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2023-01-04T00:00:00.000Z • Westland District, West Coast, New Zealand / Aotearoa
The Gardens of Eden/Allah (Wanganui - Whataroa)
A trip to the ice plateaus without getting stuck up there in a storm - but we had enough other challenges.
Hike
1
Hike
Wanganui - Lambert River
Years of dreaming, a year and a half of planning, and I finally felt ready to visit the Adams Wilderness area.
Day 1 - Wanganui Roadend - Lambert River, ~7 hours
The eight of us sped out of the Wanganui carpark, fleeing the vicious sandflies. Soon, the biting creatures were behind us and our speed was limited under the weight of the food and gear we needed for the journey ahead.
It was forecast that we had dry weather for a day, then a damp day, and then a very wet day, before a longer dry spell was to appear. We aimed to get up to the Lambert Tops in one very long push, trying to get as close as possible to the Gardens before the weather turned. It would be a big day to do that, so we were pushing hard on straightforward but tiring, undulating riverbed travel.
The rock hopping and short bush detours carried on and on. This is some of my favourite type of terrain, so I was doing OK on the pace for once, but being flat and with no exposure or alpine views Patrick was in a deeply sad place.
We approached the cableway across the Wanganui. We were curious about the river levels, as we would need to cross the un-bridged Lambert soon. That river has blown out bridges several times in the last couple of decades and was a bit anxiety inducing. Summer was upon us and the glacial melt was clearly pumping, the river light blue and completely opaque past 10cm of depth. I was close, but just couldn't cross the Wanganui by myself under the cableway, it would have been a swim. We did have a packraft for the Lambert just in case, but inflating it and shuttling a party of 8 across would suck up a lot of time.
As we approached the Lambert, we realised it was too late in the day to push to the tops without committing to a 14+ hour sufferfest. We decided we just needed to cross the river, and camp on the other side, and we'd be able to attempt access to the gardens even after a day of rain.
We crossed, the river knee deep but completely opaque, and found the start of the old track. The boulder that used to anchor the bridge was gigantic and had been tossed aside years ago by the raging river like a pebble. It would be a formidable river in flood. With the rain coming, it was possible that we wouldn't be able to cross back for a few days.
We had started to become committed. We were on the edge of wilderness, and could all feel that the adventure was just beginning.
2
Hike
Lambert Tops Track
Day 2 - Campsite by Lambert River to Lambert Tops: 6ish hrs
The next day we woke to steady light rain, and started our way up through dripping west coast bush on overgrown track. We were in for a wet day. An overgrown DoC sign said the Lambert Tops was a mere 3 hours away, but none of us were naive enough to believe that.
We slowly and steadily ascended, the heat from the hard work offsetting the cold of the rain. The rainforest was well in progress of reclaiming the track, and it was followable but dense. One section had a particularly terrifying large dead tree overhanging it. It looked like a strong breeze would knock it off the mountain.
Then we entered the alpine scrub, and the flax began - swimming up a west coast ridge through sodden flax in low visibility. The scrub had reclaimed the track in places, and in sections we blindly pushed our way through scrub on the ridge, the only viable route.
Eventually we reached the tussock line, tired and thoroughly soaked, and traversed to the Gentle Basins Near Pt1443.
Stoked to set up camp.
And at camp is where we would be for the whole next day, as the rain kept up.
Tent Day at Lambert Tops
Day 3 - Tent Day @ Lambert Tops
It rained steadily but not heavily, and we were regularly tempted in the morning to push closer to the gardens. But the visibility was low, we wouldn't be able to complete the crux traverse towards the Garden of Allah, and we had a comfortable campsite. The forecast was for a windy but clear day tomorrow. So we stayed put, rested, gathered energy for pushing hard.
Finally the clag cleared, the drizzle died, and we could stretch our legs and take in the pretty spectacular terrain.
I enjoyed cruising around in crocs taking photos and not lugging around a fairly punishing pack. I savored the moments of peace - I knew tomorrow would be hard work, sweat, and full-concentration terrain.
3
Hike
Lambert Tops - Edge of the Lambert Glacier
Day 4 - Lambert Tops - near Lambert Glacier. ~10 hours.
It was go time - the skies were clear, better weather was moving in, and a successful big push today would make the trip viable. The route today was the one I was most nervous about - steep snowgrass sidles and technical routefinding high above the Lambert were the themes I had gleaned from the scant route information I had been able to find.
But there was no point being anxious about a challenge that wasn't in front of me yet, when there was a lovely 400m of vert to climb in comfortable temperatures.
On the other side of the valley the Smyth Range was clear and Mt Durward was glistening. I recalled in a previous trip underestimating the snowgrass ridge above Terra Quinn trying to access the Smyth, and hoped that wouldn't happen to me again today. I was at least much fitter for this trip, having learnt my lesson from Ivory Lake years prior.
The Tarn/lake Under Pt 1869 was stunning, alpine and brisk. Alex as per usual braved the frigid water and jumped in for a dip. No way you'd catch me doing that, but it did lighten the mood.
