Up The River Without a Paddle

We're back at the summit again! We've just walked Blowhard Bush which is only up the road a short distance so it was opportune to post another blog! 

We decided to explore up river one sunny afternoon, David taking his spinning rod as we weren’t too sure how rough the going was once we got to the river, he didn’t want to risk breaking his fly rod if we had to pass through any undergrowth. I took my camera (no kidding) hoping to see some birdlife and to check out the butterflies & insects along the river bank.

There is a route to Cameron Hut along the river bed which takes 4-5 hours and involves 30 river crossings (I now know it would take us at least 7-8 hours with all the fluffing about we both do, checking for trout-him & photo shooting-me). If the river is in flood or if you don’t fancy clambering over river boulders and slipping & sliding over the rocks each time you cross the river, the longer route up and over Mt Kuripapango takes 5-6 hours. We weren’t going to Cameron Hut but I wanted to at least walk around the small oxbow I had seen from up on Mt Kuripapango.
We walked the kilometre or so from the campsite to the Cameron Carpark and then down the track alongside the river that I’d walked a few days before. This time I stopped to shoot the small concrete structure beside the flying fox over the river.

And once at the end of the track I took a photo looking down the river. I still don’t know what the flying fox is for but I did see a flood measurement pole on the edge of the river, maybe there’s a sensor here that reads the river level and going by the height (above my head) of the debris I saw caught in the trees nearby I think a flood would be an impressive sight roaring through here.

At the end of track there was a nice gravel beach and beautiful crystal clear, deep, emerald green pools- just perfect for swimming in. Until David spotted a couple of trout circling. This was where I’d seen the fisherman the other day. David decided we’d walk as far as we were going to go and then he’d fish on the way home.

We crossed over to the other side, this was the easiest crossing by far although it was still quite swift in the middle. We followed the edge of the river up stream, carefully stepping & picking our way over the rocks and boulders the whole way. David was also checking all the time for likely trout pools and feeding positions.

I could hear a few birds in the bush and up high on the cliffs on the other side of the river but there weren’t any to be seen close by. But the insect & bug life more than made up for it. The rocks ahead of me came alive with movement as we approached, grasshoppers of all colours, shapes and sizes sprung from rock to rock or disappeared down the gaps to escape my approach.

It wasn’t until I got down low for a closer inspection and a better shot that I realised these tiny hoppers were locked in a romantic embrace. No wonder they hadn’t sprung into action as I moved closer, they were fully involved in their own bit of action. But I pushed my luck by getting in their face with my lens, just as I moved my eye to the viewfinder the female sprung off carrying her amorous passenger with her.

It’s amazing how much life there was in and around the rocks; I need to research some of these, they aren’t in my bug book. Along with the grasshoppers of different colour variations, there were Boulder Copper butterflies, a red wasp type insect, maybe a ichnemonid of some sort(?) and a green flathead, actually a green flatbody too; maybe a  praying mantis or perhaps a katydid. I missed the focus on his eyes which was a pity.

More insects; the ever present & noisy cicada, an unidentified beetle, a female Boulder Copper, that red wasp again and a male Boulder Copper with his lovely purple inserts.

We cross the river again just up past the rapids and work our way around the inside edge of the oxbow, the boulders are getting bigger and our way is blocked often by water. The rocks are very slippery and while David has a walking pole I haven’t, so he finds me a suitable manuka stick with a good grip at the top and a fork on the bottom so it can locate as I check for depth and rock movement before stepping forward. I make sure my camera strap is around my neck just in case I take a tumble into the water.

Famous last words as I get my foot caught between rocks underwater and fall forward whacking my kneecap on another rock, with one arm disappearing beneath the water up to my shoulder and the other one stretching high holding my camera clear. Close call but no harm done- and all David could say was ‘How’s the camera?’

There are lots of beautiful Bush Giant dragonflies flying around looking & sounding like mini helicopters and one lands on a rock just in front of us. He must be tired as he doesn’t move when David puts his hand near so I can get a size comparison shot. I failed to notice he had a few legs missing until I uploaded the photos. No wonder he was tired.

One more crossing ahead of us and this one through thigh deep, swift flowing water over lots of slippery boulders. We umm & ahh about the route to take through them and I lead the way a little up stream of where we initially think we’ll cross. We’re now moving up the other side of the oxbow with Mt Kurikapango and the ridge I walked along ahead of us.

Off in the distance we see four tiny figures approaching from the other side of the river (top right). We call out greetings as they pass and I ask where they’ve been. They’ve done the circuit to Cameron Hut, up and over the top, staying at the hut overnight and then making their way down river today. I think one of them thought we were trying to get to the hut also as he was very keen to point out that there were over 30 river crossings and sections of unmarked track along the way. I reassured him we weren’t going anywhere near that far and in fact would just be going to the point ahead of us.

