OED Three Day Tramp

The weather this year has played a big part in the OE programme our three-day tramp was no exception!

I had planned to head south towards Waitati but snow and strong winds prevented this. Inland had received a large amount of snow. Arthurs Pass had road closures! We ended up mixing it up with having a Day trip in Peel Forest coming back to school, followed by an overnight trip to Boundary Creek Hut in the Hakatere area.

It was 14kms to Boundary Creek Hut most of which was walking through 20cms of snow. Clint, Tasman, Zac and Harry braved the cold weather. We were able to convince Mr Leonardo De Angelis to take a break from Physics to come with us.

The snowy landscape was amazing and so was the weather. We were lucky to have the fine weather window that we did. It was very cold at the hut and was actually warmer in the tents. We fired up the cookers for hot brews and dinner.

The second day, we made the decision to tramp out the South Branch of the Ashburton River. There was very little snow on the northern aspect of the hills but route finding was a mission as we made our way down the valley. We ended up bush-bashing our way through matagouri, bush lawyer, bracken and rose hip.

We were even walking in the river at some stages as it was easier going. Though this off track wasn't the easiest it was definitely a highlight for the group. The old outdoor Ed bus was a welcome sight and we made our way back to Geraldine.