We cruised on to The Saddle Between Pt1936 And Pt 1809, on reasonable terrain with great views.
We reached the saddle and head of Aciphylla Creek and started descending, the terrain starting to get more rugged and serious. The snow was all stable and rocks weren't moving, but the wind had started to pick up more and so had my anticipation.
We travelled west towards the Lambert through barren rocky fields. Cloud moved fast in the distance over the Lord range and the serious terrain was just beginning.
I put my camera away for the next bit, I wasn't going to chance being put off balance by an odd weight or have the strap get caught on something. We generally followed the route described in the Canterbury Westland Alps guidebook, many years out of print but still reasonably accurate for this section.
We descended the stream to ~1300m through extremely eroded and unstable rocky riverbed. Large boulders teetered on fine balance everywhere and this was a place to be precise with movement to avoid injuring a friend. With a party of 8, movement had to be methodical.
We started the sidle and climb through very steep, heavily grazed snowgrass slopes to around the ~1500m contour. We all had our ice axes out in the tussock. This was exposed, no-fall terrain. Precise steps and a cool head were essential. It would approach nightmare territory in wet conditions or low visibility.
From here, the sidling and climbing became rocky. I was generally more comfortable, but routefinding was key and the rock in certain gullies was loose.
Alex and I caught up to the group at one stage for a break - he sat on a rock that looked stable, but another medium-sized rock came loose from underneath. It brushed my gaiter and flew down the mountain. We looked at each other for a moment and I could see the shock on his face. "Alex, it's ok, we have several more hours of this, we need to deal with it later.". We moved on, carefully, and reached the Snow Basins Below Pt1976.
At this point my planning had proved to not be as meticulous as I thought. The route descriptions had lead me to believe that crossing the saddle near pt1967 would be generally up a moderately steep snowfield to a gentle crossing. I hadn't noticed the contour line go orange under the text "pt1967". Westland finds a way to get me every time. So instead of pushing to the campsite mentioned in The Canterbury Westland Alps, we camped on the snow north of pt1967.
It had been a long day and we were keen to set up camp. After an hour of digging and nearly losing a 3-season tent in the high winds, we decided to squeeze into our three 4-season tents and shelter behind our low snow wall.
We slept restlessly, cramped into our tents, high winds buffeting the loud sil-nylon, anxious about the day tomorrow, hoping deeply that the weather would improve and so would the terrain.
4
Hike
The Garden of Allah - Adams Col
Day 5 - near pt1967 to Adams Col: ~8 hours
A bluebird sunrise over alpine Westland stopped my anxiety in its tracks. It was replaced by the joy of windless alpine wilderness.
The wind had punched many a hole through our obviously light-duty camp wall. Ah well, the wind had stopped. First challenge of the morning, the inaugural test of the poo pot.
One last peek at the glacier before leaving camp.
In calmer conditions, we approached the second challenge of the day, the crossing over the saddle that had stumped us the afternoon prior. We climbed a line through the slabs, and found ourselves looking over the Lambert and stoked about it.
A short abseil later, and we were onto the Lambert. We traversed above a crevasse to more gentle ground and started our route to Satan Saddle.
Moods were high and so were the temperatures in this icy wilderness. It was brutally bright, reflective, and the lack of wind made the walking hot work.
We reached Satan Saddle and continued our lovely wander on to the Garden of Allah toward Icefall Outlook.
Reaching Icefall Outlook, the extent of glacial retreat compared to the maps was starting to become very apparent. GPS readings on the gardens were often 60m elevation below the mapped contours and a lot of the mapped ice near Icefall Outlook was gone.
We climbed up an enjoyable line towards Adams Col, our campsite for the night.
Somehow up here at 2000 meters, in one of the harshest environments on a bad day, there were signs of life too.
We enjoyed a perfect calm afternoon, a light breeze which wasn't too unpleasant in the warm clear skies, an unbelievable contrast from the hair-raising approach yesterday.
It was here that Alice found out that Will had brought a wedding ring along with him into the deep wilderness (news to us too, but probably more exciting for her). She said yes - the kind of moment my words don't do justice to.
As the sun set, and my friends trickled to bed, two of them now freshly engaged, I lingered at Adams Col. The wind had now completely retreated. When I had first looked at this place on a map it had stuck in my mind immediately, with the thought of - "that's somewhere amazing I'll never be able to get to". I had heard countless stories of people stuck for days in a tent in howling storms on these plateaus. But here I was 7 years later, with 7 of my best friends here too.
This was why I couldn't stop dreaming of wild places. It can be deeply uncomfortable out here, but when it's good, oh wow, it's good.
I had been lucky enough to see the plateaus while they were still vast and grand, before the changing climate kills them for good - it won't be long now, that was becoming obvious the closer I looked at this place.
5
Hike
Adams Col - Adverse Creek
Day 6 - Adams Col to Adverse Creek campsite: ~9 hours
Another clear, stunning day lay in wait for us. We were a little anxious about finding our way off the plateau - the approach had been more unpleasant than expected. We agreed to abandon any plans of trying to traverse The Great Unknown, and opted for apparently the most straightforward route, down Adverse Creek.
