Ahuriri to Hunter via Little Canyon Creek

December 26th - 31st 2012

After a wonderful family Christmas at Guide Hill Station near Lake Pukaki, filled with delicious food and lots of relaxing in the sun, it was time to get our bodies moving again! Owen dropped Dad, Jo, Mackenzie and I off at the Ahuriri Road end before he continued onto Lake Hawea to meet up with his family.

Ready to get started at Ahuriri roadend

Our plan was to spend a couple days exploring the Ahuriri Valley before heading over into the Hunter Valley to meet Owen again. We set off at 1.20pm and were treated with spectacular mistletoe right along the bush edge as we made our way up the valley. 

An example if the mistletoe spotted along bushedge

Easy walking on an old 4x4 track led us to Shamrock Hut, and then onto Hagens Hut in an easy four hours (with lots of rests). About an hour into the walk gnarly Mackenzie put Dads complaints of a heavy pack to rest by taking most of his food! The valley came into its own above Watsons Stream where any signs of burn offs or farming were gone and we were surrounded by spectacular craggy peaks and luscious bush.

Heading up the Ahuriri Valley

Hagens Hut was perched just above the valley floor with beautiful views up to the head of the valley - not a bad spot to spend a couple nights! 

Hagens Hut

The view from Hagens Hut

We had a lazy start to the second day and just enjoyed our surroundings as the sun made its way down the valley. Any signs of a southerly from the day before soon cleared and we were greeted with a stunning day, verging on too hot! A gentle wander up the 4x4 track took us to Top Hut and then beyond to the next major stream on the true right of the valley. A very pretty upper valley with stunning views of the Huxley range peaks surrounding us. 

Looking down the Ahuriri Valley

Upper Ahuriri Valley above Top Hut

It was a lovely relaxed day with lots of chilling out and enjoying the warmth of the sun. We headed back to Hagens Hut for the night to tackle the swarms of sandflies! Thankfully the sun kept them away during the day.

Day three started with a back-track down the Ahuriri much to Mackenzie’s disgust – she was peacefully unaware of these plans originally. Thanks to an ipod and determined attitude she charged down the valley in no time, with the rest of us struggling to keep up! We passed a very large group of trampers heading in so were happy to be heading into less used territory. Veering off from the main valley we headed into Little Canyon Creek for a quick bush bash to bushline. True to its name there was a small gorge in the lower river that we had to sidle above but apart from that it was very straight forward, mainly following close to the river and surrounded by beautiful open bush. 

Little Canyon Creek

As signs of bushline were on us we started hunting a suitable campsite; these were very sparse but there was a nice level spot on the true left just before the bush disappeared on the true right. Aware of the long day ahead of us the following day, Dad and I took a quick look further up the valley in case we could find a higher campsite to give us a head start. We were greeted with a very barren and rocky valley with no sign of a flat or comfortable spot so back down the valley we went to make the original spot our home for the night. We also spied our first views of the pass over in to the Hunter, the guide books description of a “safe but long plod” definitely rang true. We had a very pleasant night surrounded by the rumble of the river and filled with good food and a competitive round of “black witch”.

Campspot just before bushline in Little Canyon Creek

Up bright and early the following day (well by this tramps standards!) we left camp at 8am eager to get across the pass before the looming Nor’wester took too much of a hold. Travel was initially on gravel following the main valley; thankfully the rock was very stable so we gained distance and height relatively fast.

Heading up to the pass to the Hunter

Enjoying this time of easy travel we admired the surrounding mountains – the path we were taking really was the only way to tackle the area with the only alternatives being very steep rock buttresses. At one point a loud boom raised our heart rate - which turned out to be the result of a small avalanche from the remains of winter’s snow accentuated by echoes off the sharp valley walls.

Looking back towards the Ahuriri

In order to avoid the less inviting rock slide the river took further up, we skirted around tussocks and herb fields on the true right and then crossed the river just before it disappeared under snow. 

Skirting around Tussocks higher up the Valley

From here a mixture of snow plodding and rock clambering delivered us to the top, not without a few moments of frustration as it felt like one step forward resulted in two steps backwards! The terrain was perhaps a bit more demanding than a “long plod” with some step sections, snow and very loose rock but we still made the top in 4.5 hours from leaving camp. 

