By November Spring had finally started to make an appearance down here and so we decided that it would be a good idea to plan a short hiking trip to test out our legs (or ankle in my case) ahead of our bigger hiking trips planned for later in the season.
It is always an easy choice to head out to the Matukituki Valley west of Wanaka as it is one of my favourite places to hike. Despite having walked here a number of times, the scenery is always different based on the season and weather and it always looks beautiful.
Our plan this trip was a simple overnight trip to Liverpool Hut, somewhere that has been on our list for a while. The first part of the valley was lush and green and as we rounded the corner to get our first view of Cascade Saddle (where I had hiked the previous Christmas) I was surprised by how much snow was still on the tops.
We had initially planned to do this hike over the Show Weekend long weekend, the bank holiday dedicated to the local agricultural show! Unfortunately the weather that weekend did not look good, but we were able to shift our booking by a couple of weeks. The valley was far greener than we had ever seen it before, and several of the waterfalls had significantly more water than usual.
After a while, the track rounds another bend in the valley floor and if you look carefully, and know where to look, you get your first glimpse of Liverpool Hut. At this point it always seems impossibly far away perched on the grassy clearing on the ridge in the distance.
The track passes through a number of grassy flats which give stunning views up the valley, providing a good distraction. At the head of Pearl Flat we tried to make out the track to French Ridge on the right side of the valley, reminiscing over the steep climb we made to reach that hut.
Eventually we arrived at the swing bridge over Liverpool Stream where it joins the Matukituki River which marked the point at which we needed to leave the valley floor to head up to the hut. We stopped by the river for a quick snack break before braving the climb. Although we knew it wasn’t as bad as the climb to French Ridge, covering around 700 metres in the final one and a half kilometers of the hike was still going to be pretty tricky!
Needless to say I don’t have any photos of the final climb, it was another of those crazy tracks where you have to use your arms to pull yourself up and over the network of tree roots and boulders that form the track. But eventually we popped out of the bush and could see the hut just a short distance below us.
The views from the hut were well worth the climb and the view back down the Matukituki Valley were constantly changing throughout the late afternoon and evening. We also had great views across the valley to French Ridge Hut and the surrounding mountains.
We knew that there was some weather coming in and so were up bright and early the next morning, with a little help from our hut-mates and a few noisy Kea. We made it back down to the river valley just as the clouds started to build on the mountains but were able to stay dry until just a few minutes before the car park. Luckily, the weather hadn’t quite reached Wanaka, so when we got to town we were still able to enjoy an ice cream by the lake; the perfect way to celebrate another successful hike.