Highs and lows on the Dragons Teeth

Douglas Range, Kahurangi National Park

Three imposing rocky pinnacles tower over the headwaters of the Anatoki River, the Dragons Teeth. We owe Frank and Berna Soper and Keith Marshall of the Golden Bay Alpine and Tramping Club (GBATC) for this invocative name, which was officially gazetted in 1968 (it’s a shame they missed out an apostrophe, as three one-toothed dragons are a far less frightening image).

Organising tramping expeditions to the South Island from the North are always a gamble. Plans must be set in motion far before forecasts are ever drawn up. Despite this, by some miracle when Emily and I landed in Blenheim the skies were clear and the outlook over Golden Bay was, for the most part, looking golden. We hitched down to Kaikōura to pick up my parents spare car before driving up to Collingwood via St Arnaud. Sitting outside the Collingwood Tavern we mulled our plans for the coming days as the sun set. Through the kindness of strangers we had managed to arrange a ride for the following morning down the Aorere Valley to the start of the track to Boulder Lake. From here we would climb to Boulder Lake Hut. The following day we would cross the tops to Adelaide tarn, setting us up to tackle the Dragons Teeth the day after.