Steeper sections of the ascent

The weather packed in just as we gained the pass so there were no views into the Hunter unfortunately. It was quite cold and wet so we didn’t stop long, just long enough to establish where we were – we actually crossed the ridge at Point 1883 rather than the pass itself and then headed North down into the head of Bull Flat Creek. There was an obvious depression at the pass which could serve as a campsite but we didn’t have the visibility or time to inspect. Eager to get below the cloud we charged down the valley, initially on large rock followed by a reasonable scree run to easy tussock slopes. Finally we were rewarded with glimpses of what lay below us, the Hunter Valley. I was particularly pleased to see into Scrubby Flat creek and the pass that Owen and I crossed the year before. 

Views into the Hunter and across to Scrubby Flat Creek

From the creek fork we traversed faces above the true left of Bull Flat creek to gain the main ridge/face  for our descent. Whilst inspecting the route down we spied a vehicle in the Hunter which looked the size and colour of Owen’s family truck – perhaps coming to find us before the bad weather hit. We waved and yelled trying to gain their attention but to no avail as about 30mins later they turned around and drove back down the valley....surely it was just a coincidence we told ourselves, and just the farmer looking at stock! 

Contemplating the best route down

A very long scrub bash followed in mainly thick Manuka; not the most pleasant experience especially with little water and with a race against the clock to make it across the Hunter before the Nor’Wester raised the water levels too much. Dad did an amazing job of finding the best route down – there were a few sparse beech patches and once at the bottom looking back up we established that he had managed to lead us through every one of these! Heavy rain set in just as we emerged into the river valley so we quickly found a good braided crossing about 1.5km south of Scrubby Flat Hut. Taking our chances that the hut was unlocked we powered back up the valley in search of a dry home for the night, and in luck we were! After a 12 hour day and 1400m descent we happily put our feet up for the day to the sounds of heavy rain and amazing thunder, and enjoyed a spectacular lightning show!

Scrubby Flat Hut

Pulling ourselves out of the bed the next morning to the sounds of heavy rain proved very hard especially given we were supposed to be picked up by Owen somewhere not far below the hut but we were very dubious of the chances of this – all the side creeks were bound to be up and he may not have even made it past the first creek from where he was staying (Terrace Creek). Nevertheless we headed off at 10am to see if we could get down the Valley and find him! The rivers were definitely all uncrossable in a vehicle but we managed to get across them all (detouring off the main track in most instances) as far as the Big Hopwood. Apart from being cold and wet the walking was thankfully very straightforward following a 4x4 track – our sore legs couldn’t handle much more and Mackenzie was even walking backwards downhill to save the pain in her thighs! We got the added bonus of adding many huts to our list and enjoyed exploring the quirks of the more rustic ones. 

Little Boundary Hut

 With 8 hours of walking behind us Big Hopwood creek proved a little too swift and deep to feel comfortable crossing on tiring legs so we set up camp for the night hoping for better luck getting out the next day. Thankfully the weather was clearing and we had a dry night in the tents. A gourmet dinner followed consisting of mashed spud, 2 crackers and a handful of cashews each, and to top it off we had an even better dessert – a tim tam, piece of chocolate and chocolate wheaten each! 

Unplanned camp at Big Hopwood Creek

Next morning the river was down and we crossed it easily and continued our plod down the track in search for Owen. A lack of food contributed to some slightly delirious activities...including calling songs for Owen and “phone calls” from him describing his current situation - they provided many laughs! Finally just past McGregor creek and only 1.5 hours from when we started his car emerged! 

The final slog to find Owen

On the quick drive back to his hut we learned two things:

1. They had been looking for us when we saw them from up at bushline hoping to get us out before the bad rain.
2. They had been up as far as the Big Hopwood the day before but we missed them by about an hour before they headed back down since they couldn’t cross the river and had seen no sign of us.

Oh well! The added night out and long 4x4 walk in the rain just added to the adventure and we all thoroughly enjoyed the trip still – a good mix of easy and spectacular valley walking in the Ahuriri and a long and barren but impressive crossing into the Hunter plus a good story of an extra night out to tell in the future!