Prizegiving

Awesome effort everyone! The Hutbagging Rogaine of 2006-2007 was wrapped up with the prizegiving held on Sunday 20th May after the City Safari. A huge thanks to Mainly Tramping whose sponsorship allowed us to give out some great prizes including day packs, drinking systems, torches and a sleeping bag.

Graham Peters and Janet Wilson were the overall winners with an impressive total of 1564 points gathered over 4 hard days in the Tararuas. It was a hard call judging the best photo and trip report - very inspiring and well worth a look and read. Thanks to everyone who took the time to post something here. Janet Wilson won the photo competition with 'Looking South from near Shoulder knob' and Debbie Mansfield won the prize for best trip report (posted on Friday, 26th January), both of which can be seen below. Spot prizes were awarded to Brent Smith, Richard Davies, Jo Holden and Miriam Jones. Could the spot prize winers who were not at prizegiving please contact the organisers to arrange the colection of your prizes. Prizes will be redrawn if not collected by June 15

Prizegiving will be at the City Safari on Sunday 20 May at 4 pm.

The Safari is based at Frank Kits Park.

Janet and Graham's Hutbagging Trip 4

1.31am 23 March to 00.47am 24 March 2007

Firstly, I'd like to thank the organisers of this event – we certainly felt inspired by the idea and it gave us a good opportunity to push our limits .

Last trip – the forecast looked really good for this one. However, with only 13 hours of daylight to use, this was going to be abit more difficult than our earlier trips.

We slept for a few hours in the car at The Pines Rd end before heading off, at 1.31am, up the easy track towards Mitre Flats. Even though this is easy and well marked, it was good to be quite familiar with the route. We hadn't been up there since the new bridge was built so it was nice to find it is a lot closer to the hut than the previous one. No one was in residence at the hut when we arrived at 4.14am, so we loitered for awhile and had a cup of tea. We were headed for Mid -King Biv and knew that we wouldn't be able to find it in the dark.


Looking towards Jumbo from above Mid-King Biv

It took us awhile but we made it up Sth Mitre Stream to the foot of the spur with dry feet – the true left seems to be the way to go. It got light part way up the easy to follow spur and we didn't have too much trouble finding the biv at 7.40am – would be easier coming down though. After abit of a rest, we climbed up to the top of the ridge, spotting deer on Sth King along the way. It was an absolutely stunning day to be on the tops and it would have been easy to spend lots of time looking at the views. We carried on over Nth King, Adkin and Girdlestone to reach Tarn Ridge hut at 11.01am. Quick stop and then we backtracked to Dorset Ridge Hut – easy to find on a clear day. By the time we'd climbed back up from the hut to Dorset Ridge, we were ½ way through our day.


Dorset Ridge

Decision time – to go or not to go to Carkeek Ridge Hut. Neither of us had ever been there and our planned route was to drop off Dorset Ridge to the N/E into the upper Wiohine, then climb directly on to Carkeek Ridge to a point above the hut – a route shown on some old maps. However, we also wanted to be clear of the bush on McGregor Spur by the time it got dark and we came to the conclusion that we probably didn't have time to get Carkeek – not an easy decision at the time but in hindsight, more than likely the right one. We'll have to do the route some time and see. At this point we could have retraced our steps back over the Kings etc but didn't want to do this so headed off down Dorset Ridge – the worst decision of the day as this is a horrible overgrown difficult thing to follow, going down hill anyway. There are various old intermittent markers but it's probably best not to follow these and to use your compass. We did the last 400m or so as a bush bash but hit the stream as planned right on the forks – never did find the track on that last section. I'm not sure how many hours it took but it was too long!!


The Big Tarn, Dorset Ridge

The river down to Dorset Creek was a nice change to the bush and we easily found the start of the track up McGregor Spur. It's rather overgrown and poorly marked but wasn't too hard to follow uphill .We still only just cleared the bush before dark – the scrubby, leatherwood zone would have been difficult in the dark. The track is well worn in the tussock but we couldn't find any sign leading to the Biv so, at 7pm, it was out with our faithful copy of Tararua Footprints for last minute instructions on how to find it. Easy when you know how!!. We then climbed up on to the ridge again in still perfect conditions to look down on the lights of Masterton. We were back in familiar territory here and didn't have too much trouble following the route over Angle Knob to Jumbo and then down to Jumbo Hut (9.22pm). The hut was crowded and we didn't stay long. Dropped down the well worn trail to Atiwhakatu Hut (10.43pm), and then with a rather overwhelming sense of relief that this
was nearly over, walked out to the Holdsworth Rd end (00.47am), where we'd left our 2nd car. Time for a well earned sleep.

