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--- 198505 [2014/12/06 19:10] – [EASTER 1985 DEUA NATIONAL Park.] simon
+++ 198505 [2014/12/06 19:42] (current) – [SEARCH and RESCUE PRACTICE] simon
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 ===== A VALLEY IN MIND. =====
-by Bin gaible.
+by Bill Gamble.
-On a fine, clear day in January, 1981, the Air New Zealand flight t ,Sydney took off from Wellington Airport into a southerly breeze; As the aircraft climbed out over Cook Strait and turned west it flew close tO Nelson Lakes National Park; so close, in fact, that I could see the
+On a fine, clear day in January, 1981, the Air New Zealand flight to Sydney took off from Wellington Airport into a southerly breeze; As the aircraft climbed out over Cook Strait and turned west it flew close to Nelson Lakes National Park; so close, in fact, that I could see the Travers Valley clearly amid the mountains and lakes. And on that summer afternoon memories of walking in the area flooded back as the snow-slabbed peaks slipped by. I felt almost boyish as I pressed my face to the cabin window, not wanting to miss anything. I was also a little sad that one of my favourite mountain valleys was so near and yet so far away.
-Travers Valley clearly amid the mountains and lakes. And on that summer afternoon memories of walking in the area flo(Jded back as the ,snow-slabbed peaks slipped by. I felt almost boyish as I pressed my face to the cabin window, not wanting to miss anything. I was also a little sad that one of my favourite mountain valleys was so near and yet so far away.
-The New Zealand mountains, particularly tho'se in the South Island, are punctuated with fine valleys for walking anei the Travers is one of them. Its recollection evokes a wistfulness for what I left behind bc,v coming to live in Sydney (for those members wh.(..) do not know me, I am a New Zealander by birth and grew, up and lived ill Wellington for 28 years before coming to Sydney about 16 years ago):
+The New Zealand mountains, particularly those in the South Island, are punctuated with fine valleys for walking and the Travers is one of them. Its recollection evokes a wistfulness for what I left behind by coming to live in Sydney (for those members who do not know me, I am a New Zealander by birth and grew, up and lived in Wellington for 28 years before coming to Sydney about 16 years ago):
-The Travers is not isolated. In fact it must be one of the most accessible valleys in any of that country's national and forest parks. Located at the upper end of Lake Rotoiti, the valley delta can be easily reached from park headquarters at St. Arnaud either by a good lakeside track after 2i hours walking or by boat iri much less time. There are other routes. The valley offers excellent access to side valleys and basins as well as to the ridges and climbing peaks like Kehu (7250'), Travers (7671') and Hopeless (7475'). Tracks are well marked and various saddles and passes provide good access 'Go adjacent watersheds, of which Travers Saddle would be the most, frequemtly used to give access to the Sabine Valley and beyond. But more titian this, the Travers offers much in its own right and is equally excellent as a base (using the well-maintained huts or tenting) for day walks in superb surroundings.
+The Travers is not isolated. In fact it must be one of the most accessible valleys in any of that country's national and forest parks. Located at the upper end of Lake Rotoiti, the valley delta can be easily reached from park headquarters at St. Arnaud either by a good lakeside track after 2 1/2 hours walking or by boat in much less time. There are other routes. The valley offers excellent access to side valleys and basins as well as to the ridges and climbing peaks like Kehu (7250'), Travers (7671') and Hopeless (7475'). Tracks are well marked and various saddles and passes provide good access to adjacent watersheds, of which Travers Saddle would be the most, frequently used to give access to the Sabine Valley and beyond. But more than this, the Travers offers much in its own right and is equally excellent as a base (using the well-maintained huts or tenting) for day walks in superb surroundings.
 __Beeches and Snow Grass.__ \\
-To me, the Travers is an encapmilation of what a mountain valley should be like. The floor is flat, and broad at its mouth, and through the grassy, open gound meanders thaa Travers River, allowing most of the time reasonable fords when commencing a walk up the centre of the valley. The beech-covered slopes climb steeply away on both sides and in turn yiead to snow grass and then rock, with seasonal snow and ice in the high basinv and on peaks 3-5000' above. Th.e gain in height moving up the valley is steady and so is the reduction !Ln its width. Squeezed by the sides of the valley, the flats eventually peter out amid the cascading river, the forest cover crowding its banks and the steep side ridges and spurs. In the same way as for the valley sides at the delta the forest stops suddenly and the tussocky snow grass begins. The head of the valley comprises flats With a short walk to a large upper basin with its amphitheatre of peaks dominated by Kehu (7250'n) and Travers (7671).
+To me, the Travers is an encapsulation of what a mountain valley should be like. The floor is flat, and broad at its mouth, and through the grassy, open ground meanders the Travers River, allowing most of the time reasonable fords when commencing a walk up the centre of the valley. The beech-covered slopes climb steeply away on both sides and in turn yield to snow grass and then rock, with seasonal snow and ice in the high basins and on peaks 3-5000' above. The gain in height moving up the valley is steady and so is the reduction in its width. Squeezed by the sides of the valley, the flats eventually peter out amid the cascading river, the forest cover crowding its banks and the steep side ridges and spurs. In the same way as for the valley sides at the delta the forest stops suddenly and the tussocky snow grass begins. The head of the valley comprises flats with a short walk to a large upper basin with its amphitheatre of peaks dominated by Kehu (7250') and Travers (7671).
