Nature Tourism - History in the making, hiking tracks; Eldrig Peak, Fiordland or Te Rua-o-Te-Moko National Park hike, Part 2

• Main Author: Wilson, Mark Y (NZ Hikes)
• Format: Image
• Language: English

Content Partner: Central and Western Murihiku Southland Archive. Eldrig Peak (1595m) - Part Two. Hunter Mountains. Fiordland or Te Rua-o-Te-Moko National Park, on 22.11.2013. Images above taken by Mark Y Wilson and shared under a CC BY Creative Commons Licence. The text below is also licensed CC BY to Mark Y Wilson. Borland Adventures shared by Mark Y Wilson, NZ Hikes: When playing a game of ‘climb the mountain’ you have a lot of aspects to look at to make sure you survive the game. Experience is the most valuable tool you can have in the mountains, and sometimes you get this experience very unexpectedly. Having reasonably clear skies in three directions doesn’t mean you're all good, as there can be potential danger lurking just out of sight. High up on Mt Eldrig (1595m) I had no idea there were clouds approaching from the west (out of sight) that would take away not only the views, but also the visibility of my escape off the mountain. In hindsight I would recommend climbing the peak via the south west ridge, as the rock on the north east is loose in areas and it makes the traverse between the ridges high points 'interesting' in places. I managed to make it to the summit after some delicate maneuvers, and got amazing views. The lower valleys were cloaked in thick clouds, and all major peaks in the area stood alone like islands in a sea of white. With clouds starting to swirl around as it lifted from the valleys in the west I took in the epic view for a few minutes, then began my retreat off the mountain. I started heading towards the large basin on the east side of Mt Eldrig (1595m), and about ten minutes after leaving the summit the clouds closed in. It was amazing how quickly it went from clear to fog, and now I had around 5 meters visibility and was still up high away from the marked track back to my van. Every now and then I got glimpses of the tarns in the basin below, and had to trust my nose in places, hoping to find the start of the track. At one point I realised I had walked too low and had to deal with the clamber back up to the route. I eventually found the rough track in the scrub and into the forest, which I followed back to the power-line access road in the Borland Valley, also thankfully spotting the glorious giant orange triangle marking the start of the track back into the forest. It was still a couple hundred meters away, but I now knew what direction to travel in, and that was all I needed to get me back to the safety of the track. With