A total of 31 huts for us - 12 of them new huts for me – one less than I had planned for. We did the planning around an average of 3 hours per hut. We're both really pleased that we did this and also that it's now over. We're going to do some slow tramping now – maybe, one or 2 huts a day and plan to go back to some of the new places we seemed to have rushed past.

Janet and Graham's 3rd trip

Hutbagging Trip 3 – 1.11am to 11.22pm 22 February 07
Janet Wilson and Graham Peters


We were off again, only 1 week after the last trip. The weather seemed good and settled and the conditions underfoot in the Tararuas ideal and anyway, I was going to be pretty busy over the next few weeks with the rogaine champs and the TMR.

Back to the eastern side, where we left a car at the Kiriwhakapapa Rd end and started, after takeaways in Eketahuna, at the Putara Rd end at 1.11am. Another lovely but dark night.

Fortunately there was no one at Herepai Hut when we arrived at 2.55am but back down the hill at Roaring Stag (4.40am) the place was crowded with sleeping bodies all over the veranda. We crept around and found the hut book, but judging by the amount of wine bottles on the table, the group there should have been soundly asleep.

Over the river, we spent a few minutes hunting around for the Cattle Ridge track, but we'd done this before and it wasn't too difficult. We reached Cattle Ridge Hut just on dawn (6.31 am) and stopped for photographs. Then it was on towards Dundas – we hadn't done this part of the trip before but it wasn't hard to find the route down to the Ruamahunga – just remember to go down the gut, not long after you start to sidle – look for the marker some way down. Down down down to the river, then up up up to Dundas Hut. We were out in the sun part way up and it felt like it was going to be a hot day. However, as we approached the hut (10am), cloud started blowing over from the west through the saddles and by the time we were on the tops of the ridge it was starting to obscure our route.



Cattle Ridge Hut at dawn



Dundas Hut - left of centre


Cloud on the Dundas Range

Getting to Logan and Dundas isn' t a problem, although the ground trail on this part of the tops isn't quite as well worn as in some other areas. The cloud was coming and going as we dropped off Dundas, following the line of cairns that leads to towards Arete. However, at a critical point where the ridge split, we lost visibility altogether, and chose a slightly wrong spur to the west. We realised our mistake and came back up to retrace our steps, found a line of cairns again and set off. After dropping for a while in the cloud,we checked the altimeter and realised something was wrong – about 100m lower than we needed to go. Checked the compass and realised that we were going 90 degrees wrong towards the west – indeed, this turned out to be the marked route towards Triangle Spur which leads to the Mangahao. Bad,bad, bad navigation. We headed back up and before the top of Dundas, the mist cleared enough to pick the correct route.

The weather was deteriorating with more cloud and the wind picking up. We reached Arete Biv at 1.40pm. This wasn't hard to find as we had been there via the Bannister crossing last summer. On that trip, after 3 awful windy nights stuck in the biv in a storm, we baled out to Arete forks via Arete Stream – not a trip I really want to repeat. So we went along to Pinnacle spur which wasn't very pleasant in the wind, and the spur with all its little up and downs made us rather grumpy. It was good to reach the bush again and Arete Forks Hut at 4.14pm.

After a short rest, on good advice from Tony Gates we went down the river to Cow Creek. This was the best part of the day and was really pleasant – it's abit sporty with plenty of bouldery bits but no deep pools. Saw quite a few trout. We didn't rush and it must have taken about 2 hours. We got into Cow Creek Hut just after 6pm. Tony had also given us good route directions for the next bit to pick up the track to Blue Range. This went well, and we were nearly on the ridge before it got completely dark. Into Blue Range Hut at 9.38pm – the little drop into the hut felt just abit too far at this stage - as did the trip out which is all down hill and not at all hard to follow. Back to the car at 11.22pm -our shortest trip. Good to bag another 8 huts.

Janet and Graham's 2nd Trip

Hutbagging Trip 2 - 2.17am 14 Feb to 1.59am 15 Feb 07
Janet Wilson and Graham Peters

Following the formula from trip one, we left 1 car at the Poads Rd end and drove on to Otaki Forks for a short sleep in the car, before heading of at 2.17am, for Parawai Lodge (first easy points) and WTYY Hut. It was a lovely clear early morning but very dark with no moon.

