Routes
Huts / campsites
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DOC Land
Altitude: 201m to 1229m. Gain: 1551m. Loss: 1547m . Gradient: 5 deg (Moderate-hard)
Skills: Prolonged scrambles (4/7) - Occasional rivers (3/6)
Altitude: 207m to 244m. Gain: 22m. Loss: 51m . Gradient: 1 deg (Gentle)
Skills: - Streams (2/6)
A marked route / trapline runs down the western (true right) bank of the Glaisnock from Henderson Burn to Glaisnock Hut. The track/route leaves the river at the last bend before the hut and follows the base of the western valleyside to the hut.
There are good bush campspots on the south side of the Henderson on the track. Other than Henderson Burn there are no major creeks to cross.
Henderson -> Hut: 1.5-3 hrs
Altitude: 236m to 395m. Gain: 8m. Loss: 167m . Gradient: 2 deg (Gentle)
Skills: - Occasional rivers (3/6)
A reasonable maintained marked route / trapline runs down the true right (south) of the Glaisnock from the Taheke confluence to Henderson Burn. The henderson Burn is knee deep and slippery in normal flows and can easily become impassable after rain. A rope is sometimes present to aid the crossing, but had been severed when I visited.
With the exception of the Henderson Burn itself there are no major creeks to cross. The track is marked intermittently with tape and blue triangles.
Good bush campspots exist on the track at the Taheke forks, Nitz forks and on the downstream side of the Henderson Burn.
Times:
Taheke-Kakapo: 0.75-1.5 hrs
Kapako-Nitz: 0.5-1 hrs
Nitz-Henderson: 0.5-1 hrs
Altitude: 395m to 872m. Gain: 111m. Loss: 572m . Gradient: 7 deg (Moderate)
Skills: Occasional scrambles (3/7) - Occasional rivers (3/6)
From the boggy Taheke Saddle, follow the stream down, passing the two tarns on their western side. Deer trails lead through / over the scrubby headlands. From the lake outlet follow the tussock tongue down into scrubby beech, and then pick up deer trails leading you down the valley. Initially the going is slow and scrubby on the true right, but after a while deer trails cross to the true left and enter stunted but mossy open forest.
Once on the flat valley floor, and below the first main forks entering from the east, look out for where trails cross back to the true right as one of the clearings here is well-drained, sandy/grassy providing good dry camping (though prone to morning dew/frost).
Below the clearings the river starts to drop steeply into the Glaisnock. Travel is best on deer trails on the true right. A large boulderfield presents difficulties, with deer trails petering out. I found the boulder riverbed on the true right provided the best scramble-route down through this, with brief detours onto the western face around impassable falls. Soon after the last of the boulders the main Glaisnock valley is reached. The track up/down the Glaisnock valley is on the true right (southern) bank and so it is necessary to cross the Glaisnock. This crossing was a dry-foot boulder hop 1 day after moderate rainfall - so should normally not be a problem - but could easily be impassable in or soon after a big rain event. The track will be found on the riverbank and is marked with tape and blue triangles.
A good prepared bush campspot exists on the track at the forks.
Saddle -> Forks: 4-8 hours
Altitude: 700m to 1229m. Gain: 561m. Loss: 661m . Gradient: 21 deg (Moderate-hard)
Skills: Prolonged scrambles (4/7) - Streams (2/6)
From the Worsley Rock Biv, follow the terrace south of the river downstream to the escarpment above the main valley, and follow deer trails down into the main valley below, avoiding waterfalls in the creek itself. Follow the creek down to where a shungle gully / chute drops from the northern valleyside.
The beech spur (the uppermost in the valley) which climbs up the southern valleyside directly opposite the shingle chute/gully leads directly to the pass into the southern branch of the Wild Natives. Follow steep boggy deer trails up the beech spur, keeping west of the small sidecreek and emerge onto tussock faces. Climb steep tussock to the pass visible above.
Small tarns exist at the pass with dry campspots exposed to the southerly.
From the pass, angle SSE down the obvious ramp beyond which leads directly towards the tarns of the Taheke Saddle visible across the valley - keeping close to the base of bluffs. Reaching the start of the drop-off into the southern branch, swing ESE, still keeping close to bluffs and pass the head of one gully, picking up very strong deer trails dropping into the second gully of the three that descend SE to the valley below (the 1st gully descends directly from the ramp, and soon bluffs out; the third gully (Mentioned by Moir's) is visible descending from higher up the mountain just to the east). Note that the deer trails are important - if you are not seeing deer trails then you are probably descending the wrong gully which will lead to impassable bluffs.
The deer trails start by descending the spur on the true right of the gully but are steep and exposed - you may find it safer to scramble down dry waterfalls int the gully itself for all of this upper part. Half way down, entering scrub, pick up the strong deer trail as it leaves the gully and descends the spur on the true left - all the way to the valley floor.
