“On a Mish” #449 Back to Bush-Bashing (Part One). Mt Campbell South Ridge. Mavora Lakes Conservation Park. 6.4.2026. Most look to avoid the bush when traveling through the mountains. Tracks do their best to skirt around anything that might cut, scratch or impede our forward progress. However, there are some places where tracks haven’t eased the access and for any sort of forward movement you need to use mix of force and intelligence to negotiate the way ahead. After injuring my back and hip I thought I was going to be bound to easy tracks only, but with a lot of work I managed to get back to bush-bashing and enjoying the rewards that come with it…
It is no secret that the Mavora Lakes are one of my most favourite outdoor locations. A big reason is its dog-friendly status, which means Georgie can join me on adventures. But also, the place has many options both easy and hard when it comes to going on a mish. After slowly rebuilding my fitness, I have gone further and tackled more difficult challenges as time has rolled on. Tougher the trek better the reward.
With my trip to Nepal on the horizon I decided to head to the lakes and take on a small off-track challenge. My goal was to fight through the bush and get onto the South Ridge of Mt Campbell. I wasn’t wanting to go all the way to the top but just see if I could get to a good viewpoint and then camp at the base of the hill afterward. It wasn’t climbing Aoraki or anything, but it would be a good test for my training up to this point. With a small break between rainy days, I grabbed my gear and Georgie, and together we headed east from Te Anau toward the Eyre Mountains.
After arriving at the lakes, I had the tough task of deciding where to pitch my tent for the night. It is always tough because there are so many options in this amazing like conservation park. I eyed up Mt Campbell and decided to camp near the base of a spur which led to the south ridge. It was a small walk from the road, but the effort would ensure that after the climb I would be back at my tent and could relax and recover. I was stoked that the weather and my days of work had lined up, as lately the exact opposite was happening.
I set up my tent while Georgie explored her new playground. Light breezes and cold air down low while clouds zoomed across the sky above me, I knew it would be windy higher up the hill. I could feel that this weather window wasn’t going to be open long, and the forecast was for rain from around lunchtime the next day. I am always grateful when weather, time and motivation line up perfectly!
With a home for the night ready I tightened my boots and readied a small daypack. Really anything from this point that wasn’t hiking was just delaying the start of my battle with the bush below the south ridge. I trekked the small distance from the clearing where I was camping to the distinctive light of trees that marked the edge of the forest. It was time to get back into bush-bashing, and it was time to see if the reward still matched the effort that was going to be needed to get above it…
