We have no major trip planned for this Summer, but we do have plans to cross Cook Strait next Spring for an extended tour of the North Island.
In the meantime we have just completed another of our ‘Bucket List’ adventures. Starting in Blenheim, Marlborough, and finishing at Cardrona, Central Otago, we participated in a six day, four wheel drive safari through the back country of the South Island. This self drive, guided tour travelling mainly on back country public roads and private high country station tracks is one of several offered by Robbie and Connie Crickett at NZ Adventures.
The day before the safari was scheduled to start, we travelled from Christchurch north to Blenheim via the beautiful Kaikoura coast road in our shiny clean five month old Suzuki Jimny. This state of cleanness would not last as our route south to Cardrona was paved with mud, dust, gravel and water.
Day One
An early morning gathering of our travel companions followed by safety and equipment inspections of the fourteen participating four wheel drive vehicles before departure.
Leaving Blenheim behind, passing through extensive vineyards for which Marlborough is famous, our small convoy followed our leader up the Waihopai Valley enroute to the first off road section of our journey.
Engaging four wheel drive to negotiate the steep grass and gravel farm tracks of Tyntesfield and Blairich stations we crossed over into the Awatere Valley by way of the Blairich Pass (637 metres ASL) with brief stops at Ramshead and Beehive huts.
Upon reaching the Awatere Valley Road our convoy turned right under sunny blue skies making our way south west along the dusty gravel road up the Awatere Valley.
Crossing over the Hodder Bridge – the only vehicle suspension bridge in Marlborough – on our way to a superb lunch prepared by Middlehurst Station, after which, our dusty trail continued toward the expansive alpine tussock country of Molesworth Station.
This high country station nestled into the alpine river valleys of Southern Marlborough is New Zealand’s largest farm at over 180,000 hectares and stretches 59 kilometres between it’s boundaries in the north and south. Owned by the Government of New Zealand, it is administered by the Department of Conservation. Stopping several times on our passage through this massive high country station to view the cob cottage, the homestead, the Awatere and Acheron rivers and lastly, the Acheron Guest House, the last remaining guest house of several that served as over night accommodation on this early stage coach road to Nelson via the Rainbow Road.
Our last challenge for the day was the rough descent of Jollies Pass into the alpine town of Hanmer Springs.
Distance travelled for day, 220 kilometres.
Day Two
Breakfast complete and on the road by eight o’clock to our next stopping point 86 kilometres away at MacDonald Downs Station with a refuelling stop in Culverden. Owned by the Paterson family since 1966 and managed by Bill Paterson and his four daughters, MacDonald Downs Station is well known for it’s extensive beautifully landscaped gardens, designed by Alfred Buxton in the 1920s, which surround the homestead.
Afterwards, climbing in low ratio 4WD on a steep grass farm track to the top of Blue Mountain at around 815 metres ASL, we were treated to spectacular views in all directions of this 11333 hectare sheep and cattle station as well as the Pacific Ocean beyond Amberley to the east.
Descending back down to the well maintained Stock Road through the property we paused for our packed lunch beside a picturesque small stream.
After lunch we joined the Okuku Pass Road, fording the Okuku River and shortly afterwards crossing the Okuku Saddle (around 600 metres ASL) into the wide expanse of Lees Valley.
Travelling along the straight, dusty, gravel road to the southern end of the valley we joined the Ashley River for the trip through it’s gorge.
High above the river on the steep hills the road twists and winds it’s way for 20 kilometres before meeting the Ashley Gorge Road. The views are spectacular and shortly before the exit a lookout point offers wide views of the Canterbury plains to Banks Peninsula 50 kilometres to the southeast.
A short distance down the road brought us to the town of Oxford for a brief break. From here to our overnight stay in Methven is a fairly ordinary drive so we diverted up and over Porters Pass to Lake Lyndon.
Here we followed the fine weather road to pass by Lake Coleridge and down the Rakaia River basin to cross over the Rakaia Gorge bridges, by which time it was raining quite heavily, and on to our destination for the night.
Distance travelled for day, 272 kilometres.
