Greenstone - Caples Track - Four days tramping

Day 1
Our journey begins on Friday morning. We hit the road around nine o’clock heading firstly to a car service in Alex for a scheduled WOF, leaving after about an hour – of new screen wipers richer and 85 dollars lighter… but most importantly with a serviceable and functional vehicle (at least for the next 6months, yay). Now just to pick up our co-hiker and friend Sonja, do a bit of supply shopping (food and petrol) and ready to roll…

Queenstown traffic reminds us how much we need to get out into the wild (let’s play some Eddie Vedder, shall we?), stopping at the DOC info centre to get us hut tickets and to enquire about the state of Greenstone-Caples track we chose to do… all seems to be in order… nothing can spoil our trip now, adventure is out there!! Quickly out of the overcrowded town…

One hour drive around large (and currently unusually calm) Lake Wakatipu, on both sealed and gravel windy roads, arriving to Greenstone carpark at around 4pm. Last gear check, late sandwich lunch and we’re ready to go.

Friday’s hike should be a short and relatively easy one, just right to warm us up … 3hrs (9kms) ahead of us to the first stop in Caples Valley – Mid Caples hut where we‘re spending the first night. The road looks well maintained (one can tell it went through a recent total renovation), first hour is steeper up hill, then steadily ascending along the valley floor, following a bush edge and crossing occasional grassy clearing. It’s a bit overcast but clear, no mist, at times the sun manages to fight its way through the clouds and gives us good opportunity to take nicer pictures.

Arriving to Mid Caples Hut at 7pm. The building is fairly new, has 24 bunks, lies 427m above the sea level and comes with an Australian park ranger staying on site. It’s a serviced hut, which means it costs 15 nzd per night and has better facilities (eg. drinking water, heating stove etc.), biggest surprise at the site is the presence of flush toilets... never seen those in the wild before... Maddy and I are used to backcountry basic huts so this feels like an unnecessary but pleasant luxury. Maybe ten other travellers found their refuge here tonight. With the absence of electricity and light everyone tends to call it an early night, most people are in beds before 10pm. Double glazed heavy door and netted windows keep about 85% of bloodsucking beasts (also known as sandflies) outside, unfortunately the remaining 15% manage to get through the defence system and bother everyone emitting the slightest source of light... time to put down the maps, turn of the torch and go to sleep.

Day 2
Saturday morning is dark, misty and rainy... according to the forecast brought by our friendly ranger it probably won’t get much better for the rest of the day. Breakfast, tea, packing and hitting the muddy and wet road at 9:30am. Today’s track will be probably the toughest of our four day tramping: 22kms, 6-7hrs from Mid Caples to McKellar hut, main mission: to conquer McKellar saddle (947m) and survive till the next safe haven (aka hut) with constant rain spitting in our faces and in my case out-and-out wet shoes (that used to be gore-tex but aren’t any more)... challenge accepted, we might be sweet but aren’t made of sugar*! (*cultural note: for those who might be confused by the sugar reference... it’s a cz saying – “we’re not made of sugar” which is used as a moral support aimed to someone soaking wet in rain, kind of a reassurance he/she won’t melt... it’s just water after all...)

  Clouds, mist, mud, wet shoes everything, heavy backpacks, steep slippery slopes, limited view... none of those things could spoil our adventurous mood... on contrary, this hostile weather gives the quest rather mysterious and rugged vibe. Local fauna and flora keeps me busy on the way... flirtatious robins, glossy mushrooms and green mossy trees, must-take-lots-photos.

I lose my grey head band somewhere on the way... it was a free promotional one from Skydive Taupo, but will still be missed...

After about 3-4 hours comes the time to energetically run climb up the saddle and over it. The milky white views on the top leave a lot to our imagination, eventually slight wind comes to aid and partly reveals nearby hills and mountains in their mighty glory, for a while that is... 5mins and the heavy clouds catch up with us and leave our camera lenses once again covered in rainy tears.

As the DOC brochure states: “.... the track across McKellar Saddle gives great views and has been boardwalked to protect the fragile subalpine vegetation..., ” so I can confirm the boardwalks and cool subalpine vegetation, will have to google the views later on...

Track down hill is steep but it doesn’t take more than an hour before we find ourselves by the next junction with signs showing us the direction to the nearest hut.
Found a woollen glove someone lost on the way from the saddle... will take it to the ranger at the next shelter...
The last hour of a hike is always the hardest and longest for me ... not sure if it’s more physical or psychological matter... my wet sore feet and shoulders are complaining out loud now and seems like my sugar level is getting low (it’s been a while since the last snack), I feel exhausted but we must be almost there... no need for stopping, man up and stop whining I think to myself... A hidden grassy glade opens up on us reveals our hut surrounded by mountain ranges... smoking chimney has never looked so welcoming...
McKellar hut, renovated and new looking - 24 bunks and serviced again, located in 625m, has only 15 inhabitants for tonight, therefore local Japanese ranger won’t have much work collecting the tickets.

