Tuesday, November 7, 2017

Dalgety Range Summit Ridge, Mackenzie Country.

Mon 06.11.17. I drove SH8 from Pleasant Point to Mackenzie Pass via Fairlie, Burkes Pass, Dog Kennel Corner, Haldon Rd & Mackenzie Pass Rd, the latter 9 kms gravel road to Mackenzie Pass top, between Rollesby Range N, 11 kms long & Dalgety Range S, 18 kms long. Having summited Rollesby Range last week, I wanted to climb to the Dalgety Range summit track, a remote area, far from tourists. The summit track was about 8 kms long with another 3 kms climb needed to summit Mt Dalgety, 1752 m.

Several hundred metres beyond Mackenzie Memorial on Mackenzie Pass, I parked my car at the roadside near a Mackenzie Stream tributary at about 700 m height (Map ref: BZ17 073037) where a grassy farm track marked on my Topo50 map rose to electricity pylons marching across Mackenzie Pass. It was a nor'wester warm, spring morn, so I started my tramp wearing shorts, T shirt, trainers, hat & backpack. Walking stick essential.

After the farm track petered out beyond the pylons, I climbed tussock land & waded though patches of Discaria toumatou matagouri & Aciphylla speargrass till I struck the main farm track zig-zagging up the NW end of Dalgety Range. The farm track climbed E roughly parallel to Mackenzie Pass with grand views of Rollesby Range N & Albury Range E.

When I stopped to catch my breath, turning round I had grand views of arid Mackenzie Basin & snowy peaks: Stafford Range, Ben Ohau Range with Mackenzies Peak, Razorback, Kaimakamaka Peaks, Dun Fiunary, Glentanner, Mt Sealy & others. As usual Mt Sefton & The Footstool were cloudy. Mt Cook further N was clear & snowy, Mt Tasman below ditto. Below those mighty peaks I saw snowy peaks & valleys: Gammack Range, Mt Stevenson, Braemar Dome, Fork River Valley, Mt Joseph, Cass River Valley, snowy hulk Malte Brun above, Hall Range. Looking N across Mackenzie Pass, I saw Rollesby Range with snowy Two Thumbs Range peaks & snowy Sherwood Range peaks beyond.

For a while, Dalgety NW ridge I climbed overlooked Mackenzie Stream SW flowing down a valley & snowy Grampian Range distant SW. As it had snowed last night, the S end of Dalgety Range & Grampian Range summit was sprinkled with fresh snow. En route, a wallaby froze in tussock above me, letting me snap 2 pics. When I said, "Hullo Mister Wallaby," it bounded down hill, joining sheep. I'd encounter 2 more live wallabies on my tramp & 2 dead wallabies, presumably shot at the highest point I reached on the summit track.

After I'd passed 3 farm gates & the top of a slip louring above Mackenzie Pass, the farm track turned sharp S at about 1300 m (Map ref: BZ17 097026) becoming the rocky, summit track winding along Dalgety summit ridge past rocky outcrops & wind funnels. The nor'wester coming off Mackenzie Basin cooled, causing me to become hypothermic, despite having climbed for 2.5 hours. I stopped & put on my winter gear, longs over my shorts, windcheater jacket with hood over my hat, gloves, which soon warmed me.

I wandered the cold, rocky, summit road for about 1 hour viewing alpine plants like Geranium sessiliflorum bronze crane-bill, Carmichaelia crassicaulis coral broom, Carmichaelia monroi dwarf broom, Raoulia scab weed, Celmisias, Dracophyllum prostratum, Gaultheria depressa snowberry, green & yellow Scleranthus, tussocks, Raoulia vegetable sheep at bitterly cold wind funnels. On the summit track I passed three more farm gates & patches of snow which increased towards Mt Dalgety summit, 1752 m.

From the E side of Dalgety summit ridge, I saw Albury Range with green Rollesby Valley below & the tops of Devils Peak & Fiery Peak beyond. E beyond Tengawai River, rolling green hills & farmlands to distant The Brothers hills & the Pacific. SE I saw Mt Nimrod Range & Mt Nessing Range, with a glimpse of green Hakataramea Valley farmlands between Mt Nessing Range & Dalgety Range.

From the W side of Dalgety summit ridge I saw arid Mackenzie Basin & snowy Alpine ranges described above: Stafford, Ben Ohau, Mt Cook, Gammack, Hall... Sprawled across arid Mackenzie Basin were smaller ranges & hills from N to S: Mt John with a glimpse of Lake Tekapo, Old Man Range with Tekapo Military Camp below, Mary Range with a glimpse of Lake Pukaki beyond. SW Grampian Range & Benmore Range. Also a glimpse of Lake Ohau at the S end of Ben Ohau.

On Dalgety summit track I scoffed my scroggin, 3 mandarins & biltong. Water essential, as I was hungry & thirsty after my 3.5 hour climb to a high point on Dalgety summit ridge, 1426 m (Map ref: BZ17 097998). There I found 2 dead wallabies, dessicated & mummified by sun & cold winds. Maybe a hunter had left them there, warning live wallabies, pests in Mackenzie Country. There was still a long way to go on Dalgety summit ridge to Mt Dalgety snowy summit, 1752 m.

I'd planned to tramp to 1588 m on Dalgety summit ridge, where I saw a distant aerial installation. But my Nikon battery expired at the 1426 m high point & the nor'wester was biting, so I returned from whence I came. Tomorrow's another day. I would've needed to tramp another 8 kms along the summit ridge to summit Mt Dalgety, 1752 m.

Stats:

Climb: 700 vertical metres.
Return distance: 12 kms (incl 3 kms farm track climb, Mackenzie Pass Rd to 1300 m start of summit track & 3 kms along summit track to 1426 m).
Times: Return 6 hours (incl 2.5 hours climb to summit track, 1 hour on summit track to 1426 m, 2.5 hours return).

Essentials: Tramping, hill walking fitness, map, backpack, walking stick(s), sturdy shoes, sunglasses, all weather gear, water, food. Cell phone coverage if cell pointed to Mt John.

Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.

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