“The Nevis”- There & Back: Part 1

You will remember that we drove the Upper Nevis when we did the 4WD safari over Nokomai Station back in February. After we left Arrowtown we planned to stay in Cromwell (beside the lake again) for a few days so we could explore the Lower Nevis & the Nevis Gorge before we left the area. We were hoping for a fine day but with rain forecast we decided to drive it the afternoon we arrived at Lowburn, it was dry but with high cloud and haze.

The north end of the Nevis Road starts out the back of Bannockburn where it climbs sharply up Long Gully on the Carrick Range. Along the way we pass Dead Horse Pinch; many horses didn’t make it up this steep incline when pulling wagonloads of mining dredge pieces up into the valley. The high altitude Nevis Valley, was first settled by pastoral farmers in the late 1850s & then my gold miners in the 1860s.

Looking back from the top of the range we can see all the way up the Upper Clutha Valley, including Cromwell and Lake Dunstan. The Pisa Range is to the left, the Dunstan Mountains to the right & according to the signpost & a farmer who stopped to tell us, Mt Cook and the Southern Alps can be seen at the top left of the lake. On a clear day. Which it wasn’t.

At the summit- Duffers Saddle1300m; it was considerably colder at the top with a few snow patches in the lee of the rock stacks left over from the heavy fall that the region had a week or so ago. Behind the schist rocks which are known as “The Two Sisters” are the Remarkables.

The dry tussock landscape is covered in clumps of speargrass & dotted with huge & wonderfully shaped schist tors.

The road is dry and dusty as it snakes its way across the top of the saddle and then drops dramatically down into the valley below.

The Nevis River and the Lower Nevis Valley stretch out in front of us. The valley consists of two sections, each is about 6kms long separated by a 4km gorge. We can see the beginning of the gorge at the far end. The second section is where we made it to when we came in from the other end.

In the photo below, the road can be seen running along the lower ridge at the right. Much of the high country seen across the valley belongs to Ben Nevis Station and up behind the station is Ben Nevis itself, which is 2234m high. We’ve actually spent a bit of time at another Ben Nevis, Ben Nevis (1344m) is near Fort William in Scotland and is the highest peak in the British Isles. We were there for the Downhill Mountain Bike Championships a few years ago when we had a team racing our 2Stage Bikes. NZ’s Ben Nevis is a baby amongst our mountain peaks, our highest mountain is Mt Cook (3754m) which would be a giant at nearly three times the height of Scotland’s Ben Nevis.

Down in the valley there are very few signs of settlement over 150 years ago when up to 600 people lived along the river in two settlements. An abandoned house & a prospector & his caravan on the river not too far from the bridge; we saw the claim sign nailed to a pole at the roadside, are reminders of present day habitation while a stone wall is all that’s left of the “Nevis Crossing Hotel”, it now forms part of the Ben Nevis Station’s cattle yards and across the river a few broken stone walls are the only signs of buildings from the Nevis Crossing settlement all that time ago.

The Nevis River bridge dates from 1904 and replaced the original bridge which was swept away by great sheets of ice after the Nevis thawed when the river froze in 1903. This was & is still is a harsh and unforgiving environment especially in winter. A cluster of stone & wood buildings behind a woolshed belong to Ben Nevis Station. Cattle gathered on the road ahead of us as we approached the woolshed & when I get out to take a photo of the buildings two farm dogs come bounding down the driveway to see who had stopped. They give the cattle a quick burst around the paddock & then retreated back up the drive, satisfied they were still the boss.

Further along the road we take a short detour to the lonely Nevis Cemetery set up a slight rise with the huge expanse of the valley stretched out in front of the graves, Pioneer land owners and miners laid to rest overlooking the land they worked & loved. The silence of the valley filled the still air.

That was until far off in the distance we could here a vehicle approaching, the farmer who had stopped to tell us about Mt Cook. He must have stopped somewhere along the way.

We are now approaching the Lower Nevis Settlement, the main town of the valley from 1863 to 1953, though only a few buildings now remain. Over half of the original settlement was destroyed as a result of dredging operations in the early 1900s. This earth & corrugated homestead is obviously still looked after if not lived in going by the huge mown front yard, perhaps its now used as a “fishermans retreat”.

