I recently tried a climb up this mountain just west of the divide in Arthurs. Found a few things you may like to know if you try it...
I asked at the AP Visitor centre, and they just gave the stock information that is in the various books, go up the Eastern track, then down the western one. Plus a note that part of the track had a slip. Here is the view from the top of the viaduct that morning..
So away I went, the Eastern track start is signposted just over the Rolleston River bridge (downhill direction).
Track starts out just fine, very well cleared and leads you on nicely up the hill, blazed well with markers.
Then after an hour or so, you come to a bit of a clearing, which is the old slip. Charge across this to the other side and look for the track to start up the hill again on a similar line to where it left. After a bit of wandering around I seemed to have a track to follow, and it started up the hill a bit more in a zig-zag. No nice blazes though. Then it took me right back into the slip debris! And I should point out that this slip looks about 20 years old, the pittosporum and such are about 2-4m high on it in places. After some more indecision on whether I had the track, I spotted some blue plastic 'insulation tape' on a bush - could this be a marker? After blundering up the hill a bit further, I eventually found another. And then another.. They were spaced just far enough apart that you could never really be sure whether you were on a track or not.
Down the slip... And ________________________________This marker was also deceptive, just goes nowhere!
And anyway, was this just a possuming track or an intended path? While the bush was not too hard to make your way thru it is fairly steep and it was much better described as 'hauling up / falling about' than 'climbing' implies.
Eventually after making my way up most of the slip, so much time had been wasted, that I decided 'I'd lost the moon' (in the famous words of the Apollo astronauts) and it was time to retreat.
So I blundered back down the slip area again, until I got to where I thought the track started again. But one bit of a slip looks quite like another really.. I knew I was pretty close to the right point, there was some nice Rata flowering, and one or 2 large trees in the middle of the slip. But I now spent another half hour or so radiating up and down and around this area, one minute certain I was onto it, then immediately coming to something that didnt fit my memory of things at all.
View down on the Rolleston river bridge.
Eventually, I did find the darned track, and somewhat teed off with this particular track, wandered back down to the car. And along the way, I got to thinking about the advice in the books and whether my initial instinct from the map to go up the other way was better advised.
So I went to what looked like the other end of the track, couldn't see any signs, so parked and got ready for another explore. No sooner had I parked than the car than the local motel owner acosted me that I was parking on private property, and would have to go elsewhere. (Parking a problem on the outskirts of Otira, just how many cars are likely to park here!!) OK time for a bit of sweet-talking, I indicated I was not blocking any access, and I'd only be a few minutes. Actually I was looking for a track and I thought he may know of it... So we got talking of that, and it turned out I should have started from here! He had been doing a bit of maintenance on the track himself at this end and it was his little secret that he led his guests up this hill on his 'private' track. By the end I was being offered all sorts of hospitality, and I think the fact that I was a man of the outdoors made everything alright, overcoming my cheek at parking a fancy very-city-looking car in his bit of Otira.
The sequel has yet to be played out - going up the other way - watch this space for (drum roll) 'The Return to Mt Barron'
I hope this is of use to others!
