Teri Urwin

Gillespie Pass and Crucible Lake

In April 2021, despite a middling weather forecast I set off to Makarora on the West Coast to do Gillespie Pass. With jet boats on both end, 36 hours without seeing a living human and amazing views, I had a ball.

Links

DOC website | Komoot (GPX) | Transport - Jetboat operator

Getting there - an adventure in itself

The plan was simple - drive over after work on Tuesday, head out Wednesday. What could go wrong?

I had my new tramping tent, a back up car camping tent, a sleeping mat and was driving a road I'd driven hundreds of times before. It all went badly when I decided to check Google maps on how to drive to the Champagne Gully freedom camping site (which in hindsight I should have known about) and took a shortcut past Alexandra. I hit a possum, and my already-struggling front bumper gave up the game. I got the AA out, but by the time he came and ripped out the offending part to be repaired back in Dunedin and got to my campground it was 1am.

To add insult to injury, the ground was too rocky for my tired self to get tent pegs in - so I ended up camping under the stars..

Surprisingly not cold - though I had layered a 0° bag and a -10° bag. Was beautiful to sleep under the stars! I woke up the next morning to head to Makarora and climbed Mt Shrimpton.

Night two, after a wonderful climb of Mt Shrimpton and the fun surprise that Makarora has a pub that serves great burgers, I finally got my new lightweight tramping tent up to get a good nights sleep for the walk ahead.

Day one - Makarora to Young Hut

8 hours start to finish | 20km

The day started with an exciting jet boat ride over the Makarora. The other people who booked decided to skip straight to Siberia Hut given the poor weather forecast - and I don't blame them! - so I was walking in on my own.

The walk was beautiful and what I have always associated with tramping (having cut my teeth in the Makarora/Fiordland area during uni) - moss, birds, valleys and rivers.

Only one thing sums up this day - wet. It started moderate, with a bit of rain that lulled me into a false sense of security. By the time I got to Young Hut, which I had the glory of sharing with nobody, I was soaked to the core with my rain pants wetting out around 6 hours in and my rain jacket just about done. Unfortunately, my practical skills are minimal, and between the damp rain and my general uselessness I was unable to get the coal fire started. Next morning was a damp start...

Day two - over the pass

Just under 9 hours moving | 11.32km

After eventually convincing myself to get into my wet merino and squelching boots, I started to talk myself into going over the pass. The weather was fine in the morning, but the cloud above me was threatening - I had made plans ahead of time with the jet boat company that if needed I could spend an extra night to make sure I went across the pass with the best weather possible.

When I made it to the base of the pass, I spent around half an hour assessing the weather and eating breakfast, and eventually decided to give it a try - no regrets in the end!