Cameron Hut Hakatere 7th – 8th November
Cameron valley is past Mt Arrowsmith Station towards the head of Lake Heron. Cameron Hut (basic, 9 bunks), which is owned by the Canterbury Mountaineering Club, sits amongst piles of moraine from the Cameron Glacier. The hut has stunning views of the Arrowsmith Range. Cameron Hut route (unmarked) 15.6 km, 6 hours.
Christine, John and Russell set out 7am. Arriving shortly after Mt Arrowsmith Station and a short drive up a 4wd track at the side of the Cameron river to a car park area. There was another car there so this helped us in our decision not to carry tents. The track which was not always that well marked followed the river, with parts heading up over a hill to avoid bluff and unsuitable river crossings. The river was normal levels and there were many beautiful clear pools. This was a partly cloudy day and with the coming and going of clouds made for stunning views. After missing the pole that indicated the detour to avoid a bluff we ended up with a scramble and some matagouri bashing which added to our time. I enjoyed the alpine scrub and snow grasses and interesting rock formations. This was a steady walk and the last part saw a bit more of a climb to the large basin and hut set in front of the Cameron glacier. Truly a hut with amazing views. We arrived at the hut to find two other trampers. Feeling rather wacked didn’t get too carried away with exploring much further than the hut and the close surrounds and chose to sit and soak up the views surrounding us.
There were further arrivals to the hut; another two, then coming in late another two who had walked in and were planning to do some climbing setting out in the early hours. We noted that these were all younger people and we were most certainly the older generation. We were kept entertained by them for the evening which was very interesting.
The walk out on Sunday was somewhat quicker, and we managed to find the track that took us up and over the bit we had clambered around on our way in. A fantastic trip. Thank you to John and Russell for your company.
Christine