Tramping the Leslie Karamea and Wangapeka Tracks
Track
These tracks are in the Kahurangi National Park in the north west of the South Island. They provide a continuous path to tramp from Cobb Reservoir near Takaka to Little Wanganui on the west coast south of Karamea. The Karamea river has some brilliant trout fishing. To start this trip I got dropped off at the start of Cobb Valley road on statehighway 60. It's about 30km up to the dam so I was hopeful of being able to catch a lift with someone. This didn't work out on the first day but I was quite content to walk in about 8km to a camp ground beside the Takaka river. I spent the afternoon and evening trout fishing in the Takaka river with no success. There are transport services that can drop you off at the start of the tracks but it quite expensive particularly if you are travelling alone.
Road End - Salisbury Lodge  I got up early the next morning to see if I could get a lift with one of the employees at the power station, I only had to wait about five minutes before being picked up by one of the workers who dropped me off at the power station. From here it was still about 10km from cobb reservoir. However there is another track that goes past the Asbestos mines which starts about 2km from the power house so I decided I would use that track rather than walk along the road all the way to the reservoir. The road climbs steeply from the power house but soon enough I was on the track. For quite a while it was an old vehicle track but eventually it thins out nearer to the mines.  Just past the mines I stopped off at the Asbestos Cottage which had been the home of a couple for many years when the mines were operating. The cottage was really rustic looking with some old armchairs made of sticks and hessian sacks, one of them was actually quite comfortable. Would have been nice to stay at the cottage but I was heading for Salisbury Lodge for the night. Past the cottage the track drops goes across a couple of small river valleys then up onto the Mt Arthur Tablelands. It was pretty misty up there which cuts down on visibility but there was still a really cool feel to it.Salisbury Lodge certainly suprised me, it was definitely the nicest hut I've seen outside of the great walks. It had gas heating and cooking. There were four americans staying there for the night, they were very friendly and we spent the evening playing cards. |
Sailisbury Lodge - Karamea Bend   About a 5 hour tramp starting on the Mt Arthur table lands and then dropping down about 500m in altitude into the Leslie river valley, the descent into the valley is fairly gradual so it's not too difficult. There were bell birds everywhere on the way down, they make such a cool array of noises. I had some good fishing in the Leslie River and The Peel. |
Karamea Bend - Crow Hut  This is a four hour tramp following the Karamea river which is renowned for trout fishing. There are a few little hills where the track has to leave the river to negotiate bluffs but basically it was a nice flat walk. The river is very clear with just a slight tinge of green to it. Crow Hut is situated at the confluence of the Crow River and the Karamea. A German guy travelling in the opposite direction stayed at the hut. |
Crow Hut - Thor Hut  Another four hour walk interrupted by more trout fishing bypassing Venus hut along the way. Venus hut is very interesting they have expanded the original hut by building another one on top of it. Both huts still have their own fireplace. |
Thor Hut - Trevor Carter Hut
Finally caught a couple of larger trout here. I caught the first one not far up from the hut. After walking for about an hour after catching the trout I realised that I had forgotten my rod. I was pretty sure I knew where it was but it wasn't the happiest 2 hours of walking I've had in my life that's for sure. Still it was pleasant enough getting to go past the moonstone lakes twice more. The lakes are just part of the river but it gets so wide that there is hardly any current. There are lot's of stumps from drowned trees give it quite an eerie feel. There are a couple of options further on ... you can choose to follow the river bed with no track or take the high level track. The high level track is the only choice if the river is flooded but otherwise walking the river bed is a lot more direct and faster unless like me you stop to catch a 6lb brown trout! It is suggested that this walk takes about 4 hours but I think that must be if you take the high-level track. It's hard to say with all the fishing during the walk but it seemed a lot shorter than 4 hours.
