Tramping in the Upper Wilkin Valley
Makarora is just a quick three and a half hour drive from Dunedin. It's also the gateway to some of our favorite back country in the Mt Aspiring National Park. The Gillespie Pass Track is one of the most travelled routes outside of the Great Walks in New Zealand and was our introduction to tramping in the area about four years ago. The Blue River proved to be even better with fantastic camp sites and rather less company. But if you ask the DOC staff what's their favorite area they will inevitably direct you to the two lakes at the headwaters of the Wilkin - Lucidus and Castalia.
So with the prospect of four fine days in a row from Waitangi day, it was easy to walk away from the shop with two packs, our little tent and whistle up to Makarora to catch a jetboat heading up the Wilkin to Kerin Forks where the Siberia river terminates. Even with an early start it's still a long days walk up Wilkin valley, through Jumboland flats to Top Forks hut which boasts one of the finest views from any long drop. Scenic as this was, an even better campsite just over the river was our happy place for the evening where we could watch icefalls from the hanging glaciers of Mt Pollux as the snow melt hit a late afternoon peak.
Day tripping with a light pack is always a pleasure and the morning climb up to the disappearing tarn was the literal walk in the park. As you can see, the reflections in the tarn lived up to reputation and make an early start more than worthwhile. Lucidus Lake is little more than a hop, skip and jump further but even better again - sitting right under Pollux this glacial lake has an impressive side moraine wall, but this is dwarfed by the vertical faces on the opposite side and end walls that shower meltwater and debris.
Getting to the ultimate source of the north branch of the Wilkin is a little more involved - a steady climb past the length of Lucidus, ramble over open snow grass country then scramble along and up the rough moraine and outflow brings you to the smaller but more spectacular of the two lakes - Castalia. The side walls are steeper to the point of being long overhangs with waterfalls that never actually touch ground as the swirling winds whip the spray away. There is the obvious comparison with the more well known Lake Crucible but we can never get enough of remote alpine lakes! This really is a fantastic area and if you can get good weather, it's well worth making the effort. Do be aware that there are numerous river crossings and the Wilkin catchment is large so the rivers can rise quickly and there are no bridges.
Taking advantage of the (relatively) easy day, we packed up the tent when we got back to Top Forks and headed back down the Wilkin to camp by a sandy beach on the river and get a head start for the next day - the intention to get up into the invitingly named Wonderland Valley which is described in the DOC literature as 'an interesting day walk' where you follow an old cattle track up the true left of the river.
Somewhere in the middle of a slip comprised of truck sized rocks and dense re-growth with stinging nettles for company, Carolyn declared we had entered No-Fun-Land. The only exit was down and so we ended up back where we started and had lunch. Giving it another go we made the mistaken assumption that the best way was up and over the slip as it looked like there was an obvious notch in the steep hillside that would make for an easy run up the valley. The climb gave great views but it quickly became clear the Wonderland Valley had the characteristic 'U' shape of glacial valleys. Time was starting to go against us and there was no way we'd get up to where we'd hoped and still be able to make it back on schedule so we compromised with a lazy stroll around Jumboland flats and another exceedingly comfortable campsite.
That evening we heard one very lonely kea calling from the valley. You'll see numerous hares, deer tracks and damage if you know what you are looking for. DOC fight a desperate battle with many stoat traps alongside the tracks. As beautiful and rugged as this area is, the lack of bird life is obvious and glacial retreat is there for all to see.
If there is a way into the Wonderland valley we suspect you'd have to initially work your way up the river past the big overgrown slip at the entrance to the valley before diverting up into the bush to find the cattle track. While the deer have made a big impact in some areas, it looks like very few people attempt this route and by now the regrowth may have obscured the track. From what we could see it's also very scrubby further up and unless you were lucky, it could well take more than the 2-3 hours indicated to break out into clear tussock county.
Our final day was an easy walk out down the Wilkin to again meet the jetboat - while it's possible to walk all the way out the distance is long and crossing the Makarora River to get to the road is not something you’d want to do in less than ideal conditions - the jet boat is a bit of fun and what might take a full day or more whistles past in just 30 minutes. If you'd like a bit of variety we understand that the cost of a flight for a party of 4 to the airstrip close to top forks is about the same as the jetboat. And there is a helicopter option which can drop you anywhere.
It's spectacular county in there with good tracks and huts as well as numerous good campsites. This really is what our National Parks are all about - anyone can enjoy then if they are prepared to put one foot in front of the other. There is as much challenge as you want and remarkably few people - while the Gillespie circuit is very popular with both New Zealanders and tourists, the upper Wilkin is much less visited, yet for us, it was markedly better.
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