Old Ghost Road

My friend and I
On the Old Ghost Road
My friend and I on the Old Ghost Road
So up the hill we go
My friend and I on the Old Ghost Road

Recently Raewyn and I walked the Old Ghost Road. It's an 85 km trail from Lyell, near Murchison, to Seddonville, about halfway between Karamea and Westport. It's been designed for both walking and mountain biking, but having heard and read other people's accounts of their bike trips and looking at photos we decided not to risk it on bikes. We both agreed that for us it was the right decision.

The Old Ghost Road is up there amongst the best walks we have done (and better than some of the Great Walks). Each day the scenery is completely different - as you'll see in the following pictures.

This was the second time Raewyn has suggested a tramping trip for her birthday. In 2016 we did Lake Waikaremoana. More about that later!

Day 1: Lyell campground (roadend) to Lyell Saddle hut
16.6 km, 6:31 total (4:30 walking), ascent 1199m, descent 472m

Start of the trail

The first part of the trail follows an old route to the mining towns of Gibbstown and Zalatown, abandoned in the 1900s. The route was lost to the bush for many years but was recently rediscovered.

Along the way there are the odd remnants of human activity. This structure was more recent than most, abandoned in the 1960s.

Along the way you cross the 'Big Slips', formed during the 1929 Inangahua and 1968 Murchison earthquakes. Getting the track through here was a major undertaking for those building it!

Mountain bikers need to watch out for meteor showers.

Lyell Saddle hut

We had booked one of the sleepouts at each of the huts. It didn't cost that much more to do so, and it meant we had a bit more privacy and didn't have to worry about getting woken up in the night by other people. That's not to say we didn't get woken up in the night...


Day 2: Lyell Saddle to Ghost Lake
11.2 km, 4:27 total (3:04 walking), ascent 650m, descent 321m

The trail from Lyell Saddle starts off as a gentle zig-zag up the flank of Bald Hill.

Eventually you emerge from the treeline onto the tops.

The track passes Rocky Tor. This is where things get pretty spectacular.

The trail along here is pretty rocky and loose. While I could have biked it, I wouldn't have enjoyed it along this part - especially with panniers.

Rugged countryside all around

The view from Ghost Lake hut

After arriving at the hut and having some lunch we went for a walk down to the lake. This shot is looking back up at Ghost Lake hut. (You can also see our sleepout.) Both of them are perched on the edge of a cliff. When they were building this part of the track, they built the hut first, flying all the supplies in by helicopter. Then the hut was used as accommodation for the track builders, working out towards each end.

Getting to know a group of Americans who were also walking the trail and staying at the same huts we were. The guy on the right with the hat is Dale Robertson, who was involved in building some of the huts (including Ghost Lake) and the trail itself. He had some great stories to share.

A most welcome sight on day 2 - bucket shower! Just add warm water and open the tap...


Day 3: Ghost Lake to Stern Valley hut
12.3 km, 5:01 total (3:19 walking), ascent 416m, descent 1255m

Some walkers choose to combine what we did in days 2 and 3, but we're glad we broke it up because the sunrise from Ghost Lake hut was amazing.

Leaving Ghost Lake.

Immediately after leaving the hut, the track drops several hundred metres via switchbacks. Again pretty rocky and loose - I wouldn't have enjoyed biking this at all.

It was a great time of year to go, seeing the rata in flower

Looking back up at the switchbacks

A rooty part of the trail up to Skyline ridge. Again, I'm glad we didn't bike this!

Looking down the Stern valley towards 'the boneyard' - we would walk through this on the following day.

Raewyn on Skyline ridge

Skyline ridge from above

Walking along Skyline ridge was a highlight of the trail

The infamous 'Skyline Steps' - built by Dale. No comment needed about the decision to walk or bike!

Waterfall along Stern Creek - interesting rock formations


Day 4: Stern Creek to Specimen Point hut
25.3 km, 9:20 total (5:59 walking), ascent 1047m, descent 1298m

Today was Raewyn's birthday. As a surprise for her I had some freeze-dried icecream planned for later (to make up for the Queen Charlotte trip where I had promised when we got to the Portage there was a shop that sold ice cream, but when we arrived it had closed down. Cue major disappointment and always being reminded of 'icecreamgate' on future tramps!). But there were various hints dropped by our American travel buddies along the way that there should be cake etc. etc. The hut warden at Ghost Lake had some birthday candles that he gave us. I had no cake. But I did have pancake mix...

Given that today was going to be long, we got an early start and were treated to amazing views of the lakes at the bottom of the Boneyard.

Entering the Boneyard - another scar on the landscape from the earthquakes decades ago which basically squeezed the mountain until it cracked and fell apart.

There are some pretty big rocks in the Boneyard.

Coming down the other side, into the Goat Creek catchment.

Lunch at Goat Creek, with an inquisitive (but stupid) weka. Stupid because I started throwing kindling at it to make it go away, and it thought I was throwing it something to eat.

Crossing the south branch of the Mokihinui River there is a bridge with a door in it. This is to keep the possums on one side from crossing to the other side and teaching the possums there bad tricks about eating native snails. Apparently so far it seems to be working. True story - I'm not making it up!

