Stunning diversion
Date: 24 Jan 2004, The Press, Christchurch, page D10
Captions: The Twins, Milford Sound and the Central Darran mountains from Gertrude Saddle. Upper Hollyford Valley and Barrier Peak.

PAT BARRETT makes an awe-inspiring detour off the drive to Milford Sound.

Gertrude Saddle, lying at the head of the mighty Hollyford River in Fiordland National Park, is readily reached off the Milford Highway at the Homer Huts (New Zealand Alpine Club) just 2km before the eastern portal of the Homer Tunnel. It makes an exciting addition to the amazing drive through to Milford Sound and is short enough, if you are moderately fit, to be slotted into a day visit to Milford, especially during the longer summer days.

The walk begins at the Homer Huts, where cars can be left at the large "riverbed" carpark, and follows a gravel track up the eastern side of the river crossing on an old wooden bridge not far from the huts. This section of the walk, through stunted sub-alpine vegetation, is made particularly attractive by the deep blue-green pools in the Hollyford River where it passes beneath tussock terraces and over small waterfalls.

But the really stunning scenery awaits you in the upper valley. After negotiating the winding track through the bush, the forest recedes and you pass into a delightful high alpine valley barely 30 minutes walk from your car.

The track at this point is flat and wanders beside the stream beneath some of Fiordland's most forbidding cliffs. Thin ribbons of water drop for hundreds of metres from hidden snowfields high above the valley, and impossibly steep cracks, walls, buttresses and ribs spiral skywards toward unseen summits. This overwhelming landscape can be reached only by the few bold enough to scale the black walls. After heavy rain the majesty of the valley is transformed again by the torrents of water sluicing off the solid granite faces.

Ahead, the valley appears cut off by the almost featureless south wall of Barrier Peak, yet there is an easy and safe route onwards. In the north-west corner of the upper valley, the stream can be seen as it catapults down a steep watercourse. Here a well-defined track leads upwards on the left side (true right) and crosses to the true left higher up, between two waterfalls.

Above here the route becomes even more interesting as the stream cascades over bare rock slabs and climbs a short steep section, with the aid of a wire rope, to Black Lake - a large alpine tarn set in a deep basin in the rock. Another lake lies unseen above and can be reached from the pass itself.

Above the lake the route continues over the easy-angled bare rock, with only vestiges of the wire rope and standards still remaining. Most have long since been sliced off by the immense avalanches that sweep this route in winter and spring. Note this point if you are attempting this trek during these seasons. It may well be safer to abandon the route long before this point if there is avalanche danger. In an average snow year, there will be little or no danger during late summer and autumn.

Care should be taken as you traverse the slabs above the lake as they are moderately exposed, and if snow covered, an ice axe and crampons are essential equipment. A short section of snow, or broken rocks (depending on the season), beyond the slabs leads directly to the pass.

Here you get a magnificent grandstand view of the central Darran Mountains. To the north and south, the immense black sentinels of The Twins and Mount Talbot block any further peak spotting. Out over the gut- wrenching drop off the western side of the pass lies the deep glacial trench of the Gulliver and Donne rivers, beyond which, and just visible, stands Mitre Peak. Behind you, blocking the Hollyford Valley, the massif of Mount Crosscut with its four summits muscles in above the river.

This is a place to sit and absorb the unimaginable power of nature and of creation.

If it is still, there is a numbing silence to the scene with muted sounds of a distant river barely audible. It is humbling to sit and stare at this incredible scene; no wonder that Captain Cook said of the region, when he sailed past in 1773, "Inland as far as the eye can see, the peaks are so crowded together as to scarce admit any valleys between them".

Be warned - there is no route off the western side of the pass; it falls sheer for 800 metres to the floor of the Gulliver River and was the site of the death of one of Fiordland's early Fiordland explorers, William Quill. In March 1890 he was the first to climb the side Sutherland Falls and discover the lake above, which was named after him. He climbed the falls twice more, but in 1891, when attempting to find a route to Milford, via Gertrude Saddle, he fell into the Gulliver Valley.

Climbing routes are possible above the pass on Talbot and Barrier, but these are only for experienced and suitably equipped parties.

The trek to the pass will have taken approximately 2 1/2 hours, and about half that to return, so there is ample time to absorb the surroundings and the beauty of the Hollyford Valley as you return down it. This is a special region for alpine plants and flowers in sheltered hollows among the rocks and crevices, and much time can be spent seeking them out.

Kea and rock wren may also be encountered along the track, making this a walk of outstanding beauty and interest and one that can be repeated on any subsequent visit to Milford.

Note: If you do not wish to climb to the saddle, the valley still provides a very rewarding walk. Also, be wary of the entire route in bad weather, when the river can flood in minutes, and during winter or after heavy snow when the upper valley can become a death trap due to the extreme and often unseen avalanche danger.

If you are unsure of the conditions contact the Conservation Department in Te Anau.