A frosty start preceded a stiff climb through limestone rock bands, interspersed with tough alpine scrub. We were glad of a foot-trail and the occasional cairn left by cavers. We dropped our packs to look for the entrance to Bulmer Cave, at 75km, the longest in New Zealand. Some cave entrances hide the extent of the complexes within but not Bulmer, it is a massive, appropriate entrance to the underworld. We reclaimed our packs to continue through Castle Basin, a major valley system with underground drainage, across the ridge separating it from Poverty Basin. We traversed the length of this basin to cross between Replica Hill and Mt Owen. Route-finding through the saddle to the central Sentinel Basin was difficult as many routes ended in cliffs, requiring some narrow gully descents. Arriving at the main route to Mt Owen required a decision. We were going to ascend Mt Owen for our exit via Sunrise Ridge, but we could not be certain fine weather would continue, so the decision was made to leave packs and climb Mt Owen that afternoon. The views were certainly worth it and the ascent enabled us to pick a potential campsite part-way down Sunrise Ridge and also identify an unoccupied tarn in the densely tent-sited Sentinel Basin. A high cloud layer and constantly changing light conditions made the sunset from our campsite incredible.
Our additional day took in Mt Bell, the second highest peak, which was conveniently close to our campsite. Ascent, adjacent to a large scree fan, led to a ridge that continued in a series of peaks, until we reached the top. Raymond, unfortunately, checked his map and found we still weren’t there, so we continued on to yet another peak. The final summit gave splendid views across to Mt Owen and the hordes who were occupying that destination. The descent was swift, amazing Liz, who had not been exposed to the advantages of scree-running in Golden Bay. We headed back to the campsite and picked up Suze and Arrun. Arrun had been resting his knee. As we headed back up Mt Owen, this time with full packs, day-trippers were heading down. We went over the top to the start of Sunrise Ridge to a flat campsite with a tarn water supply below. Another sunset entertained us as we played ziltch. Debbie won, claiming it was mere beginner’s luck, despite the efforts of Suze, the ultimate gambler.
We awoke to find ourselves above thick valley cloud, with only the highest peaks of the ranges to the west peeking through. A short side-trip further up Sunrise Ridge let us view an impossible-looking route ahead, so down we went, through the rock maze, along the tussock valley and down to Sunrise Peak, which was rapidly disappearing as the cloud level rose. A day-tramper appeared from below and we descended steep tussock slopes where he had appeared. Unfortunately, he had ascended several hundred metres away and turned towards us when he heard our voices in the mist. The difference was significant as we encountered a series of small bluffs with scant vegetation in places. Even spaniard plants were welcomed as handholds as we inched our way down. Finally, we reached easier terrain with snow-poles leading to the marked track at the bushline—time for another fire for a lunch-time brew. The track was steep but aching knees were treated to a refreshing swim on reaching the Owen River at the Bulmer Creek confluence, before the final walk back to the cars.