Side creek along the way

The flats at Mokihinui forks.

Head of the Mokihinui gorge, viewed from Specimen Point hut.

Us with the Americans (plus one Englishman-turned Aussie): Steve, me, Dale, Barbara, John Wayne, Raewyn, Denis. Dale and Denis built Ghost Lake hut. And yes, John Wayne is his actual name.


Day 5: Specimen Point hut to Seddonville roadend
17.1 km, 5:05 total (4:13 walking), ascent 699m, descent 799m

Crossing Specimen Creek, shortly after leaving the hut

One of many bridges down the gorge

It was hard choosing just a few photos of the gorge to post here

Further down the gorge

Long straight sections are good for getting somewhere fast, but pretty tedious to walk along

The river was pretty impressive


We summed up the trip with a song that we came up with on day 4 to share with the others (to the tune of 'Oh when the saints go marching in'):

My friend and I
On the Old Ghost Road
My friend and I on the Old Ghost Road
So up the hill we go
My friend and I on the Old Ghost Road

From Lyell Saddle
To Ghost Lake Hut
It was like climbing a tower
Our stink was getting worse each hour
So we were glad there was a shower

We were surprised
There was no rain
Despite the forecast on the second day
But we will not complain
If the weather turns out okay

The scenery
Was picturesque
From north to south and east to west
All the switchbacks and Skyline Steps
I don't know which ones were best

And on the way
We met some mates
From Australia and United States
There was Steve, Barbara, Denis and Dale
And last but not least John Wayne

So here we are
Now at the end
Well it's just around the bend
I would highly recommend
The Old Ghost Road to all my friends

Suppose I should post this too...

I relaxed for about a week after passing my CPL flight test and then got stuck into training for a single-engine instrument rating. Three more theory exams, 10 hrs on the simulator and 24 flying hours later, I could tick that off too.

Oh and in tandem I was practising an aerobatics routine for the Cook Strait regional competitions in Hastings in February. I came second in that, and first in the CPL low flying (a separate competition) so am now planning on heading to Timaru at the end of February for the nationals. Flying there IFR of course ;)

Suppose I should post this...

Cross-country flights - part 2

Flight 5 (dual): Paraparam, St Arnaud, Westport, Takaka
(7 Apr 2017, 361 nm, 4.6 hrs flight time)

So after the last dual being somewhat disappointing, I was stoked to get given this one. I knew it was going to have to be around the 4 hour mark to make up the 10 hours. Westport was somewhere I had looked at going when I was thinking about the Abel Tasman trip, but it was well over the distance I needed to do at that time. I think Ben had a North Island destination in mind, but the weather forecast was much better over the South Island so he changed his mind. This time he gave me a scenario: a photographer wanted to be flown over St Arnaud and the coast around Westport to take some aerial shots. I had to decide on appropriate altitudes and plan everything accordingly. We also needed to land at Takaka and overfly the airstrip on D'Urville Island (not sure how those featured into the scenario).

Since we were tracking from Westport to Takaka along the coast, I asked him if the 'photographer' would mind if we flew over the Heaphy track (since (a) I wanted to see it and (b) I knew he is a keen tramper too). It was pretty cool to get to see that from the air and point out some of the key points - brought back memories.

I really, really enjoyed this trip.

Glorious weather as we flew up the Wairau Valley.

St Arnaud from 6000 ft.

Flying north from Westport along the West Coast.



Flight 6 (pilot-in-command): Paraparam, Rotorua, Taupo, Whanganui
(19 Apr 2017, 380 nm, 4.4 hrs flight time)

My last big trip before the flight test. I had talked with Raewyn about trying again to fly up to Hastings on Good Friday, then do a 300+ nm trip from there back to Paraparam on the Saturday - options included flying via Lake Waikaremoana to Whakatane, and back via Taupo and the Desert Road. Unfortunately the weekend turned out to be a washout, and with daylight saving soon to be over the 'fly up on a Friday night' wasn't going to be an option anymore. Ben was keen for me to knock off the last trip and the flight test in relatively quick succession, so I kept an eye on the weather forecast and took a day of annual leave to do the trip. I was keen to land at Taupo but it wasn't quite far enough to make a 300 nm round trip; I also knew that I needed more practise at controlled aerodromes. So I opted to push on a bit further and go to Rotorua.

This is where it gets funny. Mum was asking how things were going and I mentioned that I was planning on flying to Rotorua and back in a day.
'But that's a really long way to go in a little plane!' she exclaimed.
'Not really,' I said. 'You'd drive to Rotorua in a car, so what's the difference? And, there's less to crash into.' Then, almost as a joke, and fully expecting her to say no, I said, 'You could come too if you wanted.'

She laughed, but the next day was asking questions like how long would it take and what time would we leave and what would we do when we got there. Um, about 4 hours. Leave home just after 7 am so I could do the planning. Have lunch in Rotorua (why not?), refuel at Taupo, enjoy the views.

And that's how I ended up taking Mum on a cross-country flight to Rotorua for lunch.

