Saturday 15th May 2023
Three friends joined the club trip to Big River to explore the goldfields and find out what tramping with the Club is like. We were picked up by Euan who was leading this trip at about 8am before loading the car with packs and heading North to Waiuta for this easy overnighter tramp.
The weather was perfect for this one, a cold frosty start with blue skies made way to a mild and sunny Saturday which got up-to about a high of 18° which was good for the tail end of Autumn. The trailhead is easy enough to find, you turn off SH7 and head along a sealed road to Blackwater, a little farming town with some real character buildings from the gold mining era. As you leave the green paddocks and head into the forest the road changes to a dirt track but is very much drive-able in a standard car, this road goes directly to Waiuta and here you just keep left at all the junctions until Pro Road. About 3/4 way uphill you will see a small gravel car park on the right with a forest park sign over on the southern side. This is the start point to the track.
There is no toilet here but there is back in the historic Waiuta village should you require it.
We were booted up and started walking at around 9.45am and you just follow the land rover tracks up the hill through a lovely natural bush area. Eventually you will see a walking track veer off to the left and that is the start of the tramping track into Big River. The first part has been graded with gravel by DOC and is relatively wide (we even encountered a couple of mountain bikers on it when returning) and it’s a pretty level gradient and good easy walking to get the muscles warmed up.
Maybe an hour into the tramp, we came across a DOC signpost notifying us of an active slip and to not stop for 50m, it was obvious this had gotten worse as a newly fallen tree with fresh leaves was lying directly over the track which the team had to clamber over/ through (with some removing their packs to do so).
We soon got going again and another 30 mins there we came across some bright orange webbing marking the track as closed due to a slip and a diversion up the hill approximately 100 metres and then a sidle along for about 300m.
When we descended back to the track it was back on the old pack track with the odd rise and fall including a large switchback decent down to a creek which you walk through, this part of the forest gets limited light and you can feel the cold moisture in the air and the walls of the creek were covered in moss. It was a great on this hot day.
Just out of the creek you reach a wooden bridge and shortly thereafter a DOC sign for the St George mite site and battery. We stopped here for lunch. Euan & Paula went off to see the battery, but it turned out there was nothing there anymore.
From this point you climb gently towards the tops which eventuates onto the plateau where there is an amazing boardwalk over a pakihi swamp with beautiful views. This is the highest point of the walk and then descends down towards Big River, you will see underfoot the quartz stones they used to mine here. It’s almost tempting to fill your pack and take them home, maybe if we had a mountain bike lol…
The hut is perched high up on a hill with 360° views and just to piss you off there is a vertical land rover track to ascend to get there. Thankfully it is only 150m. You are welcomed into a generous 20 bunk hut, mostly with two platform beds although there is a small room with three bunks, all the windows face the mine site. Outside about 10m from the hut is a pretty luxurious composting toilet with thankfully no smell. There is a giant water tank filled by rainwater so even in the dry summer you should have drinking water. Bookings are required so check the DOC website for available before heading there! All up we took 4.5hrs to get there with some stops included.
The mine and its remnants are across the valley and you can easily go look at the old hotel, battery, cyanide tanks and water wheel. A 1hr walk will take you to the poppet head of the mine. Advisory signs tell you not to drink the water from Big River as the area is contaminated from the mining.
We got treated to a blue sky all day right through till nighttime which meant we could see the whole Milky Way and the brightest stars in the sky. Temperatures dropped about 6pm when the sun went behind the hill on the west of the hut but we didn’t need to light the coal burning fire. There wasn’t much supply of coal, but it will probably be restocked soon.
We were joined later that night by Christine Doonan from Hokitika and her sister down from Auckland who joined in on the dinner table discussions. It was great only having 6 of us in the hut; we felt, if full, it could be like a can of sardines.
The exit was the same route as the way in. The sign at the hut says “Waiuta 3hrs”, we managed it in 3.5hrs.
Everyone wanted to treat themselves upon completing the tramp and we stopped at the Ikamatua On The Spot which has some great fare. The ladies had delicious pies, Euan had carrot cake and coffee. It was an awesome weekend and I totally recommend this tramp. Thanks to Euan and the club for organising everything.
Trampers – Euan Mackenzie, Karen Jordan, Paula Uren & Fiona McConnachie