Day Three
Under way again at eight o’clock on an overcast drizzly day driving to Mount Somers township before carrying on up the Ashburton River South Branch valley and into the Ashburton lakes district. Skirting the Hakatere Conservation Park, a protected area established in 2007, which covers nearly 60,000 hectares of rugged mountain country, tussocklands, beech forest and sparkling clear rivers and lakes. We made a brief stop at the southern end of Lake Heron before carrying on to Lake Heron Station for morning tea.
Lake Heron Station is a 19600 hectare working Merino farm deep in the high country which has been in the Todhunter family for 104 years. As well as their Merino wool business they offer luxury self cater accommodation and a range of outdoor activities including scenic fixed wing and helicopter flights, heliskiing, fishing, hiking, hunting and guided farm tours. I believe Lake Heron Station is the only farm property in New Zealand that has a glacier within it's boundary.
Morning tea completed and it was back to 4WD mode heading northwest across the Lake Heron Station alpine tussock land, through several fords and crossing Lake Stream by bridge before taking to the rugged river bed in low ratio 1st gear crawling over the large rocks.
Eventually, just a few short kilometres from the headwaters of the Rakaia River the rising water levels of the tributary streams flowing into Lake Stream signalled that it was time to return to Lake Heron Station to get out of the rain.
When we arrived, an outstanding lunch prepared by Anne and Philip Todhunter was waiting for us. Time to inspect the homestead, beautifully restored and decorated, before carrying on our way along farm tracks to the north of the lake and Mount Sugarloaf eventually rejoining the Hakatere Heron Road we had arrived on.
The historic Hakatere Station buildings which were purchased in 2008 by a local heritage group have been restored and maintained by the heritage group and the Department of Conservation, can be seen as you leave the area on the Ashburton Gorge Road.
Due to the wet weather and time constraints we were unable to tackle the challenging Orari Gorge track, taking in Orari and Blue Mountain stations. We instead took a gravel backroad route from Geraldine to Fairlie, which proved to be muddy and slippery due to the persistent rain. Arriving at Fairlie for the night our Jimny was well covered in mud.
Distance travelled for day, 271 kilometres.
Day four
A hearty cooked breakfast and roll call at eight o’clock had become a familiar routine by day four. A cracking pace was set on the main road to Tekapo via Burkes Pass on a clear sunny morning. Shortly after leaving Tekapo we turned off state highway 8 onto Braemar Road, a gravel road which passes by the Tekapo Military Camp and Ministry of Defence army training land on it’s way to the shores of Lake Pukaki. These facilities are not only used for training by the New Zealand army but other international defence forces such as Australia and Singapore also. Upon reaching Lake Pukaki, Mount Cook was putting on a great show for our group and the cameras were out and clicking.
Along the shores of Lake Pukaki and onward past Twizel, we followed the Ohau hydro electric canal past the Ohau C power station to a morning tea stop beside the Ohau River close to it’s delta where it enters Lake Benmore.
Unfortunately after crossing the river twice with water over the bonnet of the lead vehicle our guide decided the river flow was too high for the tour group vehicles to attempt crossing. This necessitated back tracking almost to Lake Pukaki to a rough stoney little used access track. A lot of time lost to a detour of 43 kilometres compared to our intended route of about 11 kilometres. Shortly before reaching Lake Benmore at the Haldon Arm Campground where we regrouped, our convoy had to cross the Tekapo River using the Iron Bridge. With our group consolidated once more we carried on through Haldon Station to Black Forest Station to reach our packed lunch stop on the shore of Lake Benmore’s Haldon Arm.
From here a group of about ten vehicles followed our leader on a side trip up Cattle Gully to a high peak with stunning views of Lake Benmore and the Mackenzie Country to Lake Pukaki and Mount Cook. This track was mainly grass, very steep in places and tested our confidence and 4WD skills. A great experience, thanks Robbie.
Descending over 600 metres back down the same track we rejoined the rest of our group at the lakeside before tackling the last leg of the day.
Driving through the steep, rugged hill country of Black Forest Station, high above and to the east of Lake Benmore, we followed a rough road created to install and service the electricity transmission line from the Benmore Hydro Electric Dam.
