Amy's adventure on the Rees-Dart track
Amy here to share some photos during my adventures after Richard ditched me on the side of the road in Queenstown to go to university. I have lots of favorite spots so far. The Rees-Dart Circuit, a little north of Queenstown in the Southern Alps, is definitely in the top three. The woman I got a ride from pointed out at least a dozen Lord of the Rings set locations on the way.
As with most NZ valleys, the trail starts along a meandering river before it tightens up.
Walking up the grassy flats of the Dart River Valley.
Lots of cold mountain drinking water along the way.
The swingbridge (max. load 1 person) right below the Dart Hut. I stayed two nights here so I could do some day hiking to the glaciers and a mountain pass...
...like this one. A picture-worthy cairn on the way to Dart Glacier.
Stunning. I got so lucky with the weather. I practically ran along the trail as the clouds were coming in quick.
There's Dart Glacier in the background. This day hike had the most spectacular scenery and is a huge draw from trampers coming from all sides of the mountain range. The Rees-Dart track is the easiest access to this viewpoint.
The view from Cascade Saddle looking down into the opposing Matukituki Valley. There is a whole network of tracks down there, but it's steeeeeep coming up to Cascade Saddle from the other side.
Little water holes everywhere.
With my polarized sunglasses, this is how the world looks. Vivid.
The moderate saddle connecting the Rees and Dart valleys.
Down into the Rees Valley.
The hut I had planned to stay at, but decided against when I realized it wasn't up to my standards. It was on the map, but not a DOC-sponsored (like the Forest Service) hut. Turned out to be more of an old historic cabin complete with antique relics, broken windows, old soggy mattress and sand flies. No thanks! I guess it's onward.
Me around 8:30pm, after passing up the shack-hut-thing, now having trekked for the past 10 hours, 3 of which were on 4WD road after I got to the trailhead and found no cars to get a ride, in old tennis shoes, really hoping I won't have to camp in the field as I didn't bring a tent or pad. At 9pm I got lucky and some wonderful ladies brought me back into town.
The Rees-Dart was amazing. Breathtaking scenery, comfortable accomodations (the DOC ones!), well-maintained trail, and options for more challenging side hikes. If someone could only do one hike in NZ, I would recommend this one. I would definitely do it again, coming from the Matukituki Valley, making for a very solid adventure.
As with most NZ valleys, the trail starts along a meandering river before it tightens up.
Walking up the grassy flats of the Dart River Valley.
Lots of cold mountain drinking water along the way.
The swingbridge (max. load 1 person) right below the Dart Hut. I stayed two nights here so I could do some day hiking to the glaciers and a mountain pass...
...like this one. A picture-worthy cairn on the way to Dart Glacier.
Stunning. I got so lucky with the weather. I practically ran along the trail as the clouds were coming in quick.
There's Dart Glacier in the background. This day hike had the most spectacular scenery and is a huge draw from trampers coming from all sides of the mountain range. The Rees-Dart track is the easiest access to this viewpoint.
The view from Cascade Saddle looking down into the opposing Matukituki Valley. There is a whole network of tracks down there, but it's steeeeeep coming up to Cascade Saddle from the other side.
Little water holes everywhere.
With my polarized sunglasses, this is how the world looks. Vivid.
The moderate saddle connecting the Rees and Dart valleys.
Down into the Rees Valley.
The hut I had planned to stay at, but decided against when I realized it wasn't up to my standards. It was on the map, but not a DOC-sponsored (like the Forest Service) hut. Turned out to be more of an old historic cabin complete with antique relics, broken windows, old soggy mattress and sand flies. No thanks! I guess it's onward. 
Me around 8:30pm, after passing up the shack-hut-thing, now having trekked for the past 10 hours, 3 of which were on 4WD road after I got to the trailhead and found no cars to get a ride, in old tennis shoes, really hoping I won't have to camp in the field as I didn't bring a tent or pad. At 9pm I got lucky and some wonderful ladies brought me back into town.The Rees-Dart was amazing. Breathtaking scenery, comfortable accomodations (the DOC ones!), well-maintained trail, and options for more challenging side hikes. If someone could only do one hike in NZ, I would recommend this one. I would definitely do it again, coming from the Matukituki Valley, making for a very solid adventure.
posted by Richard and Amy at
9:36 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home