Shortly after, they disappeared into the bush beneath rocky cliffs of the finger of land that the oxbow formed around. It was then that I realised a track cut off the corner, we’d have to look for that on the way back so we didn’t have to fight our way over the boulders and along side the rapids again.

In the sandy soil along the river margin the prolific flowering Ragwort, a major pest, grows in abundance and while it might be a pest spreading it’s seeds far & wide it obviously provides a lot of food for the locals- a female Common Copper butterfly, a beady eyed fly of some sort, a Kowhai Moth caterpillar, a bumbling bumble bee and a first for me, a Magpie Moth. Yes a day flying moth.

We get to the point and where the river takes a sharp turn out of the oxbow and heads upstream for quite a distance in a near straight line. It’s taken us over 2 hours & three crossings to get this far and if David wants to fish on the way back it’ll be another 2-3 hours before we get home- I can’t imagine doing 30 crossings! This is the oxbow from high up Mt Kuripapango, we walked a little further off to the right. That hill in the centre looks pretty small but is in fact rather high with steep rocky cliffs nearly all the way around it.

We find a large boulder each to sit on while we have some lunch and then David heads off to have a fish while I take a swim. There are plenty of deep clear pools (away from the fisherman) and the water is quite warm considering we’re up in the mountains.The only problem with this idyllic setting are the persistent sandflies; thousands of the little buggers swarming around my face and legs and especially around my ankles and exposed areas on my feet.

I know I’m going to pay the price for the next few days no matter how much bug spray I squirt over me. I knew I needed the stronger stuff- it’s sitting in the shoe box back at base. Here, the only option is to keep on the move- they’re slow fliers, or find a breeze- they don’t like wind- but it’s a still & calm afternoon. Next best thing is to immerse yourself in water. Right up to your nostrils- and they still flit about around your eyes. I’ve become very adept at the ‘Aussie Wave’.

David has no luck and I’ve had enough of swimming & rock hopping trying to dodge the pesky sandflies so we decide to head for home. We cross back over and find the beginning of the track where the guys disappeared into the bush. There’s no markings indicating the start other than an overgrown dirt track underfoot. We saw muddy deer prints at the waters edge further on and it’s possible they use this track too. The track weaves it way through the thick bush and luckily we can see where the guys have moved through earlier on as there are broken twigs and flattened grasses. In places the undergrowth thins out and the track is easier to follow. It’s here that I have my very first sighting of a very elusive bird, but you’ll have to wait for another post to hear about that!

The track finally breaks out on the other side of the inside curve, we’ve cut off rock hopping and wading right around the inside edge. We missed the entrance on the way up because we were exploring along the water’s edge but I can now see there’s a rock cairn and a tiny pink ribbon tied to a branch marking the track entrance (marking unmarked tracks if that makes sense). Perfect and we’re now near another spot David had picked out to fish; a deep narrow swift section of river that exits the curve along a rock face. Hmm...he looks rather wet don’t you think? My lips are sealed! 

Thankfully I didn’t find this guys alive mate while I was exploring, this is (or was) a huge spider, it’s legs were as long as my little finger and I think they used to belong to a nursery web spider.

We made our way slowly back along the remainder of the river; David finally hooking some fish- two getting off and landing one which was returned to fight another day. Unfortunately I only heard David’s yells, I was busy looking for bugs and finding another track that cut off the next corner. It came out right beside the last(first) crossing. I made my way back around the corner to see what all the yelling was about missing the release.

Here’s the map of the area again and this time I’ve put a cross at the end of the oxbow, this was as far as we walked. The ‘You Are Here’ sign is at the Cameron Carpark, we walked from camp to the carpark and then along the little black line until reaching the river then following that upstream. You can see the Cameron Hut quite a bit further up stream tucked into the river valley. The guys we’d seen had tramped over the top following the yellow broken line along the ridges then dropping down to the hut and home back along the river.

We had a fabulous afternoon in the great outdoors and even though the camp was over run with people we only saw the four guys all day. We finally got back home around 6pm worn out and very tired with aching feet from all the rock hopping & boulder climbing. And with itchy ankles from those pesky sandflies- I’ve been paying the price ever since- ‘do not itch, do not itch’ has been ringing in my ears day & night.

Kuripapango Lakes

We're back at the summit, David needed to phone a couple of people so I took the opportunity of posting another couple of blogs- it's been overcast & drizzly the last couple of days so I've had plenty of time to write blogs.

Also known as The Lakes, the Twin Lakes or the Kaweka Lakes, these two tiny lakes with the many names were formed thousands of years ago after a massive slip from Mt Kuripapango filled the valley and blocked the path of two streams. Only the slightly larger western lake (8 hectares) has an outflow- a small underground stream, although the smaller eastern lake (5 hectares) occasionally overflows into the bigger lake.