Benmore Dam is the second largest electricity generator in New Zealand after Manapouri power station. The electricity carried by these lines and pylons goes straight to the North Island and four days ago we were travelling beside them in the Molesworth Station. Reaching the start of the transmission lines at Benmore Dam was the completion of our 4WD activities for the day with just a short road journey to Omarama for our overnight stay.
Distance travelled for day, 267 kilometres.
Day Five
Roll call and off we go turning south soon after departing Omarama heading for Twinburn Station and the Oteake Conservation Park. Climbing to around 1350 metres ASL we crossed the Hawkdun Range leaving Canterbury Province for the first time in four days and entering Central Otago. The ascent was relatively smooth on a well formed track with expansive views in both directions.
The descent was rough, badly rutted, muddy and slow going in 4WD low ratio.
After a while our track met up with the Manuherikia River which drains the Hawkdun and Bathans ranges eventually discharging it’s flow into the Clutha River at Alexandra.
Our lunch awaited us at the historic Vulcan Hotel in St Bathans, built in 1869 to service this once thriving mining town.
Gold was extracted by high pressure water sluicing which reduced a 120 metre high hill to a 60 metre deep hole which is now known as the St Bathans Blue Lake.
Deteriorating weather obliged us to abandon our planned afternoon climb up the Dunstan Range to Leaning Rock. A quick rethink by Robbie took us to Omakau, then over the Raggedy Range to the Ida Valley and a grass track up and along Rough Ridge.
But after two or three kilometres it became apparent that rain had made the grass too slippery on the steep sections for us to continue. Retreating back to the Ida Valley it was obvious that we were in Otago schist country with this metamorphic rock dominating the landscape.
However, we passed through a small localised area of Sarsen stones. These very hard quartz based rocks are resistant to weathering which results in their interesting rounded smooth shapes. Sarsen stone was used in the construction of Stonehenge.
We completed the day with a drive to the 1930s depression era irrigation dam at Manorburn Reservoir. This construction project was one of several dams in this area intended to provide employment during the Great Depression and irrigation water for the dry Central Otago landscape.
Winding our way to Alexandra along the Crawford Hills back road prior to joining state highway 8 alongside Lake Dunstan, we were bound for Cromwell and our overnight accommodation.
Distance travelled for day, 229 kilometres.
Day Six
Another grey day dawned for our last day of the tour. Crossing the Kawarau arm of Lake Dunstan to Bannockburn and further up the valley to the Nevis Road. This road climbs steadily for about 900 metres from it’s base to Duffers Saddle, 1300 metres ASL, making it the highest public road in New Zealand.
Our journey back down to the Bannockburn Road took us along the 4WD track to the historic gold mining settlement of Carricktown with it’s relics, including a large water wheel and many kilometres of water races. Great views of Cromwell and Lake Dunstan are to be had in fine weather but not so great during our visit.
The wild thyme which covers the mountains and hills in many parts of Central Otago was in full bloom and very colourful alongside the rugged 4WD track.
Turning right at the bottom of the track, our convoy took the Hawksburn Road behind the Cairnmuir Mountains to a lookout high above Ernscleugh and the Clyde hydro electric dam.
Once again today, the wet weather prevented us from tackling the steep twisty track up the Dunstan Mountains to Leaning Rock. So we finished the tour with the Thomson Gorge Road, Rise and Shine Track, which traverses the Thomson Mountains. It was quite spectacular even in the rain which made the road muddy and slippery.
After a brief stop at Tarras our group of intrepid 4WD explorers made their way to our final destination at the Cardrona Hotel. A social evening, splendid meal and good nights sleep followed.
Distance travelled for day, 205 kilometres.
Day Seven
Another fabulous cooked breakfast before many farewells as the group dispersed to many different parts of the country and even Australia. For us Christchurch and home was our destination.
We had an absolutely enjoyable and memorable journey.
Many thanks to Robbie and Connie from NZ Adventures for a great experience, their professionalism and excellent organisation.
We’ll be back and we suspect we’ll meet others from this group when we do.
Distance travelled on tour from Blenheim to Cardrona,1464 kilometres.
Total distance for round trip Christchurch to Christchurch 2291 kilometres.
