1000 & 100 Acre Plateau

4 day round trip to the 1000 & 100 Acre Plateau

Another trip in Kahurangi National Park, this time in the southern part of it. 

My knees and heels needed a rest after my last trip. I didn't expect that it would take me 2 weeks, though. Well, working for a while, reading and planing more tramps was not such a bad thing. The forecast looked pretty good, a map was bought and my route was set. Heck, I even got some good local advice. There are some nice gems in this area. Time to get out before Christmas.

I hitch hiked to Matiri Road right after Murchison. It was a scorching hot day and walking on the gravel road didn't make it any better. After about 8km a farmer gave me a lift for a few kilometres. I was struggling a bit in the hot weather and finally reached the first car park. Some cows were blocking my way for a while further on the trail. It was farmland all the way till I reached the trailhead.

There are 2 unbridged  rivers and a landslide that just had happened a few years ago. It was crucial to have a good weather forecast and spare food for 2 days, as one could get stuck here in heavy rain quite easily.

There were only a few cars parked and it seemed that I should be on my own most of the time. I crossed the first river, which was running pretty low. The trail was in the forest / bush on my first day and I appreciated the natural sun cover. After a while I reached the landslide.

slide

Heavy rain and the erosion from the river must have caused this. It would be tricky to cross this if the river would in flood. I kept going and the trail got a little bit steeper till I got to the nice Matiri Hut. It was empty and the views were amazing. Dinner was cooked and I enjoyed some alpenglow before I started to read my book and called it a day.

view from Lake Matiri campsite

The next day wasn't an easy one. I crossed another low river and then I had to gain over 800 meters in less than 2 km. The trail towards the 1000 Acre Plateau was very steep and I needed to rest every few hundred meters or so. Some trampers came down the other way and definitely didn't struggle as much as I did. There were very few flat spots and most of the time the trail was 45+°  steep, leading over moss covered roots and rocks.

steep trail towards 1000 Acre Plateau

One can see how the vegetation changed with altitude.  Soon I was surrounded by some mountain cedars. I got to an incredible viewpoint after almost 2 hours, facing beautiful Lake Matiri. 

Lake Matiri

The trail was easier now and I got to the plateau after 3 1/2 hours. Another 8 km had to be walked this day and 2 more trampers went back to Lake Matiri Hut, right after I got out of the bush. I stopped at the old and rustic Poor Petes Hut.

Poor Petes Hut

The poled route climbed to a high point of 1115 meters, which offered splendid views of the area. The plateau was pretty flat, the tussock was brown to gold brown, many other different grasses, flowers and bushes were around as well. The limestone rich  soils sustained an amazing diversity of plant life, 437 native species have been recorded. The 1000 Acre Plateau is spectacular and the landforms here are found nowhere else in New Zealand. The fortress-like bluffs of it are the oldest landforms in the country as well.  I would love to fly over it one day. The Plateau is also bigger than 1000 acres, the name suites it perfectly though. Kahurangi is such an underrated National Park in my opinion. Most people rave about Mt Aspiring, Fiordland and Arthur's Pass, but this area in the north-west of the South Island stands out with its unique landscape and flora. Vegetable sheep, some of the most striking plant, can be found here. Well, it makes it less crowded, only the Heaphy Track is really known in this part of New Zealand.

on the 1000 Acre Plateau, first glimpse of 100 Acre Plateau in the background,  the peak on the right side is called the Needle

Anyway, the mountains the Needle and the Haystack were in the distance and I moved on. The weather was great and it must had been dry up here for the last few days, because the limestone creek beds were dried out or running low.

I kept going, approached the steep slopes of the Haystack and the bush gave way to the beech forest.

100 Acre Plateau

Larrikins Hut, Haystack in the background

The Haystack is a massive wall and Larrikins Creek Hut just looked tiny. Again, I was the only one up here and the sandflies weren't that bad either. I cleaned my socks and cooked myself some dinner. Fog and light rain came down from the mountains just within half an hour. The forecast was actually right this time. I kept my spirits up that I would have another 2 amazing days. And the sky cleared overnight. The next day should be an interesting one: I had planed to climb the Needle, take a look at the 100 Acre Plateau, go for a little swim in the poles of Larrikins Creek and head back to Lake Matiri Hut. First I had to cross the low running creek and tramp / climb and bushwhack up a gully. The gully forked after I while and I ended up going up the wrong one. It led me closer to the Haystack and soon I figured out that I should go back. Some parts of the gully were really tricky and a few big boulders forced me to whack through the bush on the sides. It was fun! Well, more or less. A fall could have been dangerous. I do not recommend this tramp in the heavy rain.

climbing up the creek bed towards the 100 Acre Plateau

I reached a tussock basin with a few tarns and moved on to the Devils Dining Table (100 Acre Plateau, sometimes I wonder how they come up with such names). I sidled west out of the basin onto the plateau. Another small creek had to be crossed, actually the creek bed was dried out and I climbed up the steep bush. Of course I was wearing my ankle high gaiters and shorts and my legs took quite a beating. Speargrass can be nasty. My legs did not look too good. There is a reason why most Kiwis tramp in knee high gaiters. Another lesson learnt. Fortunately I was alone and nobody heard me swearing. I finally could leave all those plants, which didn't like me, behind me and soak in the amazing views of the Matiri Plateau, Mokihinui watershed and the broken limestone Matiri Range It was a tough but rewarding climb.

nasty bush, speargrass and other stuff

on the 100 Acre Plateau, Haystack in the background

100 Acre Plateau

1000 Acre Plateau in the background

the Needle

It is such an amazing place, the 100 Acre Plateau would make a good camp site. The wind speed increased and I decided to not climb the Needle. It didn't look that easy anyway and I still had the whole day left to get back to Lake Matiri. The worst part of ascending is always descending. My legs got scratched a bit more and I was happy to walk / climb / jump down the gully.

100 Acre Plateau

I took one last look back to magnificent 100 Acre Plateau and walked down Larrikins Creek. It was still warm and this little creek offers something special: little pools to stand and sit in.

Larrikins Creek

end of Larrikins Creek

And suddenly the creek dropped down. More incredible views to enjoy. I spend quite some time here and moved back to Poor Petes Hut. Travelling was faster and easier now. The weather was about to change and the clouds behind me got greyer. I had a feeling that this would happen and just wanted to get back to Lake Matiri as fast as possible, hoping that no heavy rain would hinder my river crossings. It worked out for me, the sky didn't look auspicious though.

on the way back to Lake Matiri, bad weather approaching

It drizzled a bit on my descend to the lake. It was actually raining to my right, behind me and on the other side of the lake. It only took me 2 hours to get from Poor Petes Hut to Lake Matiri Hut. A Kiwi (humans not the birds) family of 4 was already staying there and I had some companionship on my last night.

It didn't rain over night and I was able to hike out on the next hot day. Some backpackers gave me a ride to the road end. We said goodbye and a few minutes later I realized that I forgot my trekking poles in their car, Fortunately they were staying close by were I got off their car...