A Wild Vista

A few months back, I wrote briefly about Mount Titiroa, an interesting boulder-strewn peak close to Te Anau, in New Zealand’s Fiordland National Park.

Take me straight to the photos!

I promised then that I’d write up that trip, having found little other coverage on the web. Then, the other day, I came across this blog post by Tim Farley that brought back memories of those couple of days on Mt. Titiroa in early 2003. It’s a really good read, and includes some great photos (there’s a Flickr set too).

Climbing Mount Titiroa from Manapouri gave me an inkling of what New Zealand has to offer beyond the Great Walks, or indeed anything off the extensive network of marked tracks. The only other similar trip I made was the Upper Shotover—Dart traverse (via Lochnagar and Snowy Creek). On that occasion too, the going was notably more difficult than any marked route I’d attempted previously.

Increased difficulty and seriousness is attended by more intense solitude, “purer” wilderness, and a tangible sense of exploration and discovery. It’s worth bearing in mind that most of the New Zealand back country is like this. The Great Walks keep the vast majority of visitors who fancy a multi-day trek confined to a tiny proportion of the marked trails that are out there. Most of the remainder stick to the track network, leaving huge scope for anyone with appropriate skills and experience to embark on genuinely serious expeditions into vast areas of wilderness that are rarely visited. That such ventures are possible in a First World country with a such a small landmass, still astounds me.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, Moir’s Guide ( North and South [Amazon links – marked as unavailable as of Jan. 2010, but widely distributed in NZ] ) remains the classic tramping reference for the Southern Alps. One continually comes across passages that intimate just how rarely visited much of this land is. Here’s a paragraph from the Arawhata Valley section of Moir’s Guide North:

A bivvy rock on Williamson Flat is reported at roughly E39/512323 which does not seem to have been used recently. In the 1950’s there was a blazed track through the bush to it, taking about 5 mins from the edge of the last clearing up the Joe. It was said to be fairly dark but good shelter, and about 30m above the clearing. The editor would appreciate confirmation of this bivvy rock and its position. In 1965 a stretcher was carried down the true right of the Arawhata, from Arawhata Rock to Williamson Flat.

[ The above extract is from Moir's Guide North, edited by Geoff Spearpoint. Copyright 1998 Geoff Spearpoint and the New Zealand Alpine Club ]

Climbing Mount Titiroa from Manapouri is an ideal introduction to the world of serious tramping expeditions. Much of the 2½-day trip is on marked tracks. However, the bit that matters — the climb up the mountain itself — is off-track. You’ll need to bush-whack your way onto the upper slopes, and most likely wild camp quite high on the mountain.

In lieu of my own trip report, I’ve dug out some slides. I hope you enjoy them. And don’t forget to read Tim’s post for more inspiration.

Blue skies and quartz sand on Mt. Titiroa.

Wild camp high on Mt. Titiroa (tent bottom-right), looking out over Lake Manapouri.

Extensive views from the upper slopes of Mt. Titiroa.

Rock formations on Mt. Titiroa.

Approaching the summit slopes of Mt. Titiroa.

Looking out over Lake Manapouri and toward Lake Te Anau, from Mt. Titiroa.

Rock formations on Mt. Titiroa.

Starting the descent from Mt. Titiroa.