“On a Mish” #246 A little Help Please (Part One). Dogs Range. Hakatere Conservation Park. 30.1.2021. I’ll take a night in a tent over any fancy hotel. There is nothing like having a thin layer of material as your shelter, your own body wrapped in a sleeping bag as your heater, and the ground as your bed. The constant trickle of a mountain stream continues as the stars light the sky with an array of golden speckles. Add in the fact that you’re feeling the satisfying strain from the hike into the remote location you have got yourself to…
Compiling all my photos and writing about all of my missions has been an excellent alternative option during the time I have been unable to get into the wilderness. I have surprised myself with how often I have headed into the hills over the years, and keeping all the photos has been very worthwhile, now more than ever. One of my mates once told me I was New Zealand’s biggest cheerleader, probably after another one of my rants about how amazing Aotearoa is. There is so much to love about this little place in the South Pacific.
I was very lucky to land a job as a guide on the Routeburn Track in 2008, and I haven’t looked back since. A constant need to tell others about beautiful parts of my country has kept me employed in all sorts of different locations throughout the South Island (mostly in Fiordland) over the years. From the Humpridge Track in the south to the Milford Track in the north I’ve got a good dose of New Zealand’s most remote places.
More recently (during Covid times / post injury) I was going through a lot of treatment and rehab which finally got me to a point where I could return to my home in Te Anau and get on with my life. It is so very awesome to be back down in the town I love, living at the house I bought. Slowly the pieces of the puzzle are falling back into place.
During my time up in Christchurch getting treatment I would still go on adventures, although nowhere near as gnarly as what I was up to before hurting my hip and back. The need to get back into the outdoors forced me to think of how it would be possible to get myself to an epic location with my tent. Luckily on this occasion I managed to get my sister’s family involved, and along with their company they could also carry some gear for me. A little help can go a long way.
Things were looking good as we made our way past the historic Hakatere Settlement, then we began to head towards Lake Heron. I wanted to camp near the base of Dogs Hill(1067m), on a glacial terrace overlooking the Ashburton / Hakatere River. After distributing the collection of bags to the gang we set off. The hike went really well for about 25 meters, then the going got tough for the younger members of the party. My cunning plan of a pre-trip ice cream backfired when Beffie (5 years old at the time) began to ask for more treats in exchange for going further.
On this mish hiking with my whanau was a way of recreating my days as a hiking guide, and unloading information about where we are walking gave me great relief. As we began our hike, I was taken back to my days on the Milford Track when I had to deal with other track users / clients. Within a matter of moments Benji was suffering from blisters, Beffie was not in the mood to go for a stroll, and the group was traveling at a pace of about 1km per hour!
Our trek towards the Dogs Range in Hakatere began with an uphill grunt, and the younger members of the party were finding the going tough. Like most difficult outdoor activities, after a certain amount of time you get used to the movement and just get on with it. After a small climb we reached a high terrace, and when we got on top of the glacial terrace the going got a little easier…
