“On a Mish” #9 It’s Bigger Than (Part Two). Cecil Peak(1978m). Cecil Peak Station. Eyre Mountains. 14.3.2014. Some say if it wasn’t for foreshortening, many of the great peaks around the world would never have been climbed. This is the trick of a mountain looking so close, only for it to seem like it is moving further away from you the more you walk towards it. Cecil Peak in the Eyre Mountains is one that many eye up from the comforts of Queenstown, not realising that the true summit is much higher than it seems from New Zealand’s adventure capital…
After closer inspection we decided that the mice and rats could have the ‘aged’ hut that sits at the base of Bare Spur, and we would look for alternative accommodation. We didn’t have a tent, but we did have an emergency tarp. The tarp was propped against the side of a large rock and then held in place by timber found around the hut and tree branches. Our makeshift home turned out to be an excellent alternative to a hut that had definitely seen better days.
As the sun drifted away in the west we enjoyed a lakeside meal and the peace and quiet found on this side of Lake Wakatipu. After the arrival of darkness, we watched the lights of cars and houses turn on and broadcast to the world that humans live here. On our side of the lake, our head torches were the only signs of life. It was time to retreat to the warmth of our sleeping bags which on this night were laid out in our awesome bivouac. Day one might have been just a hop across the lake and short walk, but it was still an incredible experience.
Early-ish the next day we were up boiling the billy in the dark as we readied ourselves for around 1600 vertical metres of climbing. Light packs containing only the essentials helped us with the rough start. There is very little flat on the trip up Cecil Peak, so right from the word ‘GO’ you are climbing upwards. The higher you go the better the views, and thanks to the peak’s location the views are of areas we were familiar with but hadn’t seen from this angle.
It was when we were about halfway up Bare Spur that we saw the TSS Earnslaw making its first journey across the lake from Queenstown. The boat was only a small dot on the water, and knowing how big the ship really is made us appreciate the height we had gained in only a short amount of time. This mission was going to be a classic and we had only just started our adventure to the top of Cecil Peak. Bring on the vertical metres!
