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A GPS that tells you where you are is entirely useful as well.
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This is one route where a decent map is essential. maps and GPS | Dragons Teeth route, Kahurangi National Park Occasionally there may be snow in winter along the ridges, Dragons Teeth/Anatoki Peak, or on the south side of Waingaro Peak, but it seldom lasts long.
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Better to climb steep slopes than descend.Ĭlick to view larger, more interactive topographic map from, err, .nz distance | Dragons Teeth route, Kahurangi National Parkĥ5 km one way, James Road carpark in the north to the Trilobite Hut carpark in the south time | Dragons Teeth route, Kahurangi National Parkĥ days usually when | Dragons Teeth route, Kahurangi National ParkĪnytime but probably best when there are longer and warmer days, ie, the summer months, November to April. It is best to go north-south to avoid issues with the bluffs around Dragons Teeth/Anatoki Peak. where | Dragons Teeth route, Kahurangi National ParkĮnd of James Road, Aorere River valley, near Bainham to the Trilobite Hut carpark near the Cobb Reservoir. Overall it’s a plenty demanding experience, best suited to very fit and able trampers. Unless you’re comfortable with scrambling perilously, the Low Route is the obvious choice. That’s mostly in forest on an unmarked, actually barely discernible, other than an occasional rock cairn, track, ie, it’s mostly a bush bash due to the limited numbers of parties traversing the route each year. The Low Route avoids that drama, at the cost of dropping 700 m into the upper Anatoki River, then climbing 800 m past the Drunken Sailors. It’s fairly bluffy, particularly if you try to make your own way rather than following the most used path. One is termed the High Route, climbing amongst bluffs on Dragons Teeth/Anatoki Peak, a few spots climbing steep banks holding onto stray vegetation, not a lot in the 30 m immediately below your feet to raise the heartbeat rate, a rope is useful in places to haul packs. There are two options for the route from Adelaide Tarn to Lonely Lake, note that it is significantly easier to travel in that direction, ie, north to south. Elsewhere there’s couple of places where you’re searching for hand and foot holds, where those without a head for heights will be considerably nervous. The Kakapo scree, that’s loose rock on a slope, is around 150 m to scramble across, with a combination of marbles and dinner plate sized rocks, and it sure looks a long way down if you lose your footing. There’s a stretch of nasty scree with a significant drop off at both ends, one at Brown Cow, another under Kakapo Peak that many, most, might find daunting. There are occasional rock cairns for the observant. The vigilant can follow where others have been along the ridges, there’s no trail shown on the LINZ topo maps. There’s no real marked track except up to Boulder Lake, and south from Kakapo Peak at the other end. Otherwise, being entirely exposed to the elements, it really ain’t the place to be. Much of the time there is no one else up there. It’s not a particularly popular route, not so many people up there. There’s some small, make that tiny, huts for accommodation, some beautiful alpine lakes surrounded by higher mountains: Boulder Lake, Adelaide Tarn and Lonely Lake. The good bits: you have two days walking along a long sharp ridge that gives great views: west, right into the heart of the Kahurangi National Park and east down into the Anatoki valley. It sure is exhilarating up there amongst the crazy, jagged Dragons Teeth/Anatoki Peak. This isn’t your standard DOC marked track. For experienced trail adventurers only, and that would be 0.001% of the population, the Dragons Teeth offers a decent challenge.