before Wangapeka Saddle, where a detour around a major slip was well signed). This has meant that a telephone once present at the Karamea end of the track has been removed, although the telephone at Price’s Clearing was still there. These telephones provide (or provided) a secure means of arranging transport off the track at both ends. For alternative accommodation right at the Karamea end of the track, Atawhai Farmstay is a possibility (and they have a phone there as well).
Read more…

Debriefing: Karamea

Faced with almost immediately getting on a bus at the end of the Heaphy Track at Kohaihai, and arriving some time in the evening back in Nelson, or even taking the fast track by flying back from Karamea airfield to Nelson, I decided on a couple of days in Karamea. This is not an easy place to get to, or one that most people even get to, but I was wanting to return by hiking almost directly back in the direction of Nelson via the Wangapeka Track, and needed just two days to have a shower, wash the hiking gear, and replenish supplies before heading off again.

That was the underestimation of the trip. Karamea might be at the end of the longest cul-de-sac in the world, but that might just make it one of the last “hidden gems” from the hordes of tourists trampling down nearly everything else. I only wished that I had had at least another day (and as it turned out, I did the Wangapeka Track in a day less than I had planned, so I could have stayed that extra day). Read more…

Debriefing: Heaphy Track

With just over 71 km, the Heaphy Track is the longest of the pedestrian Great Walks, and I use the word “pedestrian” advisedly, because the Whanganui River Journey, a Great Walk that can only be done by kayak/canoe, is twice as long, and the Heaphy is open for pedestrians only in the Great Walks Season (November – April). In the winter time it is a mountain bike track, so be warned.

Section (with links)	Distance	Track Time	Break	Mean speed	Median time\|distance	Ascent	Descent
Brown Hut Access – Perry Saddle	16.0 km	4:09 h	0:25 h	3.87 km/h	4.14\|4.39 km/h	1408 m (D-)	670 m (M+)
Perry Saddle – James Mackay	21.3 km	5:04 h	1:49 h	4.21 km/h	4.47\|4.67 km/h	609 m (M-)	778 m (E+)
James Mackay – Heaphy Hut	18.2 km	4:17 h	1:12 h	4.25 km/h	4.64\|4.88 km/h	341 m (E+)	1033 m (M)
Heaphy Hut – Kohaihai Carpark	15.6 km	3:35 h	0:23 h	4.36 km/h	4.79\|5.09 km/h	504 m (E+)	508 m (M-)
Totals	71.1 km	17:05 h	3:49 h	4.17 km/h	4.47\|4.72 km/h	2892 m (M)	3020 m (M-)
Summary of the Heaphy Track. Climb categories are: Flat (< 1.9°/3.3%), Easy (> 1.9°/3.3%), Moderate (> 3.8°/6.6%), Demanding (> 7.5°/13%, < 15°/27%)

Heaphy Track speed distribution by time, in this case 75% of the time spent on the track was at faster than 3.6 km/h

However, the nature of the walk is very much determined by its dual purpose as a tramping/biking track. The major ascent – from the Brown Hut access in the Brown Valley to Perry Saddle Hut – barely just qualifies as being “D-”, and for the most part it is a comparatively gentle climb netting 830 m. The major descent from James Mackay to Heaphy Huts netts just on 700 m. Not only are the slopes much gentler than, say, the Dusky Track, but the path itself is for the most part well-formed and there is very little mud to wade through. And the speed distribution confirms it: 75% of the time on the Heaphy Track was traversed at speeds greater than 3.6 km/h. And I like to think that the daily increase in speed of around 0.1 km/h was due to progressive lightening of the pack… Read more…