OFF the BEATEN TRACK
Wilderness WALK 1200km 58km
I cast my eyes down the map showing the jagged contrours of Kā Tiritiri o te Moana in search of a tramper's peak suitable for a summer trip. I was instantly captivated by the name ‘The Gladiator’, a 2125m peak on an offshoot of the Southern Alps in the wilds of Westland. The route would be into the headwaters of the glacier-fed Karangarua River before traversing the untamed and untracked route to the peak. With this in mind, I set off up the Karangarua with two companions in search of our gladiator.
The route from the Karangarua Bridge began in grassy flats on the river's edge before cutting into the bush. It was a muggy day and every stream was a blessing. A kilometre after the confluence of the Karangarua and the Copland, the track crosses McTaggart Creek then meanders its way through dense bush, slowly climbing the valley and crossing a number of significant unmarked streams. We skirted down