Just a little further on are the remains of Elliot’s Nevis Hotel, which was destroyed by fire in 1917 and another homestead, a 1903 wooden & corrugated house which is still being lived in by the descendants of the Adie family, early settlers of the valley. And its now that we see that “the farmer” that stopped to tell us about Mt Cook lives in the homestead.

And across the road he has a well manicured yard that contains many relics from the early gold mining period and settlement of the valley. This is also a POP, a park over property for motorhomers who decide to drive the road in their motorhomes. Most sized vans would be able to get to this point in the valley if coming in from the Cromwell end although the steep climb up the Carrick Range might foil a few. More adventurous souls in smaller vans could venture further on into the gorge and out the other end to Garston but this would only be during summer and after a long dry period as there are many fords to cross at the top end of the road (see the link at the top of this post if you're wanting to check out the full road)

The Adie family still have a claim which lies on the slopes behind the house in Stewart Gully, we can see the sculptured sluice markings from the road. There are many signs of the wide spread gold mining throughout the valley from the sluice marks along the slopes to the piles of tailings the dredges have left along the river terraces. Because of the harsh environment and the way the ground has been left after the mining has finished the land has has not restored itself; rabbits & briar bushes have taken over where the tussock has refused to grow.

David found this quite distressing, the destruction of an environment because of man’s greed, nowadays it wouldn’t happen, the land would have to be restored to its former state. If a permit to mine was in fact granted. It didn’t worry me so much, this is part of our history and it’s great that we can still see how things were achieved and marvel at the tenacity of our forefathers.

To be continued.......Part 2

Hidden Valley 4WD- Nokomai Station

After a heavy but sort lived burst of rain on Friday night, Saturday morning dawned bright & clear much to our, & I bet the organisers, relief. A sign at the main road pointed us in the direction of Nokomai Station & the start of our 4WD Safari.

A cloud of dust announced each vehicle's approach as we lined up in a paddock beside the Nokomai River. And with each new arrival we (and I know others) gave a sigh of relief, most of us were "shinies", & also newbies to doing 4WD safaris. There were a good mix of people, families with children including toddlers, single guys with friends, a good number of couples, retired couples & groups of older men. Fifty six vehicles in total were taking part, a good turn out for the fundraiser.

Our day started well with the first announcement calling David &  I up to receive a prize (a dozen beer & a bottle of wine) for being the ones to travel the furthest to take part in the event; "all the way from Tauranga!". We felt a bit of a fraud being that we left Tauranga  nearly five months ago, but it's still our mailing address and that was what was on the entry form. And we enjoyed the benefit of people making us feel very welcome during the day; we met some lovely people & had a good number of laughs.

We were welcomed onto Nokomai Station by the station manager, Hamish who also gave us a brief history on the station. The station is approximately 38,000 hectares and has been in the hands of two families (Camerons & Hores) during it's 150 year history. The Station run 20,000 ewes & 900 head of cattle & have 7-8 staff including the cookhouse chef. Much of the back country is under snow for 10 months of the year, the sheep were there at the moment but would be shifted to the front country at the end of March (which will have recovered most of its growth over summer). They will also be meeting the rams at this time.

During our trip we would be climbing to over 5000 feet  (we were already at around 900 feet), following the Nokomai River up the "Hidden Valley" then climbing up onto the Hector Mountain Range, down into the Nevis Valley & back up onto the Garvie Mountain range. The Nokomai Valley has a rich gold mining history & we were told to look out for relics from the small town that used to be situated far up the valley. Late in the 19th century there were over 2000 people living in the town complete with a Bank of New Zealand, hotels & other shops. In fact we failed to see anything. Mind you, the landscape took all our attention.

And with that we were away, in no particular order but with instructions to give the vehicle in front plenty of room so it could carry out any necessary "manoeuvres" & keep the vehicle behind in view at all times. This would stop a line of vehicles heading off on the wrong track.

Remember to click on the photos if you'd like to see a bigger version.

There were three Ford Rangers like ours in the group, we happened to be behind one on the first section.

The Hidden Valley, Nokomai Station

"Brown's cows"

Our first rest stop, a chance to see how everyone has been doing & for a few to make a beeline for the nearest bush.

The first major climb & a back up of vehicles as each one waits for the one in front to clear.