On the way down into the Wild Natives, look out for the broad sparsely vegetated creek angling east up the face opposite from below the Taheke saddle - this is the easiest route up to Taheke, leaving you with just a short sidle from the busedge to the saddle itself.
Altitude: 493m to 1017m. Gain: 532m. Loss: 69m . Gradient: 13 deg (Moderate)
Skills: Alpine weather (2/7) - Occasional rivers (3/6)
Leave the marked DOC track where it crosses the south branch of thew Wosley River above the forks and continue up the north bank of the river to the falls. A reasonable but very steep bush scramble exists up the vegetated spur between the waterfall in the main river and the waterfall in a small side-creek 20m to the north. Once above the waterfall you pick up deer trails which make a sidling-climb up the south branch of the Worsley. The trick is to remain on good trails in the scrubby by passable beech (above thick rocky near-impassable scrub near the river) without being led by deer trails up out of the valley onto faces above. Two thick scrubby gullies descend from the faces above and must be crossed - deer trails can help but are vague in thick scrub.
Soon after the second gully a brief dry terrace in the bush offers the only flat dry camp spots I saw in the upper valley.
Not long after the second scrubby gully the valley enters a massive boulderfield covered with thick scrub and fern hiding numerous deep holes and channels. Deer trails become near impossible to follow and the best approach seemed to take a tough, direct route through the boulderfield back into good beech forest beyond and upstream. Reasonable deer trails then lead through scrubby beech to the bushedge.
Above the bushedge narrow marshy clearings follow the river until the entire valley opens to marshy tussock at the point the river swings north. Leave the river and valley and climb due west to the obvious saddle on the western valleyside: the Worsley Pass.
Looking 300m west of the saddle into the head of the Wild Natives river a boulderfield consisting of a single large boulder surrounded by many smaller ones is visible 100m from the river on a terrace on the southern valleyside. The largest boulder is the Worsley Rock Biv - with good sandy flat shelter on the western side - large enough for a couple of tents with much more dry but uneven space for cooking, etc. The last 50m to the biv is very scrubby and water is hard to find at the biv site, so collect some from creek before you make the scrub-bash.
Exposed flay dry campspots also exist on the brow of the escarpment 200m west of the biv.
Forks to Biv 2.5-4 hours
Altitude: 201m to 495m. Gain: 317m. Loss: 27m . Gradient: 1 deg (Moderate)
Skills: - Occasional rivers (3/6)
A cut / marked DOC track runs up the north (true left) of the Worsley from Worsley Hut to the forks with the Castle. Sections have been washed away by the river and are replaced by rough taped routes.
Good camp spots exist on the northern side of the Worsley at the forks.
The DOC trap line / track crosses to the southern bank of the Worsley at Castle creek. The crossing was moderately swift and knee to thigh deep after a day of moderate rainfall. The crossing could easily become impassable. The Castle was slightly easier to cross - shin deep with a good bar to follow. Beyond here, the track remains on the southern bank all the way to the forks at the head of the valley. If the Worsley is impassable, travel up the northern bank is also possible as far as the Prospect - where the size of the river is much reduced.
Following the track up the southern bank, the forks with Terminus Creek are reached in 1-2 hours. The next forks with Prospect are reached 1-2 hours beyond Terminus. I cannot comment on the quality of this track between Castle and Prospect as I followed the northern bank to the Prospect, which consisted of rough deer trails and a couple of steep scrambles over bluffs.
Upstream of the Prospect, the DOC track / trapline continues up the southern bank of the Worsley. The track soon leaves the riverside and follows a small sidecreek as it climbs a ramp on the southern valleyside. The main river can be heard roaring over steep rocky terrain below. Crossing the small creek the track heads up a spur between the sidecreek and the next, climbing increasingly steeply before turning to cross the next rocky sidecreek and sidling flat up-valley. Soon the track drops back to the main river flats above the gorge
Not long after returning to the valley floor the track emerges onto the aptly-named Bog Clearings. An area of these clearings near the river at the downriver end consists of dry grassy river terraces with excellent camping. The remainder are ankle deep marsh. The track is poorly poled and marked with tape across the clearings and easy to lose.
From the head of Bog Clearings the track / trapline become better marked, following the southern (true right) river bank as the creek begins to climb towards the forks. About 100m above the forks the track crosses the southern branch of the Worsley and swings north to head up the north branch. Those heading up the south branch towards the Worsley Pass need to leave the track just after this crossing.
The crossing was knee deep and simple after a day of light rain - though could flood in heavy rain.
Hut -> Castle 2-3 hrs
Castle -> Terminus 1-2 hrs
Terminus -> Prospect 1-2 hrs
Prospect -> Forks 2.5-4 hrs