The weather forecast for snow for the weekend up the Macaulay Valley threw the trip into doubt for some. But in the past other trips up the wide open spaces of the magnificent Macaulay Valley have begun with the same forecast and have turned out fine, so it was a case of, “just let’s go and see.”
So Jeff Anderson and co-driver Ken McKenzie and Pam and her co-driver stayed the Friday night at the Omarama pub, while the Hansens crowd stayed at the Godley Hotel in Tekapo. Others were planning to leave early Saturday morning. Friday night texts were flying fast and furious between all parties concerned to find out whether the Lindis Pass was still passable and to find out from those who had made it how slippery it was. We didn’t need chains but caution was need on the descent as there was far more snow on the northern side.
We imbibed in the local hospitality at the pub catching up with a number of farmers including the humorous Peter Cassily, the first shearer to lighten the late merino wether, Shrek, of his 27 kilos of outer garments.
At some very early hour on Saturday morning the nameless club president thought he’d wake the Omarama crowd up with a tune from the Aruger as he passed the camping ground not realizing that we were all staying at the hotel. After a large cooked country breakfast we headed off into the snow flurries for Lake Tekapo.
We all met up at the Doughboy café in Tekapo instead of the carpark to shelter from the snow as it was falling heavily at this stage. But the owners were saving on their heating bill so we downed our coffee and listened to a quick briefing from trip leader, Dean. It was still a “just let’s go and see,” scenario with the proviso that if members decide to retreat that they do so in no less than two vehicles.
So Dean gathered the $5.00 donation for the McKenzie Trust hut fees and we set off up the eastern side of Lake Tekapo following Dean and his co-driver Leigh in a wee Suzuki. The falling snow abated but the low cloud prevented us from seeing the tops. Once onto the riverbed we had a few u-turns, as you do, tracing the 4wd track. The snow on the ground became thicker as we climbed gently towards the Macaulay Hut making the ride a little smoother. The wind also became stronger too. As we neared the hut we could see two Hilux’s parked outside. That was always a good sign as you knew the hut would be warm, which it was. But the occupants, 4 students from Lincoln College on a Thar hunt, hadn’t quite expected a rowdy lot from seven vehicles to descend on their patch so they scarpered off to another valley.
After lunch the Hansen’s crowd decided to retreat not wanting to risk being snowbound for the weekend, so they set off back down the valley in a convoy of three vehicles. Not long after that our trip leader, Dean thought he’d see how hard it was to get lost in a blizzard and disappeared on foot for a couple of hours. After his return the hut quietened down and most had a power nap.
Once we all woke up the bottle tops were thrown away and the lies started. After dinner some listened to the rugby final on Bert’s radio through the window and others continued to solve the world’s problems. In between this we snuck outside a couple of times to shift the vehicles a few inches to prevent being stuck in the morning as the snow was falling heavily and blustering in all directions.
Sunday morning the snow was still blustering around the valley so we packed up and drove back out barely being able to follow the tracks from the previous day. Several times we had to stop as we were unable to see the vehicle in front. Once out of the Macaulay Valley we were out of the swirling snow and the sun shone. The snow glistening on the Round Hill ski field and Lake Tekapo looked a brilliant aqua-blue surrounded by brilliant white snow. The weather back up the Macaulay Valley still looked dramatic and moody.
After a quick camera and lollies stop we carried on round the corner to Lillybank Lodge. The staff there were feeding out to the large herds of red deer, a few fallow and a few stags. We stopped to look at the herd of Thar. The manes of the bulls wafted gently in the wind.
We then carried on down the eastern side on the lake back to a much warmer café in Tekapo for a de-briefing.
Report by Pam
check out our photos of the Macaulay Valley trip