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| The classic Mt Owen photograph |
A long gravel road to the trail head, a thousand metre ascent approach and a fantastic hut perched in between giant limestone outcrops. I don't think anyone could throw together a kiwi tramp as classic as Mt Owen, even if they floated a kiwi bird and a half pint of Speights in.
Although Mt Owen is well known by caving circle's, trampers, Lord Of The Rings fans and the fact it's the highest hill in the Kahurangi NP. Our push to the summit had a more ironic twist than most other trampers. Our goal was to put an Owen on Mt Owen.
Standing at 1875m, Mt Owen isn't actually one of the big guns of NZ's South Island. It is however, surrounded by a lot smaller hills and stands over farm land, Nelson bay and the West Coast, giving it a similar feeling of other higher hills.
Having Read about the danger and almost, certain chance of death from the Department Of Conservation's (DOC) brochure. We had come to understand that this was again a back country route, that required good weather to enjoy.
Fortunate for us, we had two days left of fine weather before a slow moving weather front made its way up the country.
Whether its the dopamine high after previous trips, my brain blocking bad memories or something else. I seem to always forget how hard and unpleasant hiking up hill can be. I must have spent days worth of time dragging my body uphill in NZ. Yet every time it comes to the first hill of a trip, my body and sometimes my mind feels like I've just jumped into my first boxing fight against a semi pro. This was no different. A long, sun kissed ridge made a hot, thirsty ascent to a valley that is hidden from the start. This is probably where the dopamine set in and I will forget all that hard work and remember my first view of Mt Owen. Obscured by cloud, the summit plateau sat high above the fantastically carved limestone valley, drawing a colourful contrast between the forest green and rocky greys.
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| First view of Mt Owen |
The knowledge of Mt Owen being a classic tramp must have been around for a while as on our way up we spoke to seven folks, who had been up Mt Owen the day before and ended up spending the night with five others in the the twelve bed hut. And luckily we decided to head down late after our summit day, as we met fifteen people heading for a long weekend up Mt Owen. I guess that's the price of a quality tramp, popularity.
Due to DOC labelling the non marked (but incredibly well travelled) route above the hut to the summit as, almost certainly going to kill you. I was a little undecided and cautious to what laid above the hut. A short conversation with a Dutch couple on their way out confirmed my suspicious side, the track was well trodden, cairned and even had little bit of pink ribbon tied to small rocks. It looked like the certain death was postponed.
After the trip, the three of us categorised the sections into; hardest, lesser and easiest legs. The hardest was the walk into the hut, lesser was the ascent of Mt Owen and easiest was the walk out.
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| Sunrise on the range |
Having been awhile since we spent some time above the bush line, the open snow grass covered hills and limestone peaks was a welcomed change. Soon after leaving the hut we were filled with nostalgia of walking in the Yorkshire Dales, just these hill's were on steroid's. The snow grass soon gave way to limestone pavements, outcrops and sinkholes that could swallow a car. This terrain gave some very pleasant scrambling, which seemed to pass the time very quickly.
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| Typical terrain above the hut |
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| Looking up at Mt Owen and it's bluff's |
Walking across the summit plateau of Mt Owen was like topping out on a 2000m peak due to the land around. The rush of joy, excitement, pride and wonder, striking everyone of us into wide eyed tourist, who stare out onto the view, trying to take it all in.
I have no idea how long we spent on the summit. During the ascent a local kiwi caught us up and we had a good old chat, sharing stories, tips and places to visit. Maybe it was fate that during the ironic ascent of Mt Owen, we meet a kiwi who has also climbed Poland's iconic Mt Giewont. It got me thinking, maybe there's a Mt Sulowluski, waiting for an ascent too.
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| Looking south from summit |
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| Looking north from summit |
On the way back down, the cracks and crevasses in the rock seemed to be much bigger, especially when walking down hill and looking straight down into them. We soon found ourselves back on the grass though and before we knew it back at the hut five hours after we left, not bad for a 7-8 hour time frame given by DOC.
Not spending a second night in the hut, as we had originally planned because of an increasing number of people turning up and Amy preferring not to walk out on her birthday. Happened to be a lucky break. The new Granity Pass hut is very nice, but even eight people made the cosy one room hut feel busy, and I'm glad we swapped a late walk out for a crowded hut. We defiantly felt lucky to only share with five others on this seemingly popular tramp.
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| Heading back a long the summit plateau |
Having spent the last two weeks wrapped up in the touristy Great Walks in the area. Mt Owen has rekindled the beauty of the lesser well known walks that are hidden in all corners of NZ. Showing us that we really don't have to travel far to find rewarding back country trips and friendly kiwi hospitality. Although I might give DOC a hard time on over playing certain danger's, the track up Mt Owen has got some serious danger's. Deep cracks, crevasses and sinkholes litter the hill. It's home to a 54k cave system which happens to be the largest cave in the southern hemisphere. Mt Owen in bad weather or snow covered ground maybe wouldn't be the best choice for a relaxing weekend tramp. But with challenge and danger comes reward and fulfilment, this is a classic tramp which needs common sense when planning.
A big thank you goes out to Al who offered accommodation which we unfortunately didn't take up as we came down so late, and Dick for leaving some trail magic in the form of dehydrated hummus labelled 'for team YORKSHIRE'. Legend's!