We may still have been half asleep as the walk to the hut seemed to take ages, especially the section in the stream. The route over the active slip on the track was also interesting at night. What seems like a overly well marked track in the daylight becomes much harder to follow at night and the small number of flourescent maker were appreciated. We went the long way around the sidle track rather than drop into the Otaki as it was still dark and reached the hut at 6.40am. We enjoyed the climb up to Junction Knob, and the easy tramp along to Andersons, arriving at 10.25am. Cloud was blowing through the low saddles, from the east and that side was covered in low cloud.


Looking Sth from near Shoulder Knob

We backtracked to Junction Knob and headed over Crawford which was in cloud as we reached the top. This is a good spot to have a check of your map and compass as the obvious ground trail straight ahead isn't the way to go! Nichols Hut took a long time to appear – infact, at one stage I was starting to believe we could have walked passed it – must have been getting hungry. Got there at 1.15pm and had a rest for a short time – we were becoming abit concerned as up until now, we'd taken longer than planned and I was doubting whether we could complete this trip in time. Neither of us had been beyond Nichols and so wern't familiar with the track. We contemplated other possibilities, such as dropping off Dracophyllum Ridge at Kelleher and going to Oriwa Biv. However, the track was really good and easy and very nearly dry and we made good time along to Dracophyllum Biv (3.43pm) and then over Pukematawai to Te Matawai hut (6.53pm). The weather, which had been threatening to clag in, luckily backed off to the east. Stunning views in this area and it was great to be there.


Looking towards Drac Ridge and Crawford from near Pukematawai

We pushed on , trying to get as far as possible before dark. At Richards Knob I was back in familiar country, and we got nearly to Waiopehu Hut (9.35pm) before it was really dark. I'd been here the previous weekend and took 2 1/2 hours to get out so thought we had plenty of time. However, things always go slower when you're tired and it's dark.
Surprised a deer in the dark – she was very close to us and didn't know where to go. Lots of possums too. Nearly 4 hours out from Waiopehu – reached the road end at 1.59am, going very quietly here to try not to wake the noisy dogs that live right there. Had a few hours sleep in the car at the reserve just down the road, then drove back around to get the other car – a big trip.

Janet Wilsons Trip 1

Trip 1 - 2.15am 17 January to 2.36am,18 January.
Janet Wilson and Graham Peters

After hours of pleasurable pondering and planning, we we're finally off.

To overcome the problem of finishing at different roads ends, we took both our cars,leaving one at the end of Mangatarere Rd and taking the other to the Holdsworth Rd end. We got here just and dark and settled into the back of the station wagon for a few hours sleep. It was a beautiful clear starry evening. The alarm woke us around 1.30am and we emerged from the car to find the mist was right down. Hmm, we gave a few moments consideration to aborting the trip, which is a very hard thing to do, and decided quickly to carry on as planned. Had a quick feed – found that tinned peaches go down well at this time of the day - and headed off at the gentle pace, aware that we had a long day ahead of us. In five minutes we had our first points – Holdsworth Lodge! We arrived at Mountain House shelter at 3.54am, had a snack and found a previous hutbagger's sticker stuck to the wall here as there is no hut book. Not far above here, the mist turned to rain and we gave in to it and put our parkas on. Powell Hut emerged out to the cloud at 5am – we tiptoed into here (as well as you can in your boots), made a cup of tea using the gas and had a half hour break while we waited for the sky to lighten. Then it was on and up to Holdsworth Trig, where it was quite cold and there were no views,. Then is was down and up to Isabelle and then the long descent to Mid Wiohine Hut. From Holdsworth on, this was new territory for both of us.
We arrived at Mid Wiohine Hut at 8am, surprising a father and son who'd spent the night there. The cloud was almost down to the hut but the rain had stopped. We were travelling with a copy of “Tararua Footprints” which suggested using the river from here to the swing bridge but we think the sidle track is a better option. The nearly 1000m climb to Aokaparangi from here is quite efficient on a good track. We were glad to have filled up
with water at the stream near the bottom of a climb as there isn't any easy water above here for a long way. We wern't all that confident about finding Aokap Biv in the mist and did waste time here going too low before finding it where is should have been. “Any port in a storm” they say, but it would have to be pretty bad for me to choose to stay here – it's a shame some hunters leave such a mess, and it's location on the top of a bog isn't the best. No hut book here and we appeared to be first hutbagggers into here so we stuck the sticker to the sign on the door.
Its not a big climb back onto the well trodden and familiar track towards Maungahuka. There seemed to be more ups and downs than I remembered though. The hut appeared at 2.20pm, We had 20 -30m viz and still had had no views. The new hut looked OK, abit of builders mess still outside and the toilet seems very close to the hut – and tarn. We had around 40 minutes here and were still feeling quite good, although abit tired, at around the ½ way point.Then it was another long descent into unfamiliar country to Neil Forks Hut, via Concertina Knob. We reached here at 5.15pm and then, fairly slowly, climbed up to Cone Ridge and then followed a long easy track down to Totara Flats,arriving 8.30pm. The cloud had finally lifted some time late in the day and it was a nice evening and we had about an hour of daylight left. We got some advice from people at the hut on the location of Sayers Hut but somehow got our wires crossed abit and had trouble finding what isn't a difficult hut and wasted time here. However, we still had plenty of time to get out to our 2nd car and stopped here for a feed, at around 9.30pm. It was really dark by the time we left here and things started to go wrong. The track appeared to start at the back of the hut but certainly wasn't well marked and not that far along it, we realised that this was going to be difficult to follow at night – infact, we wern't sure we were really on the right track. This is the same track that, further up it, caused us grief on the Tararua 24 Rogaine and we are going to have to go back in the daylight sometime to sort out where it goes.
Anyway, there wasn't much time to make decisions, and we quickly decided, that although we would be late, the safest decision was to go back the long way via Totara Flats, Totara Creek and Mountain House to our start point. We had done this track in the dark during the Tararua 24 which is just as well as it's tricky at night at a couple of points. I must say that poor Graham, who is reluctant to go fast at any time, let alone after 20 hours on his feet, really extended himself on this section and I was really pleased, at the end of it all, to be only 21 minutes late! It was a big day out – if you add in all the ups and downs, there's over 4000m of up! It was good to travel new routes but some views would have been nice. My only advice would be to travel familiar routes at

