Since acquiring a 2002 Hiace van earlier this year I have been going on some road trips to various back country locations here in the South Island New Zealand.
On the very first such trip I went to the mouth of the Hurunui River and explored the beach and area around the river mouth- #1197914
That was near mid winter and more recently in Spring I decided to explore the upper reaches of the Hurunui where is fed by and flows through several high country lakes.
The main Lake is Lake Sumner and nearby are Lake Taylor and Lake Katrine.
Driving inland from the township of Hawarden the road turns to gravel and as we drive up it I was thinking this road is rather rutted and rough, but halfway up we encountered a grader working the surface and from there on it was a lot smoother. There was not a lot of traffic on the road but during holidays I suspect it gets quite busy. The road is ok until you get to the first lake- Lake Taylor and there is a DOC campsite there where you can camp beside the lake. But I wanted to see if the van could negotiate the road on further up to Lake Katrine- from Lake Taylor the Lake Katrine the road is described as 4wd only- but the van has good ground clearance and the weather was dry so we took our chances and continued on up the last 8 km to reach Lake Katrine which also has a campsite- but this campsite is free. Further to the free campsite I was attracted by the possibility to take my old Canadian canoe across Lake Katrine and via a canal up into the main Lake Lake, Lake Sumner.
We made it to Lake Katrine but I would not recommend it in an ordinary car or in wet weather- you could easily get stuck, or worse.
On arriving at Lake Katrine we set up camp and had a look around. There are multiple illegal huts built there on government conservation land by fishermen and boaties. The government wants to pull them down but so far they remain. Probably the cost of removing and the relative inaccessibility of the site protects them a bit.
There are lots of camping areas near the lake and you want to choose one with some shelter from the wind and sun if you can. The wind can be cold and constant. When the wind is not blowing the sandflies come out to feed- on you.
Next morning it was time to try to navigate across lake Katrine and through the canal that connects it to Lake Sumner.
All went well and we found the canal entrance although it is not easy to see until you get fairly close to it. The canal is narrow- maybe 5 metres at most wide but enough for most small boats to pass.
Once we got through the canal and onto Lake Sumner I headed west up the lake to where the Hurunui River enters the lake- wondering if it might be possible to go up the river in the canoe.
Its maybe 2 km from the canal to the river.
The canoe has an old Evinrude 2 hp outboard which makes travel easier than paddling- once you get the stubborn motor start...
On reaching the river where it feeds into Lake Sumner it looked too shallow and swift for the motor and the boat to enter so I headed toward the shore of the Lake to go ashore for a rest and to have a look around.
The canoe has arrived at the head of Lake Sumner - photo looking north toward where the Hurunui river enters the lake.
There were a surprising number of people around this area- some trampers and some fishermen trying for trout. The track from Lake Sumner to the Taramakau river is part of the Te Araroa trail that goes one end of New Zealand to the other.
If you continue up river from Lake Sumner there are a series of DOC huts, some built in the 1930s and quite historic being some the the first government built public tramping huts and the track that links them eventually takes you over Harpers pass to the headwaters of the Taramakau river which flows down to the west coast.
This route was taken by Maori seeking greenstone on the West Coast and also early European Settlers.
In the 1870s the provincial government invest 3000 pounds in developing the road but it was super-ceded by the Lewis and Arthurs pass routes which today are the main highways to the west coast from Canterbury. Since then the road that once was over Harpers Pass has reverted to a walking track on most of the route from Lake Sumner to the Taramakau.
Having got to the top of Lake Sumner was enough for this first trip into the Lake Sumner Park- maybe next time I can go further and walk over the ancient Maori Greenstone trading route?
Anyway the canoe trip back to Lake Katrine was ok and the next morning we drove back through the 4wd track to Lake Taylor - made it but it was pushing the limits of the old van and there were a few times that rock and Hiace underbelly met.
Spent one night camping at Lake Taylor- a cold westerly wind blowing across the lake onto the camping ground similar to at Lake Katrine but there is less shelter available at Lake Taylor.
Just some flax.