Our plan was to travel from Reefton to Hanmer Springs via the Rainbow track, have a rest day at Hanmer Springs, then take the Molesworth track, with a final night at Marfells Beach south of Blenheim, before catching the ferry back to Wellington. The main challenge with this plan was the early morning start it required to give us enough time for the Rainbow track.

After a flurry of early-morning packing, we were on the road out of Reefton by 8:30am and travelling through an interesting mix of clear sunny weather and the cold fog of being below the cloud base. After a steady two-and-a-bit-hour drive we reached St Arnaud, where we fuelled up again for safety and bought an ice cream to combat the rising heat.

Following well signposted directions we were soon on the Rainbow Station road and working our way up the valley expecting, after reading the sign telling us to hand in our forms and pay at the tool booth ahead, to see the toll booth at any moment.

Eventually we passed the turnoff to the Rainbow ski field and the road deteriorated noticeably, with some quite rough fords across the streams. While none of this was an issue for us, and we were enjoying our run through a mixture of alpine forest and open pasture, we were starting to seriously wonder if we had somehow missed the toll booth.

Honey trap!

Eventually, however, we found a roadside stall selling local manuka honey, and this turned out to also be the toll booth. The actual toll was quite reasonable, and so were the honey prices, at least until May decided we needed to have at least one of each honey variant, with the final total making for rather an expensive day. At least it will be a long time before we need to buy more honey at the over-inflated Wellington prices!

On the advice from the gatekeeper, we had lunch on the paddock just past the bridge over the Wairau River, enjoying a break in calm, warm, sunny weather surrounded by soaring ranges and curious cattle. Our little taste of adventure during lunch was one of the older calves that was extremely curious and not particularly nervous about our presence. Every time it moved closer the mother would start getting protective and it looked to us city folk as if she were ready to scare us off. Luckily, the calf lost interest after getting to about five metres from us, and the whole herd moved off to another part of the paddock.

After lunch, we continued up the scenic and isolated alpine valley and through the gorge before finally reaching the gate separating Rainbow station from Molesworth station. Once on Molesworth station, the road immediately improved, although it was still dry and dusty as we continued to follow the river, finally climbing to the high point at Island Saddle pass (1347m).

A high old time

This is claimed to be New Zealand’s highest public road, although Duffers Saddle (1275m) on the Nevis Road also makes this claim. I suspect it depends on your definition of a public road. Dropping down the other side, we stopped off briefly at Lake Tennyson before taking Jack’s Pass down to Hanmer Springs, finally getting to the Top10 campsite and getting our tents set up by about 6:00pm. The post-setup cold beer was very welcome.

After that long day, we took the next day off, just wandering around Hanmer Springs, exploring the bush walk behind the camp and relaxing in the shade at camp.

Our final day’s drive was to do the Molesworth road back to Blenheim, starting with a run up Jollies Pass Road. This proved to be considerably rougher than Jack’s Pass, with a deep rut near the top that would have stopped less capable vehicles. Heading up the Clarence River valley, the scenery was noticeably greener than the Rainbow valley and, with the temperature climbing, the shade of a picnic table under a tree at the Acheron Campsite made for a memorable morning coffee break with a chance to investigate the historic cob waystation. From here we headed up the very broad Acheron River valley with the scattering of clouds casting ever-changing shadows on the hills. On this section I spent some time trying to capture the light on the hills and the wild lupins in the foreground, with varying results.

Mmmmm, lunch

After winding through a few gorges, we crested a rise to find a superbly situated shelter at a perfect time for lunch. In fact, the view was so good that there were only benches on the back and sides of the table in shelter since no one would want to sit with their back to the view. Gazing out over the valley while we had our lunch, we saw a slowly approaching dust cloud and the two tiny specks that were the vehicles creating it. Eventually the cloud got close enough for us to see the specks were two large cattle trucks – a good excuse to extend our lunch break until they had gone past.

With the way dust-free again we continued along the upper Acheron River valley, and up the steep climb to Ward’s Pass (1145m). Then it was all downhill to the original Molesworth cob homestead and the end of the Molesworth run, or so we thought. In practice, while we left Molesworth station, we still had a long run down the Awatere River valley on good but slow gravel roads, with plenty more amazing scenery, before we finally hit the seal, then eventually a straighter and faster road taking us out to SH2 just north of Seddon.

Splash ‘n dash

It was then a short run south to our final camp, at Marfells Beach. We finished the day with a swim for those who wanted it, while I enjoyed cool beer from a deck chair by the tent, with a view of the others playing in the cold waves, and the Wellington hills in the background, a mere 55km away. I love seeing the water, but I am not a swimmer.

That was the final night of our holiday, but we had plenty of time in the morning to slowly pack up and drive to Picton for our afternoon crossing back to Wellington and the end of another highly memorable experience.