NZ Field Trips 2009

[Maggi Young]

My word, another magical place!

[David Lyttle]

Hi Maggi,

There is more to come; you have not seen the best yet

Picture 1 is the first view of the plateau as we reached the top and emerged from the forest.

Picture 2 and 3 were taken about half way across the plateau. The two prominent peaks in the second picture are the Needle on the left and the Haystack on the right.
Picture 3 shows a second smaller higher plateau to the left of the Needle named the Hundred Acres Plateau.

Picture 4 was taken a lot later in the day as we were approaching the Larrikin Creek which is situated at the northern end of the plateau. The hut is in the basin on the edge of the far clearing on the centre left. The landscape is formed by massive faulting and slumping with huge blocks of land being displaced.

Picture 5 shows the far side of Larrikin Creek showing the huge bluffs dropping down into the bed of the creek. it is a long way down.

It was with some relief we arrived at the hut as the crossing had be arduous and hot. Picture 6 shows the view from the door of the hut. The little clearing is covered with Hebe topiaria which was in flower.

Picture 7 shows the sunset looking back across the plateau to the south-west.

Picture 8 shows a clump of Dracophyllum traversii.

Picture 9 shows a flowering bush of Hebe topiaria with Celmisia semicordata in the foreground.

Picture 10 is Oreostylidium subulatum. Oreostylidium is related to Phyllachne. It si not a particularly good picture but I took it in a hurry on the march. The plant has multiple rossettes and grows in small patches.

[Gerdk]

Fascinating sights - unbelievable for Central Europeans! Where are the houses,
streets or at least some grazing cattle?

Gerd

[David Lyttle]

Hi Gerd,

The nearest town is Murchison: Lake Matiri hut is about a three hour walk from the road end (or one and a half hours from the end of a 4WD farm track). Access to the plateau which is about 1000 metres involves a 700 metre climb from the valley floor from Lake Matiri. The climb is very steep as the route picks its way up through the bluffs beneath the plateau. The soils on the plateau are boggy and very infertile so they are not suitable for grazing livestock. It would be very difficult to move stock up there and even more difficult getting them off again. The area is part of Kahurangi National Park and has no buildings on it apart from a few huts.

Four more photos;

Larrikin Creek Hut
Approaching The Needle from the shelf beneath it
Summit of The Needle(1453 metres)
Looking back to Larrikin Creek Hut from the summit of the Needle. The hut is beneath the X.

[Armin]

David,
you live in a fascinating country.

Should I win in a lottery I would make a world tour and make a stop to visit NZ 

[Gerdk]

David,
you live in a fascinating country.
Should I win in a lottery I would make a world tour and make a stop to visit NZ 

David, fantastic views. Thank you!

Armin, if you need a porter I would like to offer my company!

Gerd

[Maggi Young]

Jean, the Wyllie wifie, is VERY fond of New Zealand and visits whenever she can.... the other day she got her updated New Zealand Alpine Garden Society badge...... here it is ......



very nice , too

[Lesley Cox]

Mmmm, suppose I'd better order one.

[Paddy Tobin]

David,

This is a place to dream of visiting. Wonderful scenery and fabulous and exotic(for us) plants.

Many thanks for continuing this great thread; really enjoying it. As I've said before it is wonderful to be able to enjoy the N.Z. experience from the comfort of my armchair in the northern hemisphere.

Paddy

[t00lie]

David

Looks like you had a nice spell of weather while over in the West Coast.
 
Interesting pics and descriptions --especially the comment on the steepness of the track -as a companion of yours on a few trips now ,for you to make that statement it must have been 'damn' steep.


I managed to get out yesterday onto a new area of the Hector Mtns.
The first pic is of what greeted me at the northern part of the Range-- as a result seed collecting was a bit hit and miss and the conditions made for very tricky conditions when descending later in the day.

A number of plants were flowering especially the Gentians.

Cheers Dave.

[ranunculus]

Would that be Gentiana corymbifera, Dave?  Looks beautiful in it's natural habitat.

[David Lyttle]

Hi Paddy, Gerd, Armin,

Pleased you enjoyed the pictures; hope you all get to see the plants in their natural habitat some day.

Maggi,

It is a very nice badge, it almost makes me want to join the NZAGS to get one!

Dave,

Good to see you posting again you should not be grovelling round in the snow at this time of the year but as they say  "Snow happens". The route was a little steep - Belinda made a few comments on the way up but none on the way down. The only one I can post is " For the love of Pete".

Cliff,

My guess is that Dave's plant is Gentiana bellidifolia. G. corymbifira is a larger plant with more flowers hence the specific epithet corymibifera. It is monocarpic as well.

I have spent the day helping with a botanical survey of a little patch of bush on the Peninsula. It is full of Urtica ferox so I got a few touches and am still feeling it.
For this evenings posting here are a few more scenic shots from the summit of The Needle.

The Haystack and the Matiri Range with the Thousand Acres Plateau beyond
The Haystack showing the geological strata
Peaks of the Matiri Range
The Hundred Acres Plateau. This view shows the entire plateau.
Looking down across the Hundred Acres plateau to the Thousand Acres Plateau.
The canyon of Larrikin Creek cut down through the limestone strata.
Western rim of the Hundred Acres Plateau.
Looking west into the North Branch of the Mokihinui River. The sea is out beyond the last ridge on the horizon.
Looking north into the upper part of the Mokihinui River cachment.
My brother Ian siiting on top of The Needle texting - it was the only place on the entire plateau that he could find cell phone coverage

[David Lyttle]

Cliff,

Gentiana corymbifera from Mt Hutt

[ranunculus]

Many thanks, David ... for the truly stunning pictures (oranges, ochres and greens that characterise these unique landscapes) and for the lovely image of G. corymbifera ... another gem that needs to be attempted over here.

[Armin]

David,
you live in a fascinating country.
Should I win in a lottery I would make a world tour and make a stop to visit NZ 

David, fantastic views. Thank you!

Armin, if you need a porter I would like to offer my company!

Gerd

Gerd,
I would invite you to join! You are welcome any time