Time: 3 hours and 40 minutes
Distance: 9 km
Start: View Hill car park
Finish: Same place (it's a loop)
Date: Friday 9th October 2020
It's a bit tricky to find the carpark at the start of this track so best to use Google maps (search Wharfdale Track car park). Basically cross the Waimakariri bridge on State Highway 1 heading north. Then head west on Tram Rd and southwest onto S. Eyre Rd for simply ages (it almost feels like you are driving in a circle). After that it's all a bit of a blur (a dog leg and some back country roads) until you get to Wharfdale track road which is gravel with some fabulous potholes, a couple of fords and a few gates to boot. Finally (1 hour and 15 minutes from Christchurch coast) you arrive at the View Hill car park. After a quick visit to the dodgy long drop loo you are all good to go.
We were particularly chatty today so the walk took longer than expected (compared to 2 - 3 hour return on the NZ Tramper website). It's a loop track through beautiful native bush. Mostly regenerating beech forest with crown fern glades in abundance. I reckon there is something therapeutic about walking through shades of green, dappled with golden sunlight and chatting nineteen to the dozen.
The bush here was logged at the turn of the century and was the site of a tramway and mill. That would explain the mysterious metal stakes, driven into the ground but visible at regular intervals along the track. You wouldn't notice them unless you fell on them which one of us duly did. A couple of neurofen later and we were on our way again.
We bypassed the link track and then turned onto the Korimako Track. About 30 minutes later we were rock hopping across Coopers Creek somewhat nimble footedly. At this point there is a short track up the true left of the river to the falls. You can see three tiers of falls with two biggish rock pools in between. Very pretty. The track used to continue up the river but these days it's pretty steep and slippery so we flagged that. The second rock pool would be good for a dip on long hot summer days (but not this day).
We returned on the Ryde Falls and Link Tracks. At the information sign we stopped for a very long and in depth conversation about the pros and cons of marijuana and euthanasia legislation. Hot topics for the upcoming referendums.
So it was well past lunchtime when we returned to the car park. Without further ado we hooned directly to Cafe51 in Oxford for extra shot flat whites and loaded fries. Yum.
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| Old man's Beard or Clematis paniculata (sounds like a sexually transmitted disease). The Maori name is Puawhanganga (stars of the forest): much nicer. |