But first, we got to enjoy a lovely but hot walk across the plateau. James found it a bit less lovely than the rest of us - he had discovered his lip balm was not, in fact, UV resistant. The blisters looked a lot more unpleasant than my sunburnt nostrils felt.
Big magestic alpine country, with the evidence of it dissappearing in front of us as we walked past a couplee of small lakes not marked on the map near Little Unknown.
The Canterbury Westland Alps had noted that an approach down the TR side of the Adverse creek headwaters/moraine was the most straightforward, leading onto a snow ramp. The snow ramp clearly hasn't existed for a few years and a large cliff now awaits. Instead we took the backup route, and picked our way Down The Bluffs Off The Spur Leading To Pt1670. The routefinding was a bit tricky but the navigation experts found a way through that was manageable.
We wandered through brutal moraine in the upper Adverse as fast as we could, worried about rockfall in the warming afternoon. Then we stumbled upon a glorious campsite near the creek.
I was really hoping I wasn't the only one who wanted to stop and camp here, rather than push on to a potentially very uncomfortable night in the Perth. Luckily Alex was keen too, and eventually the group made the call.
While others basked in the evening light, I poked around and looked at some plants.
Another gorgeous campsite, with the benefit that most of the anxiety about the trip was gone. We could be in for a right horrible time trying to bash our way down the Perth, but we were out of the exposed alpine terrain. We could take our time and make steady progress.
My sleeping mat popped as I went to bed. Ah well, luckily on a grassy campsite for once, and tomorrow would hopefully be in a hut.
6
Hike
Adverse Creek - Scone Hut
Day 7 - Adverse Creek Campsite - Scone Hut: ~9 Hours
I was anticipating quite the bush bash for this day, and the thick scrub started off strong, snagging any stray ice axes and snow stakes and the packraft paddle. Gravity was mostly on our side and we pushed our way slowly towards the junction with the Perth River.
Here was where I expected the real work to start. We had a snack before looking for a river crossing spot.
We eventually found a spot that a few of us thought was worth a look. Alex and I scouted and then crossed it, but it was absolutely a two (large) person crossing minimum.
Had we known that maybe a kilometer downstream was the brand new ZIP bridge (not mapped), we almost certainly would not have crossed the river and opted to bush bash down the TR to this point. We hadn't found the very rough ZIP trail yet so were bush bashing down the TL after crossing anyway.
But eventually we found a pink piece of flagging tape and confidence levels rose rapidly. The route was very deep-west spec but it was a dream compared to bush bashing.
We came across the Zip Hut On The Broad Spur Near Teichelmann Creek. It is for the ZIP rangers so don't plan on using it, but there's reasonable camping here and a water tank and long drop. I wouldn't be suprised if it's all pulled out one day, so if you're reading this far in the future, maybe don't count on it existing at all.
We continued our long bash down the Perth, at one point losing the main line and following a trap detour, which was even rougher - thankfully we found our way back to the main line and continued on. The river crossings at Tainui Creek and Prospectors Creek were both through deep, slotted creeks that would obviously blow out at the slightest hint of rainfall.
We got to Scone Hut and the adventure racer consortium advocated pushing on to Nolans hut to reduce the next day's walk and make the drive more pleasant. Not being an adventure racer, I heavily advocated for staying put and having an alpine start the next day. Thankfully, I didn't need to use my popped air mattress, and we stayed put.
We tried looking for the hot pools. A horrible little adventure that found a lukewarm bit of gravel. Maybe you'll have better luck.
7
Hike
Scone Hut - Whataroa Roadend
Dady 8 - Scone Hut to Whataroa Roadend - ~8 hours.
We got up for our alpine start and I had to push hard to keep up with the bloody adventure racers now they had a whiff of the home stretch. I was sweating in the cold morning air and took a moment to have a breather, noticing I finally had a clear look at Mt Adams, with the moon high above. Maybe an adventure for another day. Today would be the end of this adventure.
Nolans hut was a grubby little thing - we definitely would have been tenting. A swarm of dragonflies circled the clearing near the hut.
Eventually the adventure racers broke off, pushing hard to get out and shuffle the cars before us laggards caught up. It was now a brutal hot day on the exposed grassy flats and river rocks, and I was sweating up a storm, wishing I could float down the river next to me. It was strange after days in the wilderness, being on relatively good track, signs of civilization forming - a gravel road, and finally a carpark.
Tourists were wandering around, most just popping in for a brief wander. We didn't know how we could possibly manage small talk after 8 days in the wilderness, not seeing a soul outside our party, experiencing deep lows and the highest highs and working hard for days to move short distances.
How could I wrap up what we had just done in a few sentences to anyone. It took me all of these photos and words to try and share it with you.
As we drove the 30km between the Whataroa and the Wanganui, looking back at the mountains, I think we were all in awe at the scale of the terrain we had just traversed. A true transalpine adventure.