E & I headed up to Carroll Hut for an overnight tramp on the Kelly Range above Otira in Arthurs Pass National Park.
It’s a steep 600m straight up from the state highway through the beech forest before breaking out above the bushline for the last 200m to the tussock bowl in which Carroll Hut is situated. We encountered the chattiest and friendliest fantails/piwakawaka on the way up the track, including one which followed us for maybe 800m and which we christened “Chirpy”!
We dropped the heavy packs at the hut and headed off for an afternoon exploring along the Kelly Range tops where there are a number of tarns and wide views south to the higher peaks of Arthurs Pass National Park, down into the Taipo River valley and out towards the West Coast.