The Lakes are about a 15km drive away from camp, back along the main road towards Napier and then down a forestry road for 7-8 kms. At the moment the more direct route is closed due to logging operations in the commercial Kaweka Pine Forest. There are numerous walks and tramping tracks from the trail head up and over the Kaweka Ranges. And not too far from the carpark, another one of HB’s three main rivers, the Tutaekuri flows by. You’ll remember this was the river that I reminisced about on the Otatara Pa blog.

I am loving all the new DOC sign boards around the countryside, detailed information on the area with maps, good indications of the degree of difficulty each track is and with reasonably accurate walking times.

The Lakes walk is about an hour long and other than a couple of downhills- one through the old pine forest at the beginning and the other, a sharp incline down to the western lake at the end- it’s all pretty easy walking. The summer growth of ferns and bracken crowd the track in places but it’s lovely to be back in the bush and have the whole place to ourselves!

The bush is alive with the deafening sounds of cicadas, they are clicking and chirping from every advantage point along the way and lifting up from the ground, where I’m sure they have been sunbathing, as we approach. These are native Chorus Cicadas- Kihikihi and the males have beautifully sparkling copper coloured wings and dark green patterned bodies.

In amongst the flying cicadas are a number of slow flying & noisy Bush Giant dragonflies- Kakapowai, who are using the cleared track as a flight path for their next hunting mission, whirring up and down the open area and landing occasionally on a nearby trunk or in one case, the peak of David’s cap. Dragonflies are voracious hunters, taking their prey on the wing. Prey includes flies, cicadas (no surprise there), wasps & butterflies. The Bush Giant dragonfly is about 82cm long and the larva live in long, mud, peat or clay tunnels for about six years before emerging as an adult. They’re also known as the devil’s darning needle. What a beautiful creature!

There are many tiny native (and a few introduced) flowers blooming along the way. There are over 280 native plant species in and around the lakes, many uncommon and nationally significant. I was on the lookout for the native hooded orchid but didn’t manage to find any.

There were masses of tiny, usually pink or white, flowers that could be easily missed by the average walker. They’re often hidden under the leaves of the bush or just so tiny they disappear amongst the many shades of green. I’m still learning some of names, the top & middle left are Snowberries, the middle right is Eyebright and I should know the bottom groundcover as it used to grow throughout my large native garden back in Tauranga. It’s Panakenake a creeping herb. It’s loves damp conditions, one of the reason it grew prolifically around our pool overflow.

Another native that I had in my garden was the Kiokio fern with it’s beautiful copper coloured new fronds. Although I believe mine was the common Kiokio whereas this is the mountain kiokio- I can’t see the difference.

We finally reach the top of the track down to the larger lake and which we can see through the trees. The smaller lake is on the far side and out of view.

Down at lake level and David is off to set up his rod, there are lots of fish jumping all over the lake and plenty close into shore. They don’t look all that big and spit the hook quickly, everytime David throws something at them. These are small brown trout and are much smaller than their river cousins due to the cold water temperatures and lack of nutrients.

I go for a wander up to the lake head to see if there is any bird life, a couple of mother ducks with ducklings scarper off at full speed and a black backed seagull overhead, is all I found.

Along the way I do my bit for conservation, pulling out the pinus contorta (or wildling pine) seedlings growing on the lake edge. Going by the odd dried up seedling, I see someone else has been doing the same. Pinus contorta are spreading aggressively throughout New Zealand, smothering native bush and alpine grasslands and are a major pest. Originally chosen for their rapid growth in commercial forests and to control erosion elsewhere they soon escaped their confines to spread hundreds of thousands of seeds each year through our native forest and grasslands.

David’s still trying his luck when I get back so I wander off into the reeds to see what insects I can find.

There are dozens of Common Copper butterflies flying about feeding on the tiny white flowers- Eyebright & Panakenake- blooming in amongst the rocks and wetland grasses. I try to sneak up on them but they are pretty flighty and take off at the slightest movement or shadow.

There are plenty of bumblebees collecting nectar from these legume flowers.

And around the reeds are flying dozens and dozens of damselflies in various stages of copulation! Both Blue and Redcoat damselflies. I love the male’s big blue eyes in this shot & the way he is gripping the reed- holding on for dear life? Ol’ Blue Eyes maybe?

The focus is a little out on some of these- aside from the stiff wind that was blowing, it’s very hard to grab a focus point on something so small let alone when it’s being whipped about on the grass. The red one is the male, the brown the female. The two damselflies in the middle have formed what is called a ‘copulation wheel’ according to my insect book, interesting that his bits must be up the top end and hers down the bottom. Great how the male has grabbed the neck of the female, there ain’t no way she’s getting away!

