A Brief Guide to Mt Titiroa
A 4-day adventure exploring a surreal Fiordland landscape
Just one full day after completing the Mt Owen tramp, my alarm went off at 5am and shortly after I was on an 8-hour drive south to Lake Manapouri. By 3pm, I was on a dinghy crossing Pearl Harbour (the New Zealand rather than Hawaii version, clearly) and a few minutes after that, had 23 kilograms on my back and was making my way towards the granity slopes of Mt Titiroa (1,715m).
It wasn’t long before I was wondering whether I’d bitten off more than I could chew. My body was still feeling pretty wrecked after Mt Owen, and coupled with all those hours in the car, pain levels were high and energy levels were low. Thankfully, the first 2.5 hours to Hope Arm was on an easy gradient and served as the perfect introduction to get my body back up and running again.
At around 9pm I made it to Garnock Burn. By then, the last few days caught up with me and I was relieved to setup camp, eat some dinner, and collapse into my sleeping bag. Rest was definitely needed, as first thing tomorrow I was heading off track and gaining 1,250m elevation. Ahead of me was some of the most mind-blowing landscapes I’ve yet encountered.
Words don’t really do this place justice; enjoy the video and images.
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