Gentle Annie Track

Mt Holdsworth

page 4

We are again climbing, and the trees thin out once more

Here's a young maire. The DoC map notes have reference to a "mountain" maire, but I haven't seen anything significantly different from what I'm used to - so far, at any rate.

Not my best pic but I include it for the maire berries - the first time I have seen them.

The play of late morning light and shadow is simply amazing. It's one of those things you become aware of when you stop and make room for a bigger picture. Like looking up at the sky through the canopy.

November. This stuff is a bit more recent than the stuff down the valley. Six months, I believe, before the baits and bodies killed by them cease to be actively poisonous. I keep Alice a little more close-hauled.

This is almost fairyland walking. I could easily see this as an illustration in a children's book, especially one from some years back.

However, it's not all like this.

The DoC map notes tell me that the predominant species of totara in this area is Hall's totara, a relatively smooth-barked form.

Once again, a slight downhill trend, and I am still taken with the shadow pattern on the track.

Here we are at the turnoff to Totara Flats Hut. Note the estimated distances and times. Mountain House to Powell looks tough going. And again I stop for a minute to appreciate the sheer enormity of the task that was building the huts, cutting all of these tracks, signposting and maintaining them to the standard it's so easy to take for granted. I'd love to catch up with some of the pioneers in this work.

The bush is mossier, and vaguely reminiscent of the ridge up to Panekiri Hut on the Waikaremoana Lake Track.

We continue.

We're heading out towards Pig Flat, an elevated area of relatively open wetland and scrub. The trees are looking more than somewhat weatherbeaten.

Here's a decayed fallen log sporting a patch of alpine dracophyllum. To the left is one of the small-leaved coprosmas. I'm getting my head around those at the rate of about one a year. I shall need to live for some considerable time yet.