My insect book is a little thin on it’s bugs but I think this is a Solider Fly of some sort on the left. It has an interesting looking tail end to it, like a tiny spanner to grab hold of something? On the right is a ‘worse for wear’ Red Admiral butterfly.

David has no luck so we sit on the bank and have a bite to eat before heading back, all the while the fish are taunting him, leaping into the air, doing backward flips and belly-flops right out in front of us.

Just before the end of the track we have our first encounter with another human being. A human being and his best friend happily wagging his tail at us. Another person who can’t read. Grrrrrr……..

Takacat Launch

Finally the day arrived for us to launch our new Takacat inflatable which hadn't seen the light of day since it arrived in a box in Napier 5 months ago. After an initial inspection & check over back in Napier it has been safely stowed in it's carry bag and tucked away in it's own compartment  at the front of the ute wellside. So far in our travels we haven't had the chance to use it and it was one of the reasons David was looking forward to our time at the lakes. Somewhere where he could take his time making sure everything did what it was supposed to do and everything fitted into place correctly.

 

 

There were a few teething problems with first the foot & then the electric pump & at one stage we wondered if in fact we'd be able to get the boat pumped up hard enough. After a lot of thought & few minor repairs David had it under control and we were ready to wet the dinghy's bottom.

 

Well David was, I was trying to take photos of the maiden launch which wasn't much appreciated when he had to wrangle the boat down the gravelly slope in front of the van by himself and over rocks into the water. The removable wheels worked a treat & helped enormously with manoeuvrability although with the outboard on it was still rather heavy & awkward to push/pull on the rocky foreshore.

 

So it was without any fan-fare- I wanted to tip some bubbles over the bow- our little boat "In There" was launched. After a couple of runs up and down the lake & few "trim tab" adjustments the Evans Travelling Road Show had another player on board!

David doing a fly past

 

Once David was happy everything was good and we weren't going to sink to the bottom of the lake, I packed up a lunch and we headed up the lake on what was a perfect day for boating & trialling out the dinghy. It went very well at full speed, which it would do across the a sheet of "glass" like this, although it did chew through the fuel. 

 

The scenery at the north end of North Mavora Lake was jaw-droppingly stunning. The tussock covered mountain sides rose high & steep out of the valley with many rock slides and large rock fans reaching down in to the lake.

Our destination was the West Burn Hut located on the opposite side of the lake to the 4WD & tramping track. Its an old 1920s musterer's hut that now belongs to DOC and is only accessible by boat. Its used by fishermen and the odd hunter and in fact when we finally arrived in the little bay where it's located we saw that there was already a small fizz boat up on the stony beach.

 

 

We hauled "In There" onto the beach and made our way up to the hut to check it out.

 

 

The boat owners were obviously off fly fishing somewhere as there was nobody about but all their gear was strewn around the tiny hut space. Inside the bunks were basic, the floor looked like it was dirt, there was a huge dirty ash covered fireplace taking up one end with half burnt firewood littered about the hearth. It was dark, dank & smoky. There was no running water or long drop either. Not my idea of a place to stay!

 

Outside was a rickety old red hooded BBQ that someone had obviously left for subsequent visitors to use and a broken metal stand of some sort with a bright yellow tray that looked totally out of place in this environment but was abandoned outside the door of the hut. We were talking to a tramper at another hut we visited later in our visit & he said he couldn't understand why people left bits and pieces in the huts when they left. Some huts had a lot of clutter where people had left behind old pillows, pots & pans, crockery & cutlery, candles & stuff thinking they were helping out future visitors (or too lazy to cart their gear out) Gear which other people would not want to use.

We found a rotting log to sit on beside the remains of a old fenceline but as soon as we sat down for lunch we were engulfed by a swarm of sandflies, the worst we had encountered at the lake. Even with a strong insect repellent liberally applied they managed to find their way onto & into any unprotected nook or crevice; there's nothing worse than a buzzing in your ear! We had no choice but to dance about and swipe this way & that while we hurriedly ate our lunch and then it was back into the boat and we were out of there at full speed trying to lose some of the swarm that persisted in following us. A few sandflies hung onto the boat for dear life & we were still swatting them off when we pulled up in the middle of the lake a few minutes later.

 

Before we left I managed to catch on a rosehip, one of the many tiny red damselflies that were flying around (which I thought were dragonflies, thanks Olwen!). With their big eyes and good sight they usually alight well before you can get close.

 

North Mavora Lake Reflections.

It turned out to be the perfect day to launch the Takacat. David was thrilled with it's performance and I found it excellent to ride as a passenger especially when I sat down on the floor in front of the seat leaning against it, a very comfortable position. There's no high bow to obstruct the view & you literally feel like you're skimming along on top of the water. I think I'd make a good Thundercat co-pilot!