Mangatarere Valley

7 Mangatarere road-end and Carrington track

Access: Chester Rd branches off SH2 at Clareville, 2 kilometres N of the Carterton PO, and is well signposted. Mangatarere Rd turns off Chester Rd after 5.2 km. A slightly dodgy concrete ford is reached 11.6 km up Mangatarere Rd, with the road-end 1 km beyond at the conifers of an old homestead site.

Overview: This road-end has no facilities and gives access to Totara Flats, and to the old Carrington Track. The minor stream branches are seldom travelled.

7.1 Mangatarere to Totara Flats QOT

Just past the road-end, Mangatarere Stream forks and up the branch straight ahead (northerly), two routes lead to Totara Flats. These are the shortest routes to Totara Flats.

For both routes, first follow the northerly farm road up-valley for 5 minutes beyond the stream forks to where a small valley joins from the W. Cross the main stream above this junction and find a route up the spur. After 20 minutes the scrub and fern give way to better bush, and an hour later a short grunt gives way to a flatter section. On the way down watch for this point carefully, as the track drops sharply R off the flat spur, while the game trail tempts one straight ahead.

Twenty minutes beyond the flat spur section and just before the top of the spur, the track forks. Both branches go to Totara Flats: the L to Sayer Hut, and the R to the Totara Creek–Waiohine River junction.

«» To Sayer Hut at Totara Flats

From the track forks above, the track to Sayer Hut sidles L around the spur-top knob for 2 minutes to regain the ridge S. Continue along the ridge and in 10 minutes the track to Sayer Hut drops off to the R.

From the spur top to the hut, Sayer Track drops steadily, finishing with a 30-minute series of zig-zags. The track is well padded but not otherwise well marked. If it is lost on the zig-zags, pick it up again towards the spur crest overlooking Sayer Creek. The hut will be found 5 minutes beyond the foot of the hill in the grass clearings, about 90 minutes from the top and 2½ hours or so from the farm road.

«» To Totara Creek Junction

This route is less well padded and care is needed in places – so perhaps OT+ grade. From the track forks near the top of the Mangatarere spur, swing R around the knob to gain the ridge N in 2 minutes at a tiny flaxy swamp. Continue N along the ridge for 8 minutes. The route to Totara Junction now turns sharply L, while that for the Totara Creek headwater saddle continues on. (This is the low saddle beyond 575 between Totara and Carrington Creeks.)

The route soon drops, heading NW down the increasingly well-defined spur. Towards the foot of the spur there are several large windfalls that examine bushcraft skills. Once the high bush terrace is reached, head NW toward the Totara Creek edge. From the terrace-edge drop downstream to reach Totara Creek opposite the lower edge of the first grass flats on the TR up from the bridge. Fifty minutes down the spur and a little over 2 hours from the farm road.

7.2 Carrington Ridge QOT

This pleasant route is seldom used now as the new, graded Gentle Annie Track to Mountain House by-passes its top. Follow Carrington Creek to the bend at (NZMS260 S26 159 275), about 10 minutes above its major forks, where an old logging track cuts across a terrace on the TL. Towards the end of this terrace, old discs may be seen marking the start of Carrington Track. Steep at first, but soon giving good going, it reaches the old Gentle Annie Track at point 801 in about 2 hours. From the spur top the old Gentle Annie may be followed NW to join the new graded trail. Windfalls low down on the spur are a little testing on the descent.