-For the headwaters of the Travers River it is necessary to scramble up a rock-strewn gully into a cirque of peaks and sharp ridges around twin tarns. The tarns may be gained from Travers Saddle but that is not quite the same as following the river to its source. The place is seldom visited and if the snow is deep and the day fine and calm, one should find a :peacefulness and solitude well worth the seeking.
+For the headwaters of the Travers River it is necessary to scramble up a rock-strewn gully into a cirque of peaks and sharp ridges around twin tarns. The tarns may be gained from Travers Saddle but that is not quite the same as following the river to its source. The place is seldom visited and if the snow is deep and the day fine and calm, one should find a peacefulness and solitude well worth the seeking.
 __Up to the Tarns.__ \\
-In 1979, in fine weather and fresh snow, I found just that and wrote: "My intention was to spend the morning wandering around the head of the valley - an amphitheatre of srLow-covered peaks with-steep slopes of rock and snow grass - before returning to the Upper Travers Hut some time after
+In 1979, in fine weather and fresh snow, I found just that and wrote: "My intention was to spend the morning wandering around the head of the valley - an amphitheatre of snow-covered peaks with-steep slopes of rock and snow grass - before returning to the Upper Travers Hut some time after lunch. In the crisp, still and brilliantly clear weather, I sat on the large boulder alongside the park sign which points to the saddle and thought a little more about what I was going to do this morning. It would have been easy to have found a slab of rock, stretched out in the sun and alternated between looking at the mountains and dozing. My inclination was to keep moving so I walked across the slope towards the head of the valley, more or less keeping parallel to the stream which was the beginning of the Travers River.
-lunch. In the drisp, still and brilliantly clear weather, I sat on the large boulder alongside the park sign which points to the saddle and thought a little more about what I was going to do this morning. It would have been easy to have found a slab of rock, stretched out in the sun and alternated between looking at the mountains and dozing. My inclination was to keep moving so I walked across the slope towards the head of the valley, more or less keeping parallel to the stream which was the beginning of the Travers River.
-"In front of me the slope steepened to about 450 and ,I lapsed into the steady rhythm of plodding uphill towards the gully out of which tumbled the stream. I made good time to reach the base of the gully, as there were few things in my pack to slow progress - from memory, a lunch snack, parka and first-aid kit. A light pack takes much of the heat out of going uphill.
+"In front of me the slope steepened to about 45 degrees and I lapsed into the steady rhythm of plodding uphill towards the gully out of which tumbled the stream. I made good time to reach the base of the gully, as there were few things in my pack to slow progress - from memory, a lunch snack, parka and first-aid kit. A light pack takes much of the heat out of going uphill.
-"I had not intended to go any higher but the morning was still early and it seemed a good idea to scramble up the gully a little farther to see if the source of the river could be reached. The gully was filled with mostly large rocks and some snow, and picking my way upwards using hands and feet, I soon stood at the head of the gully. Ahead of me was a snow-filled notch and beneath water gurgled. There was a narrow rock ledge on the true left and it came out on a ridge about 30' above. From there on it was an easy walk across rock and snow to the small snow- filled basin and ice-covered tarns which are the headwaters of the Travers River. Rainbow Saddle lay beyond. The snow was fresh from a storm which had cleared two days before, and it crunched underfoot as I wandered quietly around the basin. It was the only sound. When I stopped the silence was complete."
+"I had not intended to go any higher but the morning was still early and it seemed a good idea to scramble up the gully a little farther to see if the source of the river could be reached. The gully was filled with mostly large rocks and some snow, and picking my way upwards using hands and feet, I soon stood at the head of the gully. Ahead of me was a snow-filled notch and beneath water gurgled. There was a narrow rock ledge on the true left and it came out on a ridge about 30' above. From there on it was an easy walk across rock and snow to the small snow filled basin and ice-covered tarns which are the headwaters of the Travers River. Rainbow Saddle lay beyond. The snow was fresh from a storm which had cleared two days before, and it crunched underfoot as I wandered quietly around the basin. It was the only sound. When I stopped the silence was complete."
-The Travers will draw me back one day, as it has done before, probably in the autumn when it is quiet and there are few people about. I like it that way. It will be a time to again walk the length of the valley following the river from the lake's edge to the twin tarns below Rainbow Saddle, and to scramble to the tops along its serrated flanks. And there willbe fresh opportunities to go farther into side valleys such as the Arnst and up into the Cupola Basin.
+The Travers will draw me back one day, as it has done before, probably in the autumn when it is quiet and there are few people about. I like it that way. It will be a time to again walk the length of the valley following the river from the lake's edge to the twin tarns below Rainbow Saddle, and to scramble to the tops along its serrated flanks. And there will be fresh opportunities to go farther into side valleys such as the Arnst and up into the Cupola Basin.
 When it is time to go "up the Travers" again I will give members plenty of notice of the walk so that they might consider joining me. A valley in mind and not too far away.
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 KANANGRA BOYD N.P. 22ND - 23RD JUNE, '85
-__How to get there__ - Drive to JENOLAN CAVES and continue towards KANANGRA WALLS. Follow TE> or S &R signs from the BOYD RIVER CROSSING to base.
+__How to get there__ - Drive to JENOLAN CAVES and continue towards KANANGRA WALLS. Follow FBW or S & R HQ signs from the BOYD RIVER CROSSING to base.
 __Activities__ - 7.30 a.m. start for instruction, radio practice, stretcher hauling etc.. Saturday night - CAMPFIRE / SLIDE SHOW / BUSH MUSIC - DANCING