Bald Range - Rangi-Taipo - Kelly Tops 18th-19th February 2006

Uncle Roddus Tramping diary:Tramp No 57

Bald Range - Rangi-Taipo - Kelly Tops 18th-19th February 2006

So this was the original trip I did with the CTC along the Bald and Kelly Ranges back in 2006 and which I revisited again in 2011 for another epic adventure(see here) and also see Here for the actual CTC trip report.

The weather for this trip was near perfect as five trampers left the Kelly creek car park about 9:50am on Saturday morning. A nice steep climb up through Beech forest and then flax and low scrub before we hit the tussock and the Caroline Hut after about an hour and a half. The decision was made to take advantage of the fantastic day and do the Bald range first, taking another six hours to Rangi-Taipo where we enjoyed the fabulas views of the Taipo River valley and lake Brunner. Dropped down to the south looking for the start of the track down the Taipo, finally locating the cairn, before we slipped and slided out way down the upper part of the rack and then floundered down the lower and more overgrown section before finally arriving at The Old Dillons Hut, where we stayed the night. The next day involved the much easier travel of up onto the Kelly tops and back to the car via Caroline hut. Day took about 11hours and day 2 about 6.

Mt Gargarus - 12th February 2006

Uncle Roddus Tramping Diary:Tramp No 56

Gargarus 12th February 2006

This was the second time I had been up Gargarus with the CTC and I have flogged the report off the CTC web site. For photos, see my earlier trip report Here.

After the traditional meeting at the Carlton Corner, Steven, Robert and I made our way towards Lake Coleridge, we picked up Uncle Roddus on the way and kept travelling together.
We drove up to Glenthorne Station and after getting confirmation from the owner that we were welcome on his land, we started walking towards the hill. The wind was fairly strong at the bottom but was soon screened by the bush as we walked up a gentle slope. We crossed Fisher Stream and followed an old 4WD track to the west of Gargarus Hill, heading towards the saddle. After a break we started the much steeper ascent towards the summit (1655m). We got a few scratches going through matagouri and then kept climbing in less nasty scrub and scree. The 650m climb from the saddle was steep but short and we made it to the top quickly. The wind was much stronger up there and the barren top offers little shelter. We had lunch sitting in a curve of the hill, protected from the wind. After that we went for a quick walk around the top to check out the views and we could admire the Canterbury Plains, the Rakaia, Lake Coleridge, and the Wilberforce Valley, Mt Hutt and the Craigieburn Range. We went down the scree fairly quickly, then followed the same track back to the cars. We got back to Christchurch around 5.30pm after stopping in Hororata café for a drink.