Evening sky gets a little clearer and pink clouds decorate the horizon, the sandfly hour comes again, better stay indoors by the hot stove...
Weary travellers go to sleep early after dark, I stay up alone reading in the kitchen, accompanied only by my torch and magically realistic Gabriel García Márquez.

Day 3
Plan for Sunday -> McKellar Hut to Greenstone Hut, estimated length: 4,5 – 6,5 hrs, approximately 18 km to go.
Rain alternating with drizzle, shoes haven’t dried during the night, but aren’t soaking wet anymore... which doesn’t last for long anyway...
Leaving at 9:30 am.
Most of the way is steady downhill but crooked roots, slippery rocks and muddy swamps make the road quite interesting... Our path leads through magical mossy beech forests, piles of ancient looking lichen overgrown rocks, that must have slid down the side of the mountains like an avalanche ages ago... The track continues in an open valley, mountain peaks still hidden in the clouds, neat bunches of golden grass moving in the wind remind of the waves of restless sea.

False hope rises after 5hrs of walk at the sight of a distant hut by the woods... turns out it belongs to a local Hunting club and is not open to public, keep going then, information sign tells us our hut should be 1-2hrs further on... If anyone manages to walk the whole track in 4hours... that someone must be flying... last ten to twenty minutes are steep up hill, across a bridge over a gorgeous gorge with a fast flowing turquoise coloured water and finally a clearing that reveals our next base – Greenstone Hut (520m).


It stops drizzling, the sun rays appear and remind us it’s still summer... We reunite with four of travellers from previous hut: a Canadian couple, American guy and a Spanish girl... soon after us also arrives the DOC ranger from McKellar Hut, that man must have been running... on the other hand, he probably doesn’t take many pictures on the way... “I can show you where to find a swimming hole down the gorge if anyone’s interested” announces the ranger happily... Me and Sonja agree it’s a good idea and go to ask the helpful Japanese for the directions... it’s about 10mins walk, we need to cross couple of fallen trees but in the end we find it and it’s totally worth the effort – deep boulder formed “pot” of clear azure glacier water inviting us to jump in... three, two, one, splash... refreshing and highly rewarding (just a wee bit cold...but not really). The fantastic surrounding gorge is just a bonus...

I’m telling the ranger later in the evening about the lost glove I found and he thanks me and brings a form to fill in about lost&found items... had no idea how much paperwork would that entail... hehe, every day is a lesson...
We meet some more interesting and friendly travellers that night, among others a Wellingtonians Nick and his wife Siobhan, who will share a ride with us tomorrow from the Greenstone carpark to Queenstown.

P.S. A possum crossed my path on my late night return from the toilet, wasn’t growling this time (have you ever heard a possum growl?! Terrifying!!), this one just peacefully stopped on the road, looked at me and jumped back to the bushes.

Day 4
Last day ahead of us! Greenstone Hut to Greenstone Road end, 3–5 hours, 12 km.
I wake up before my alarm clock around 7:30. The fiery-coloured clouds and warm bright orange light enlightens the mountain peaks, quite a nice wakeup call... what a luxurious view to have from a top bunk bed (lucky me!).

My damp clothes from previous days haven’t had much chance to properly dry up, therefore the contents of my backpack start to remind me of a smelly rotting swamp (airing attempts were made during the days, result was not very successful)...

We leave the hut amongst the last around 8:30am. It’s not raining at that moment but the dark clouds gathering on the horizon tell us they aren’t done with us yet... most of our path goes covered under trees, so the water coming from the sky doesn’t bother us much anymore. Sometimes it’s raining, wind is blowing and the sun is shining, all at the same time... which, as we already found out, is quite normal weather for New Zealand.

Seems like I managed to strain my Achilles heel at some point, which makes my last hour of the walk unpleasantly painful. The sky is getting darker as we get closer to the carpark, where we meet fellow travellers from the last hut Nick and Siobhan. Manage to put all our backpacks in the car (Tetris style) and the minute we close the doors, proper heavy raindrops start falling. Yay, at least we get to try our new screen wipers!
P.S. they are awesome (note for those who have ever shared a ride with us during the rain before --- no more torturing squeaking and these actually do their job as well! Hallelujah! :)) .

The magnificent ranges of mountains around lake Wakatipu are completely hidden in a thick milky white veil, luckily we managed to see them before on a clearer day...
We stop on the way in a little town Glenorchy for a mug of hot chocolate (thanks Nick!) and continue to Queenstown to drop of the lost&found glove and do a bit of grocery shopping in New World.

Getting home to Clyde in the evening, after 62kms and four days of tramping, with sore backs and feet but happy, satisfied and relaxed. Ready to work for couple more weeks... that is before the next adventure happens.