About four and a half hours’ drive from Christchurch, the Wanganui valley leads into the heart of the Adams Wilderness, with good routes into the Gardens ice plateaus in the south and Mt Whitcombe, Mt Evans and the Bracken Snowfield in the north. The valley also offers a wonderful approach for many transalpine trips, such as those on the Smyth, Lord, and Wilberg Ranges. There are enough facilities to get you started, but after that adventure is everywhere, and you are very much on your own. Many of the peaks are straightforward to climb, but getting to them can be sufficient of a challenge in itself. However, places like the Lord Range also offer harder routes.
Road to Hunters Hut
From SH6 follow a side road on the true right of the Wanganui upstream for 1 km to where a pile of boulders blocks the road. The public road is partly washed out beyond here. Continue along the cliff edge to the road again and follow it over a bridge at Amethyst Ravine to the original DOC carpark just before Canopy Bluff at I34 171780 / BW17 072 164. Follow river boulders up past the quarry, being careful of rocks from above and quarrying activities. A DOC-maintained track begins here and continues intermittently as necessary to Hunters Hut. It stays on the true right all the way to the cableway over the Wanganui. The walk-wire bridge over Hendes Creek has been left high and dry by a stream change, but the stream is crossable in normal flow. Further up, the track climbs 100 metres over Annoyance Bluff. At Jones Flat follow a grassy river channel at the south edge of the bush up to markers and the cableway.
Time: Current carpark to Hunters Hut, 6 hrs.
Hunters Hut to Smyth Hut
From Hunters Hut a maintained DOC track leads up the true left of the Wanganui to Smyth Hut. The track is intermittent, and only maintained where travel becomes more difficult. At Poker Bluff there are two maintained routes, one that requires low river levels and another higher up, sidling across easy slips. Upstream, another marked sidle leads to long stretches of easy flats with short marked bush sections as necessary. Keep an eye out as entrances can be easy to miss. The track reenters the bush some way up Devastation Creek and is well marked through to the hut. Smyth is a well-maintained six-bunk hut with a stove in a sunny location. A small marked track leaves the main track about 5 minutes below Smyth Hut and leads down to the riverbed where there are hot pools in an old channel of the river. They are often well worth a visit.
Hunters Hut to Lambert Glacier
In good conditions this is the best approach to the Gardens from Westland. However, part of it, particularly sidling under Mt Lambert, has significant avalanche risk when there is fresh snow. There are superb grass campsites near 1443m, and others over at a gravel flat, I35 269677.
From Hunters Hut take the track out to the Lambert riverbed, follow the boulders up and cross the Lambert bridge. A good track on the true left leads across a bush terrace before climbing up a spur to pt 1148m, a rocky viewpoint in the scrub. Almost 1 km further, leave the scrub behind and continue through long tussock into short grass and easier going above about 1450m. Below a small tarn at about I35 264694, there is no water on the ridge.
From the knob at I35 265692, to get to the saddle at I35 259681, there are two options. Either descend to the wonderful camping basin south east of pt 1443m then continue to the basin below at I35 256689 before climbing up to the saddle, or sidle across from the small col south of the knob, sidling slowly up to the tarn shown on the map then following the snow or gravel slopes beyond through to the same saddle.
From that saddle, descend a snow gully south to access another saddle at I35 262675. The gravel flat about 1 km east offers a good campsite. (The steep bouldery creek below here has been used to descend all the way to the Lambert Head Flats, but is loose and a poor route. Bouldery falls mean descending oversteep gravel ribs in places to get down).
From this gravel flat, descend the steep loose stream east to about the 1300m contour. Drop packs and find a relatively safe route through otherwise steep tussock slopes usually marked with small cairns, crossing about 3 gullies. The first gully has a gravel creek and is crossed near a big boulder. Sidle out on the far side, cross a tiny saddle at 1340m and continue on across to a small dry shingle gully just above falls and ascend right up that to a cairn at the 1500m contour I35 275673 on a rib. Beyond here lie easier ledges and basins under Mt Lambert. Continue south east down across a basin then climb up past a big prominent boulder at I35 277669 before continuing a sidling ascent to the col on the ridge just west of pt 1967.
Descend to the Lambert snowfields. Both upper branches of the Lambert Glacier give access to the Garden of Allah, with a few slots around Satans Saddle itself to watch out for.
The sidle under Lambert is subject to spring and winter avalanches, and is not recommended in wet or snowy conditions.
Times:
Hunters Hut to the basin south east of pt 1443m, 6hrs.
From the basin south east of pt 1443m to the Lambert Snowfield, 6hrs.
Harold Creek to Mt Willberg and Willberg Range
From SH6, follow the gravel bed of Harold Creek up to the base of the hill and pick up an only intermittently maintained marked route on the true right. GRID REF. This leads up steeply to an open rātā ridge that continues to the scrub, where the track is getting overgrown. Above the Mt Wilberg trig, the open tops offer excellent travel (and campsites by tarns) through to the main Wilberg Range. A rock biv is marked on a NZAC 1962 map roughly east of Pt 1310m but I haven’t seen it. The climb onto Pt 1665m is steep but straightforward when dry.
Time: Road to Pt 1665m, 7hrs.
in association with the Canterbury Mountaineering Club