Adventure Magazine

Trail snaking its way past Ghost lake.Image by Richard Rossiter While I am impressed with the skill and applaud the achievement of a one-day assault, I was glad to have set aside more time to appreciate this rare experience. There are several aspects of the OGR that must be mentioned in more detail. The birdlife, the accommodation, and the engineering.OGR is a fatal place to venture into if you are a stoat, rat or possum. A network of 1,000 traps, deviously managed by an enthusiastic group of conscientious folks have successfully dispatched over 7,000 of these unwelcome exotics. The benefits add so much to the experience for us visitors. In the few hours it took from the trailhead at Lyell car park to the Lyell hut, I was cheered on by the calls of wrens, tomtits, rifleman, kaka, the inimitable bellbird and my favourite, the curiously cheeky piwakawaka. It was common to see bellbirds from the track, several families of whio alongside the rivers, and I had the pleasure of a robin joining me during a lunch stop between Stern hut and Specimen point. On the last stretch along the Mokihinui River, kea called to each other from the treetops above me. A dawn chorus of native birds is my idea of a perfect wake up call, and the menagerie of birds calling from the native trees around Stern hut take the award for the most cheerful and energetic. Marcus about to tackle the Skyline Steps. Image by Jeff Ward Weka are often seen on the path, sprinting their way into the shrubbery ahead, hooting their annoyance at my intrusion. But in the ultimate confirmation of a successful of the pest eradication programme, kiwi have been heard in the beech forests around Lyell and Ghost Lake hut. To all you folks who work so diligently, and to quote the General manager of the Mokihinui-Lyell Backcountry Trust – take a bow! Nga mihi. Perfectly placed Top Camp Shelter was a welcome refuge from the wind 18//WHERE ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS/#235 Secondly, the accommodation. Lots of thought has gone into the placement, design and building of the huts. Photographs from the legendary Ghost Lake hut confirm it is up there with the best placed back country accommodation in NZ in terms of wide vistas and stunning sunrises and sunsets. Specimen point is also a gem of a site for a hut. Nestled on a small ridge, dominated by steep bush-clad valley walls, and filled with the sounds of the Mokihinui River. Stern hut is the forest-bathing mecca of the trail, nestled amongst regenerating rimu, totara, matai and kahikatea.

PRESENTS A NEW RIDE-THROUGH VIDEO OF GET ALL THE INFO YOU NEED FOR YOUR RIDE PLANNING TIPS POTENTIAL HAZARDS DECISION POINTS Find it free to watch on YouTube, the websites below, or scan the QR code bit.ly/OldGhostRoadVideo By Mountain Safety Council planmywalk.nz oldghostroad.org.nz nzcycletrail.com