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.