Christian Thiemann on south ridge of Girdlestone Peak.

42 hours in paradise

42 hours in paradise- the high central Tararuas. 16- 17 Feb, Tony Gates and Christian Thiemann.

This hutbagging Rogaine may be seem like madness to some, but it sure is a great way to see the Tararuas- lots of them- in a short period of time. Christian, with only three months in New Zealand, saw 10 huts in the high central Tararuas with me in 2 days, ie 42 hours in paradise. And this was his second rogaine to the area in a month. For me, a bit of an ageing Tararua hunter, I enjoyed revisiting old haunts and poking around some new ones. There is always something new and interesting in the Tararuas.

We had schemed, planned, and prepared, but maintained a flexible and safe route. After a 3 AM departure from Kiriwhakapa, and bagging Blue Range hut, we both fell asleep at Cow Creek Hut for a bit. A brew was needed too, to put us in the mood for the river route up to Arete Forks Hut. An easy 1 ½ hours later, we reached the hut in rain, after only a few knee deep river crossings and no real difficulties. A beautiful river. We followed the footsteps of Mike Sheridan and Andrew McLellan (in reverse) up Pinnacle Spur, and later discovered that we were just in front of them along Dracophyllym Biv area, then Dorset Ridge. We felt good with the uphill exercise, and just got better during the day. Mist came and went, some sunshine north to Arete Biv, and more over to Dracophyllum Biv. Several orchids were flowering along the track, as well as Edelweiss, Senecios, and Celmisias. By then, we were following the day old footprints of fellow rogainers Janet Wilson and Graham Peters. They told us it was a lovely place, and we agreed. Nicholls hut, our 6th for the day, looked very attractive as a bitterly cold southerly pounded us towards the end. Quite a few hutbagging stickers in the log book there. Brew time, dry out, and sleep.


Forecast perfect weather didn’t arrive till mid morning, by which time we had floundered in the mist on Nicholls, and navigated east down to Park Forks. This was the second time here for Christian, kind of special to see the area again, but from different angles- and different weather. Dry feet over both the Park and Waiohine rivers. Dorset Ridge, otherwise known as deer highway, offered good travel, made so much more pleasant in sunshine. We were the first hutbaggers to check into Dorset Ridge Hut, a lonely ex NZFS outpost, then first to Tarn Ridge Hut (the one which features on the stickers and programme). The tussock tops there were lovely, with fairly easy terrain, great views, and that lovely tarn. We paused for a brew on Girdlestone, and had to cover up well from the sun. We scurried along the ridge south to the Kings, chasing a few deer off the ridge and admiring views of places we knew so well. We noted the wreck site of Airspeed Oxford NZ1237, and graves of J Corrin and R Abrahams (from January 1942)- there are several other aircraft wrecks throughout the Tararuas. The steep descent track to Mid King Bivvy was overgrown. Plentiful water and shade there. We were glad to continue in the bush, plodding on down to Mitre Flats- our last hut for the trip- then the Waingawa road end. We made it just on dark.