Trevor Carter Hut - Taipo Hut
From Trevor Carter you can either head inland or west towards the coast. The biggs tops option is very good if you have reasonable fitness and good weather. This is a marked route but it is still fairly easy to follow, you do have to remain alert though as it is easy to wander off the route in places. From Trevor carter it was only about 1 minute to the base of a rather large hill, starting from 700m you go up to 1500 without any flats to speak of. I thought my fitness was pretty good but the first section had me pausing to catch my breath every few minutes. It got a bit easier further up the hill as the forest became more open and the route meanders a bit rather than going straight up so it's not so steep. At the top the bush-line is very sharply defined I went from large beech forest to open tussock and rocks in about 5 steps. The view at the top were brilliant although there was a fair amount of cloud around. There is a big depression surrounded by ridges, I followed the ridges around until the route dropped down. In fine weather it would be worth following the ridge all the way around to get some more views. It wouldn't be hard to pick up the route near were the ridge hits the bushline again, the markers would often be visible to your right along the way.
Taipo Hut - Belltown Hut
The weather on this day was absolutely terrible. Looking up to the little Wanganui hut the previous days sunshine had been replaced with pouring rain and little waterfalls popping up everywhere. I realised that there was a possibility of getting trapped between side streams and wouldn't have left the hut that day if I didn't have a tent with me. Tents are heavy to carry but great for peace of mind, I knew if I got stuck between rising rivers and was unable to make it to the hut I could just wait it out in the tent. The track up to the saddle is fairly steep most of the way and there was water flowing down it in most places, great fun! When I came out of the bush just before the saddle it became apparent just how bad the weather really was. Sleet and strong winds meant no stopping at the top, apparently from the saddle you can get spectacular views of the west coast on a good day. On the other side of the saddle there was even more water on the track. After going past a couple of small tarns I came to a stream crossing. It looked far too turbulent to cross were the track was but just upstream there was a waterfall, the water was coming over the lip with such speed that there was a little gap behind the main volume of water. I decided to cross there and did so easily which was really cool because it looked quite frightening.
Belltown Hutt - Little Wanganui
This is a fairly flat walk that took about 3 hours, the rain still hadn't stopped completely so there was no chance of the rivers dropping ... which meant I had to take some high level tracks which are quite steep with a lot of steps. At the road end there is a free phone were you arrange for transport into Little Wanganui. As it had only been a short walk to the road end I decided to walk the hour and a half into "town". I had expected a bit more of a settlement in Little Wanganui. But fortunately there was a Hotel and backpackers run by a very friendly man named Dave. I was heading down to Westport the next day and he very generously offered to drive me down there himself. I had a brilliant feed of steak, mushrooms and chips, they gave me heaps of food which is just what I needed after my tramp.
I got up early the next morning to see if I could get a lift with one of the employees at the power station, I only had to wait about five minutes before being picked up by one of the workers who dropped me off at the power station. From here it was still about 10km from cobb reservoir. However there is another track that goes past the Asbestos mines which starts about 2km from the power house so I decided I would use that track rather than walk along the road all the way to the reservoir. The road climbs steeply from the power house but soon enough I was on the track. For quite a while it was an old vehicle track but eventually it thins out nearer to the mines. 
Just past the mines I stopped off at the Asbestos Cottage which had been the home of a couple for many years when the mines were operating. The cottage was really rustic looking with some old armchairs made of sticks and hessian sacks, one of them was actually quite comfortable. Would have been nice to stay at the cottage but I was heading for Salisbury Lodge for the night. Past the cottage the track drops goes across a couple of small river valleys then up onto the Mt Arthur Tablelands. It was pretty misty up there which cuts down on visibility but there was still a really cool feel to it.Salisbury Lodge certainly suprised me, it was definitely the nicest hut I've seen outside of the great walks. It had gas heating and cooking. There were four americans staying there for the night, they were very friendly and we spent the evening playing cards.
About a 5 hour tramp starting on the Mt Arthur table lands and then dropping down about 500m in altitude into the Leslie river valley, the descent into the valley is fairly gradual so it's not too difficult. There were bell birds everywhere on the way down, they make such a cool array of noises. I had some good fishing in the Leslie River and The Peel.
This is a four hour tramp following the Karamea river which is renowned for trout fishing. There are a few little hills where the track has to leave the river to negotiate bluffs but basically it was a nice flat walk. The river is very clear with just a slight tinge of green to it. Crow Hut is situated at the confluence of the Crow River and the Karamea. A German guy travelling in the opposite direction stayed at the hut.
Another four hour walk interrupted by more trout fishing bypassing Venus hut along the way. Venus hut is very interesting they have expanded the original hut by building another one on top of it. Both huts still have their own fireplace.
