Lower Travers Circuit. Organiser: David Nielsen
Seven of us left Richmond at 7.30 am and were at Rotoiti ready just after 8.30 to be taken by Bill Butters in his boat to Coldwater Hut. Although perfectly fine, a heavy dew and a recent shower of rain, with a brisk breeze as well, made it cold enough for us to put on extra layers and coats. Inside the small cabin (knees touching!) five of us at least were snug. The water was very smooth once we were in the lee of Mt Robert and we stopped talking about putting on our life jackets!
The sandflies recognised a meal as soon as we landed, insect repellant came out and layers were packed away again. The start to the tramp was delightful, walking beside the Coldwater Stream, through patches of bush and out again into meadows. The water was very clear, no snow melt colouring apparent, with lots of 'white water' and running very fast. We couldn't quite last out to the Travers Swing Bridge to have morning tea and found a stone beach just short of the first fixed bridge to refuel.
Only a short section then until the southern most point of the day and as it was one at a time, it was about 11.15 by the time we were all over on the true right bank. And then there were eight! A familiar figure came into sight, recognisable as Club member Jocelyn Winn. She had decided to do a solo walk up the west side of the Lake and caught us up. Next stop Lakehead Hut for lunch and the verandah provided a welcome choice of sun or shade and shelter from the breeze off the Lake. Paradise ducks were around and although the grassy flats are obviously a lot wetter than the African tundra, the resemblance made us feel that a lion or zebra could wander up. The bleached tree stumps are a feature of this landscape too, a legacy of the clearance to make grazing pasture in the days of the early runholders. Through the whole of this morning and early afternoon, mountain vistas around every corner had the cameras clicking. With a garnish of snow, the peaks looked spectacular and made us dream of longer and harder treks.
By 1.30 we were all on our way again. This is really 'A grade' tramping for relaxation and enjoyment! The path undulated up and over bluffs, so that almost without noticing you found yourself looking down quite a distance through the trees to the water, then quickly you are at lake level again, passing the many enticing beaches. Shingle fans were a feature of this section too, brilliant red lichen on the rocks, streams tumbling down to test how waterproof your boots were and mountain fresh for topping up water bottles. Several of us admitted to feeling tired during the last hour, but spirits stayed high and we were all back in Kerr Bay by 4.30pm, having covered at least 18 kilometres in our 7.5 hour day.
Other notable features of the tramp were finding an unidentified orchid beside a grassy section of the track and seeing the silver beech trees (its only host) covered with small creamy yellow honeycombed spheres, the fruiting body of the parasitic beech strawberry fungus, Cyttaria gunnii. The motorboating and jet skiing 'hoons' as we again approached civilisation were less welcome - but we could feel very satisfied with our active and re-creative day amidst incomparable scenery. Rotoiti is truly one of the taonga [treasures] of the "top of the south".
Trampers: Gillian Arbuthnott, Hec Arbuthnott, Kathy Harrison, Christine Hoy, Susan Ledingham (scribe), David Nielsen, Ayaka Yoshikawa - plus Jocelyn Winn (independent).