A Timeless Land- Hawkdun Range, Central Otago; Part 2

Catch-up

Continuing on from Part 1 

We leave Falls Dam behind us; a far away blue scrape in the surrounding tawny landscape.

Not far from the turnoff back onto Home Hills Runs Road we stop to read the DOC information panel which has a map of the various tracks that crisscross the conservation park- the map can be downloaded here.  A 4WD & walking track leaves from this point and heads up towards the mountains to the Mt Ida Water Race Track which can be followed in either direction along bottom of the mountain range. A pair of old trainers, which look to have done their job well, have been abandoned underneath.

The road carries on towards the Manuherikia River and it's becoming quite tacky underneath.

We cross a couple of fords...

...which, unless it's a raging torrent, are easy to cross. They are usually dedicated streams with gravel bases.

It's the burns that have a mind of their own, they seep water out anywhere and will track wherever they want to go, often turning the track to mud and deep bogs. Someone has helpfully diverted this burn into a manmade channel here. 

As we head back towards the mountains the road is getting worse by the metre.

It doesn't help that we're following in the tracks of two heavier off-road 4WD vehicles that have driven through not long ahead of us. They have broken through the surface and cut the track up quite a bit in places, whereas our lighter ute wouldn't have dug so deep. We don't see them but we sure can see where they've been.

Looking back towards the dam

We make it through to the other end of this soft section and stop to open a gate; we're now leaving the conservation park...

...and entering one of the numerous stations that farm across this vast river basin which lies between the St Bathans & Hawkdun Ranges.

The surrounding land is a lot drier through this section of farmland and we're hoping we've got through the worst of the mud and we'll make it to the top of the valley and be able to join up with Hawkdun Runs Road...

...but in fact it doesn't last and before long we're slipping and sliding through mud again. 

At the next gate, David spots a hut way up on a nearby plateau so while I'm opening the gate he takes himself off up a side track. The track actually ends at a circle of beehives and it's not long before he's heading back down (luckily, because he'd have had to drive up it again had he made it to the hut so I could take some photos).

When I zoom in on the top of the valley, I can see the sliver threads of the river weaving through the valley towards us. And I'm thinking that we'll have to ford the river to get to the other side. I hope we don't get all the way there and find that it's too deep or fast flowing to cross and have to come all the way back.

We continue on, crossing a couple more streams along the way, the top of the valley can't be too far away now.

 The track's great, we might just do this...

...and then we round a corner and find one hell of a mess. A stream that has been diverted into a culvert under the track has broken free.

David heads off (at a fast trot) to check it out further up the track. It doesn't look good, this muddy section stretches off into the distance.

And even if we get through the initial water hole...

...there's no guarantee we'll get through the rest. And if we do, it could well be that it's similar all the way to the river. 

We check out the tussock on the edges of the track, maybe we can bump our way through that, past the worst of it. But there are too many hidden rocks and large lumps of tussock and the ground's quite wet under the tussock too. 

I walk to the end of the straight to check around the corner and it's a little drier but not much. I head back and we have a discussion. We probably could do it but we've not seen another vehicle all day, there's no phone reception and it is getting late in the afternoon. We also have to be a careful because the ute tows our home and if anything happens to it we're stuck where we're parked for however long it would take to recover the vehicle and/or repair any damage. 

If we had a buddy vehicle with us we'd probably attempt it but we decide discretion is the better part of valour and we turn around. We'll leave it for another day. So close yet so far. 

See you late Hawkduns.

The trip back takes a quarter of the time...

...with very few stops to take photos. Although I do manage to get David to pull to a halt when I see the chance of getting a reflection in a roadside tarn. Though it turns out to be not the best reflection shot I've taken. 

If only all the waterways were this easy to cross.

We're moving fast along the road now and the merino sheep that have gathered for the night on the warm roadway take off ahead of us into the matagouri & tussock.

We're nearly back to the start of the road and there's one more stop to be had. The light has changed a little  on my 'Grahame Sydney Timeless Landscape' scene since we passed earlier (although still not the best), with the historic Home Hills Runs Station buildings; the shearers quarters, cook house and barn more visible. There's even a row of sheep walking across the front.

We turn out onto the highway not long after and head back towards St Bathans.

But we're not quite finished with the Hawkdun Range just yet.

To be continued...Part 3