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A small weather window was approaching which fitted a little local overnighter that we'd had on the list for many years but never got around to despite it being so close. We'd only ever been up to 900m on hunting trips in the past but never to the top of Mt Starveall.
This was to be a family adventure and we have some friends with kids 9 & 11 that were also keen to get out in the nice weather and keep our kids 8 & 9 company.
With the sun shining we busted out the flat section relatively quickly and came to the Hackett Creek which was fresh, full & clean after recent rain. We were very kind and carried the kids across, so they could avoid the misery of wet feet for the trip and this made for a very slow start.
But the kids gave it a solid effort making steady progress, chatting away and leaving us to lug the gear up the hill. The first child started to fade around Pyramid Rock and the second not long after, but were helped along by some snacks. We then came to a flat plateau in the trees, lush bush, swamps and trickling streams but easy to navigate followed by a steeper final climb to the hut.
There were a couple of people at the hut as to be expected so we went off and made camp in a much more sunny spot with lovely views and were rewarded with a spectacular sunset complemented with atmospheric clouds moving through below us.
At dawn the next day, I went out to explore further, capturing a lovely sunrise and morning views over the bay while the kids slowly awoke and played in the morning sun.
The day was stunning, clear and blue with little wind so we decided to take the kids up to the summit of Starveall. The 360 degree views into the Richmond ranges were fantastic and kids found some old goat bones. With such great weather and the kids having such a good time we sat down and decided the overnighter should become a two nighter. Unfortunately we only had food planned for one night, so rations were on. Despite having minimal food we enjoyed another beautiful evening and morning, and had just enough scroggin to get down the mountain the next day.
At a very early stage is Birdcage Hut, with the first heavy base layers laid down and the initial details emerging.
Situated towards the head of the Cass River near Lake Tekapo Birdcage Hut is nestled against the Haszard Ridge on the valley floor at just under 1100 metres above sea level.
This hut is a derelict one...
After this latest snow dump we feel so lucky to have spent time just before it immersing ourselves in the Molesworth. Access in winter can be a challenge, snow and ice on the passes and we just heard that the rivers in Rainbow got blown out after the last rain/snow storm I imagine these are impassable now as they get gauged out very quickly.
It's very cool to see others just as passionate about the area as us - when we turned up it made me laugh to see another ute had skis in the back (although they had biked in) nothing was going to stop them going in! It would have been a very long...
I'm getting into the finer detail now on the Poolburn Dam painting. The morning mist rising off the cool water as the sun warmed it was a challenge. It adds a great mood and is only visible for such a short time early in the morning so I really wanted to include this...
