MIDWINTER: Sabine/D'Urville loop

*Disclaimer* If you're interested in coming book your ferry as soon as you can as spots will sell out quickly

Overview:

Planning on doing a 7 day tramp through Nelson lakes by walking up the Sabine valley and down the D-Urville valley, including Moss Pass. All up should take about 9 days including travel there and back. This trip is going to be limited to 8 people otherwise it turns into a group outing, so only two cars.

The Plan:

Catch the 8:15am Bluebridge ferry on Saturday and arrive in Picton around 12pm that same day. Grab any last minute food that we didn’t manage to get in Wellington and drive the 1h30min drive to St Arnaud to the road end and plan to leave the car park ~3pm. Walk into a bushline hut and stay the night. Shoot up to Angelus hut the next day for lunch and back down to Sabine for the night. The way we walk the loop depends on the weather as we need good weather to cross the moss pass. If the weather is looking good, walk to West Sabine for lunch and make our way up to Blue Lake hut for that night. We can have a hut day if we need to either wait out the weather or just because we want to to check out the lakes etc. Do the crossing hopefully without incident and make our ways to George Lyon hut on the other side of the pass. Then to Morgan hut the next day for the night. Stay at D’Urville hut the next night and walk all the way back out past Sabine and Spear Grass hut.

2nd July - 8:15am ferry arrive Picton ~12pm, drive to St Arnaud and start walking ~3pm, get to bushline by 6 (~1-3 hrs)

3rd July - Leave bushline early to get upto Angelus to have lunch, back down to Sabine for the night (~7hrs)

4th July - Leave Sabine early again to get to West Sabine for lunch and then upto Blue Lake for the night (~8hrs)

5th July - Planned hut day for rest to explore lakes (unless weather was terrible for that day then we have to cross)

6th July - Leave Blue Lake for the pass, leave early incase anything takes longer, then down to George Lyon (~9hrs)

7th July - George Lyon to Morgan hut (~4hrs)

8th July - Morgan hut to D’Urville hut (~4hrs)

9th July - Walk all the way out from D’Urville to road end and stay a night in a backpackers in picton (~5hrs)

10th July - Catch 2pm ferry back to wellington

 

Topo Map:

Gear:

Multi day gear: Overnighter

 Alpine gear:  Alpine gear

as well as PLB’s and mountain radio

The club will provide the ice gear (Crampons, Ice axe and helmets)

Food Ideas??:

Rice, pasta, vermicelli base

Premade sauces to go on top

Dried meat and nuts for protein source (Chorizo, Biersticks, Cashews etc)

Veggies for the first two days to save meat for later on

1-2 back country meals just in case

Costs:

Ferry: $110 return walkon + ($352 / 4 = $88 

*Cost for car split by 4 people in car*) = $198 return trip pp

Fuel: $50 pp

Food: $50 pp

Backpackers: $20

Total Cost: ~$320 pp