Looking back down the Nokomai Valley, it was climbing up this ridge on the left that we had our first issue. We were number five in the line, the rest had gone through, but we couldn't get over a deep stony rut in the steepest part of this section. After 4-5 attempts I got out to direct & encourage David through it, once he floored it & kept it up, it was up, over & away. He then remembered the "lock the diff" button on the dash & from then on the Ranger drove like a dream. Many of the following vehicles also got caught on it & we know of one couple that had to be towed through.

Out with the shovel to patch a repair to the rut, but it still caused problems.

As each vehicle made it to the top, we pulled up to watch the proceedings.

And then it was away again.

The scenery was starting to get "big"

One final steep winding climb & through a station gate and we popped out onto the infamous Nevis Road at the top of the Hector Mountains.

We headed north down into the Nevis Valley & along the relatively easy Nevis Road for 5-6 kilometres. After the track we'd been on, & other than a few fords, the Nevis felt like a main state highway!

A hut beside the Nevis River.

A few kilometres later we turned onto a large flat expanse of tussock & spear grass, this is where the Nevis River meets the Roaring Lion Creek. We stopped at the junction for lunch.

One of the organisers had towed a trailer, containing the two port-a-loos, all the way in over the lower half of the Nevis Road. I chuckled at what I imagined the look on the faces of people he passed on the way in would have been. Maybe they thought he was afraid of getting "caught short" or he was "travelling in style". Anyway it was a great relief (no pun intended) to have them there, there were no bushes for as far as the eye could see!

See that track running off up the ridge in the background, remember it, we'll be coming down it later in the afternoon.

After lunch it was back down the Nevis Road and through the multitude of fords on this section. This time we were in the middle of the pack & following the other Ranger, our new friends Peter & Leanne!

It was here that we came across our first vehicle coming the other way; a car no less. Back at the beginning of the Nevis Road (or end if you are travelling north to south) there is a sign saying no cars, 4WD only. I guess these people thought they'd manage, & I suppose they did, but probably only because there has been no rain for awhile & the day was hot & sunny. The look of surprise on their faces as we passed made us smile. They must have wondered where on earth all these vehicles had come from, it's single lane & they kept pulling off to let us past. And not much further on another vehicle was heading towards us, this time a 4WD ute, they had the sense to pull over & wait for our convoy to pass.

Once through the valley & before the climb back up the Hector Mountain range we turned in through a gate and back into Nokomai Station. It was here that we had our first taste of deep water, or should that be deep muddy water, a narrow bog! We'd been warned that it was coming up and at lunch many vehicles had taped tarpaulins & black polythene across their grills so water wouldn't enter their air intakes. The Ford Ranger didn't need to though, the intake is the highest in the range of popular utility brands, just a little lower than the windscreen.

As we climbed I was able to lean out the window & shoot others as they came through the bog. I see that there were three motorcyclists waiting to pass our group too. The Nevis was obviously very popular on Saturday.

The guy at the end here is either checking his vehicle hasn't overheated; the covers were on for quite a distance before we got to the bog, or he decided to attach his just before going through.

We're now climbing up onto the Garvie Mountain Range, the views were spectacular in all directions. 

Looking back down the ridge

And looking up the ridge as the line of vehicles snakes it way up, over and through ruts, rocks & a few boulders on the track.

Waiting on top for everyone to arrive safely.

I walked(ran) back up to the top to catch the last of the vehicles coming up the ridge, the wind was cold and blustery, there was no mistaking that we were on top of a mountain range. Looking back down to the Nokomai Valley where our safari started. As I passed a vehicle a guy leaned out & asked me if "Tauranga had views like this?" There was no denying, it most certainly doesn't! :)

Once everyone had caught up, we were away again, many taking up new places in the line. This was great for me as a photographer, my photos have different vehicles in them & the further back we moved the longer the line of vehicles got in my photos.

Amazing landscapes in every direction- that isn't a rock in the photo, that is a boulder the size of a small house!

Snow hardy tussock, bright green mosses & plants with tiny little white flowers covered the land.

Vehicles travelling the Nevis Road. 

And finally we arrived at the top of the ridge that was behind us at lunch. This is the Nevis Valley & far below is Roaring Lion Creek & the Nevis River. The public Nevis Road can be seen running through the centre.

Little bursts of dust can been seen on the road below as the lead vehicles finish the descent.

Two final river crossings and we're back to our lunch area.

But with one more surprise in store for us, & him........to be continued-  Part 2 (click the link to find out what)

More photos from this section of the safari here-  Flickr- Nokomai Station & Nevis Valley