By Series 1 to Lake Sumner and The Rainbow
Part 1 of the Journey appeared in NZ4WD February issue.
Our plan for the following day was to head out of camp and travel north up the Hurunui River to Lake Sumner. Cameron asked if we minded if a few of the crew tagged along with us – naturally we welcomed the company – but as the sun dropped bang, bang, bang the doors went – engines fired up and the entire group left en-masse heading for the pub in Culverden. Fortunately, Kev had the foresight to put a couple of extra sausages in his pocket for later, so dinner sorted our six members of the Fellowship - sat on the porch sampling fine ales and spotting deer grazing on the hillside opposite the shearers’ quarters as again the temperature plummeted with the loss of the sun’s rays.
Lake Sumner (locked gate) -42.714394, 172.186366
The storm that had lashed the lower North Island hit the region on Sunday morning. Fortunately, no wet tents to pack – we fired all our gear into the Land Rovers – drove over the Waitohi River to say our goodbyes to Donald and Carolyn Williamson and the two Series 1s and the Discovery were off up the sloshy road bound for Lake Taylor, Loch Katrine and Lake Sumner.
Last time I headed up this road was in the summer of 1984 in our LWB Series 3. The road was as rough as guts in those days – and fortunately, modernity had laid its hand gently on this region and the road was still rubbish. At one point I hit a pothole so hard the impact inertia switch set off the hazard lights!
In all fairness, we actually had the perfect day for the trip – it totally chucked it down, so all the rivers were well up and the hillside streams were crashing down onto the road with heaps of streams to cross.
We stopped at Lake Taylor for a brew before heading further up the valley. The gate by the DoC camp marks a step-degradation of the road.
Loch Katrine was how I remember it. This area used to be a squatter area where Cantabrians could just dump an old caravan or build a shanty (crib) and just get back to basics…. Until DoC took over and started bulldozing their way through multi-generational holiday memories.
We carried on up the deteriorating road, only to come to a locked gate at the top end of Loch Katrine. The weather was still doing its best to dampen the spirits – so not keen on the walk up a perfectly good rough track, we did some clever hillside turnarounds and headed back to Lake Taylor for some lunch. At Lake Taylor we were intrigued to see someone arrive towing a reasonable sized boat heading to Loch Katrine. Good luck with that one.
The weather had lifted a tad by this stage as we headed out. Stopped at Culverden for fuel – then back-tracked the way we came for a couple of kilometres as one of the chaps had spied a ‘Series’ chassis parked next to a shed.
We arrived at the Top 10 Holiday camp in Hanmer just after 5pm where I had booked a cabin for six. Ian and Mike had intended to camp – but with the heavy down pours they decided to take advantage of the cabin and the made-up beds. We still had plenty of food left over and Mike and Darren were keen on a cook up rather than a wet walk to the pub and with the ponding around the camp – we all agreed it was a good option – and still the rain came down.
In Hanmer we were supposed to meet up with members of a Series 1 group from Nelson for our return journey north through the Rainbow – but we could only find a Land Rover Defender and a Series 2a parked up near the cookhouse. Leon did eventually make contact with Andrew Preece who informed us that their journey south today measured the weather forecast and the Series 1 owners were not so keen, so their group comprised of two Defenders, a Series 2a and an aged FJ Toyota Land Cruiser.
Leon, Darren, Steve and myself had to make the 7pm ferry from Picton on Monday night and we were cognisant that the Nelson chaps were not on a time frame, so may wish to explore the upper reaches of the Clarence or the Wairau, but Andrew assured us that they would get us through the Rainbow before 2pm – which was very considerate, as they held the key to the locked gates.
Kick-off was agreed as 08:30am on Monday morning – so we headed to the pub for a strategy meeting.
The Rainbow (locked gate) -41.990678, 172.889961 and -41.909889, 172.915822
Monday dawned an absolute stunner blue-dome day. With all the heavy rain the previous day, the roads were still damp which meant no dust. We met the other members of our convey Andrew Preece in a 2012 Land Rover Defender, Don Roberts in a 1985 Land Rover 110, David Penrose in a Series 2a and Ash driving the FJ Land Cruiser and headed west out of Hanmer to travel up the more civilised Jacks Pass to head back over to the Clarence River to follow the Tophouse Road north to the Rainbow River.
The climb up Jacks Pass was easy with HR 4WD smoothing out the corrugations – over the top and back down to the Clarence. The contrast in scenery from the fertile Hanmer Plain to the dry barren Clarence is a shock to the senses. In such a short distance from a north American alpine scene to the Nelson Lakes yellow tussock plain of the Clarence catchment with its immense scree slopes of the crumbing mountains to the lofty heights of the snowcapped rock faces at the northern end.
The Tophouse Road is flat and well graded following the true left of the Clarence River northward. 30km north we turned off for a brief visit to Lake Tennyson. The DoC have erected these brilliant shelters loaded with local information and due to the remote location vandals with spray cans and sharp utensils have not defaced anything. Long may it continue!
We pressed on over Island Saddle and down into the upper reaches of the Wairau River and stopped for lunch at the Sedgemere Sleepout before crossing the Wairau and continuing on the Wairau-Hanmer Hydro Road built for access to the HV Power Pylons.
Here the mountains close ranks and squeeze the Wairau into a deep swift river as we follow the Wairau on the true right to a locked ‘Forestry-type’ steel gate. At the northern end of the gorge the Wairau meets the Rainbow where we cross over to the true left as the river widens to grassy meadow areas and some stunning campsites.
We reached the old Rainbow Homestead and another locked gate where a $40 toll is required during the ‘OPEN’ season from 17 December 2022 (Saturday) to Monday 10 April 2023 (Easter Monday). We were able to pre-pay our toll online and we had a key, so we were able to continue our journey unabated. We are very grateful to Rainbow Station for allowing us to travel ‘out-of-season’ making our journey possible. If you do intend to visit the area, it pays to check their website prior to departure. The road can be closed without warning and is very much weather dependant.
www.rainbowstation.co.nz
Just before we hit Six Mile Creek which the Rainbow ski field road grinds up the mountain we encountered another locked gate. Once through the gate we stopped to film the Land Rovers ploughing through Six Mile Creek. Ian Butcher put on a great show of a water plume until the lights went out and required recovery by the Discovery. I deliberately pulled him out in reverse using my front recovery point to capture the event in glorious 4K HD for my Youtube Channel (sorry, Ian).
Back on the black top we soon arrived at SH63 where we parted company. The Nelson crew heading west to St. Arnaud with our three vehicles heading east down the Wairau.
Not far down the valley Ian Butcher took us to see the Argyle Pond. I had not seen this type of construction before – where instead of a valley being dammed for power and irrigation, an earth wall had been constructed out into the Wairau Valley capturing some small streams descending from the hill side. Here we stopped for second lunch and Ian and Mike introduced me to a Southern delicacy – a bacon butty – but instead of tomato sauce – a smear of Vegemite was applied to the bread. Don’t knock it – it was a life-changing moment for me!
We arrived in Picton with plenty of time... as our Ferry was delayed an hour, so we went and bothered Rob Neal and his newly restored Series 2B Forward control.
I stayed the night at Steve’s house (thanks Julie) in Raumati which we reached about 01:30am on Tuesday morning. A few hours later I was heading home for a gratefully uneventful trip north – apart from a cracked windscreen from a curtain-sider travelling at 80km/h through a 30km/h roadworks.