Flying north through the Desert Road Corridor: a thin sliver of uncontrolled airspace between two military zones starting half a nautical mile either side of the Desert Road and extending up to 13,000 ft.

We came back via the western side of the volcanoes. I took heaps of photos of the new(ish) vents on the northern side of Mt Tongariro. In the foreground you can see the Ketetahi carpark, the northern terminus of the Tongariro Crossing.
From here we flew towards the town of National Park. We took a slight diversion to go and check out the Raurimu rail spiral, which was pretty impressive from the air. (I was too busy looking to take any good photos.) From there it was overhead Whanganui and following the coast back to Paraparam.



Flight test: Paraparam, Masterton, Castlepoint, Porangahau, Palmerston North
(16 May 2017, 230 nm, 3.4 hrs flight time)

I was pretty nervous about this trip, knowing that if the instructor had to take control at any point, it was an automatic fail; knowing that I was going to be tested on every possible emergency procedure (simulated engine failure en route, simulated engine failure after takeoff, precautionary landing, low level diversion for simulated bad weather), and knowing that I would be expected to complete all the pre-flight calculations and paperwork within an hour - not just for the flight plan (distances, time, headings and fuel, accounting for wind) but also a load sheet and take-off/landing distances. The night before, just like with the first flight, in an effort to calm my nerves, I laid the maps out on the floor at home and had a look at them trying to anticipate where we might go. Probably not the South Island; there weren't that many options for aerodromes we hadn't been to. So it would most likely be the North Island. Whanganui was too easy, the runway at Taihape was too short; so we're probably looking at the Wairarapa. Maybe the coast... he'd mentioned Porangahau in some of the ground work practise planning sessions. Maybe we would be going there in real life?

Turned out I was right. The scenario: A hunter wanted to be dropped off at the Porangahau strip (with his gear and rifle - cue extra rules around carriage of firearms), and I had been asked to take some aerial photos of the Masterton aerodrome, Castlepoint, and another strip north of Dannevirke. As things panned out, we didn't make it to the last strip as 'bad weather' meant I had to opt for a precautionary landing in a paddock. (Don't worry, we didn't actually land.) Then it was on to Palmerston North (since 'flight in controlled airspace' was a requirement) and then home, although not without a simulated engine failure at 200 ft after takeoff from Palmie.

In anticipation of being told to land at Porangahau I had read up on the published aerodrome information. It's a private strip available for use with permission from the landowner. So after quickly estimating how long it would take to get there, I called the farmer to ask if we could use the strip for a flight test. He said it was a bit wet, but being in a Cessna 172 it should be fine to use it. I carried on with the rest of the planning as quickly as I could; didn't quite get the exact landing distance calculation finished but I could say that the strip was plenty long enough. The first thing Ben asked when he came back into the room was, 'So, can we land at Porangahau?' He seemed mildly shocked when I replied, 'Yes, I've rung the farmer and he says it should be fine.' So after a few questions on aviation law regarding carriage of firearms, cloud base minima, interpreting the weather report and checking my calculations, it was time to go.

I had opted to fly over the Akatarawa Saddle, Te Marua lakes and Puffer Saddle to get to Masterton, rather than the straight line route from Paraparam which takes you directly over Mt Hector, one of the highest points in the Tararua Ranges. As we took off, I was still a bit apprehensive about how he would behave... he had half-joked when we first discussed the training schedule, 'These cross-country trips are fun; I get to be an a***hole'. As we headed towards Masterton we had good views of the Tauherenikau valley, and he started reminiscing about tramping up there, which helped calmed my nerves a lot. Maybe the conversation would be relatively normal. I got stuck into my work, marking navigational fixes on the chart, calculating ETAs for the next waypoint, keeping an eye on the fuel usage and engine parameters.

When we got to Porangahau I opted to fly over the strip at low level to check it out visually before committing to land on it. In the debrief afterwards, Ben complimented me on making the decision to do so. I hadn't really thought that much about it; it just made sense to check it out first, being a farm strip and all (and knowing the issues I'd had trying to land at Takaka the first time I went there). Coming back around I landed it; not particularly prettily but suitable for a 'short field'. We parked up at the far end of the strip and had lunch. Just as we were about to leave the farmer came over on his quad bike to see if we needed any help. That was nice of him!

From there it was towards Dannevirke; simulated engine failure en route followed by simulated bad weather diversion and simulated precautionary landing, then on to Palmie for the compulsory flight in controlled airspace ('Kilo Alpha Lima descent unrestricted, establish 10 mile final runway 25'), the aforementioned simulated engine failure after takeoff and an uneventful leg home.

Afterwards we debriefed; a couple of minor errors (slightly incorrect radio calls), compliments on my forced landing approach and decision to inspect the strip at Porangahau, so overall it was a pass. It had been an intense day, so on hearing that I really only felt a sense of relief. The sense of achievement came a couple of days later. Looking back on it now, it was a good trip and feels good to know that I can handle various situations in unfamiliar terrain and make rational decisions even in stressful circumstances. Because if you're never put to the test, you can never know for sure how you will react.

Castlepoint

On the ground at Porangahau