TARARUA PEAKS

TARARUA PEAKS – Debbie Mansfield, Glen Warner, Jenny Cossey, Miriam Jones, Gordon Balfour
Saturday 20 Jan 7pm to Sunday 21 Jan 6.35pm

With the long weekend forecast predicting fine weather, we teamed up with Miriam Jones and Gordon Balfour to complete the Tararua Peaks and bag the 7 huts along the way. We started at 7pm Saturday evening as Glen had been out Kayaking for the day still training for the C2C. While the weather forecast said fine weather, we started in a very light misty rain at Otaki forks. We passed thru YTYY at 10pm and up onto the tops around midnight where the weather was typically “Tararua” - Rain, wind and clag made for slow progress, losing the track a few times. Arriving at Anderson, we decided to hole up for the night as further progress would have been too dangerous. With 5 people already in the hut and only 2 sleeping bags amongst the 5 of us, this made for a very ‘cosy’ and uncomfortable night. Jenny shared a mattress with a stranger who cuddled her feet all night (Still wondering if he was helping to keep her warm or stop from being kicked in the head.) Glen and I shared the floor where we realised how bony our hips really were, how much draught comes up through the floor of a hut, and how 2 people really do not fit in one sleeping bag! Up again at 6pm with not much sleep amongst the 5 of us, back on with the wet clothes for another 6 hours of trudging through the wind, rain and clag!!! Aokap was easy to fine in the daylight and we thanked our decision to stop for the night. It would have been near impossible to find in the dark as there is nothing to indicate where the bivvy is in the treeline. On to Maungahuka for a quick soup to try and warm up, on with another layer of clothing, making for 6 layers on myself including my jacket, and still cold!!! And wet!!!!

Across the peaks and down the Pakahore ridge to finally get out of the wind and clag and slowly warm up. Penn Creek Hut was a welcome rest, be it very short as we only had 4 hours remaining to complete the trip. The climb back up onto the main Southern Crossing track would have been quiet pleasant, if the legs weren’t so tired and time didn’t allow for too many rests. Finally down past Field Hut and back out to Otaki Forks with 25 minutes to spare.
I wish to thank Gordon, Miriam, Jenny and Glen for a great trip. Every time I head into the Tararuas I learn something new. It is always such an unpredictable environment that you can never take for granted. It was amazing to head home and have the kids tell me the weather had been fine for those 2 days, while we had been travelling through some pretty shitty weather, at times feeling pretty cold and miserable. Lets hope we strike some better weather for the next hut bagging trip!!!

Northern Tararuas - Mike and Andrew

Sunburn in the Tararuas? Yeah Right!

Well, Andrew McLellan and I got it right last week, with an 18 hour loop
through the northern Tararuas. Leaving the car at the Melling carpark at
midnight Wednesday it looked lonely as we departed for Putara road end. I'm
never that keen to travel at night so our estimated 20 hour loop of eight
huts would be timed around maximizing daylight hours.

2.30am departure from the road end on a clear and still night. Herepai was
cold and deserted as we bumbled our way over the roots. A bit of a there
and back from the track intersection was a bit disheartening for a pure
rogainer.but those are the sacrifices we have to make. We tiptoed into the
new Roaring Stag trying not to wake the two trampers inside. A bit of a
washout at the bottom of the Cattle Ridge track wasted 15 minutes in the
lightening skies. An hour later though - the views from Cattle Ridge were
fabulous in the first light. Not put off by the daunting picture of how far
we had to go.we took off down the very well marked track into the
Ruamahunga, with me reminiscing with stories from 25 years ago when I spent
a couple of months in the area doing deer surveys for the Forest Service.
(Pre cursor to DoC). The headwaters of the Ruamahunga is beautiful and
rugged - the slow going was eased by a well maintained track.

Dundus hut was nestled into the tussock. The early morning light on the
surrounding hills created impressive relief. The sun was now beating down
and sunscreen had to be liberally applied. Gaining the Main Range was a
highlight - Ruapehu and Taranaki to the north, and Tararua tops to the south
as far as the eye could see. Now we just had to make some progress. Arete
Biv - so perfectly obvious on a nice day (we know how difficult it is to
find at night or in the mist) had a few hut bagging stickers in the log
book. We relaxed here for a long 12 minute lunch basking in the sun.
The low light was the next section. Pinnacle Spur was perfectly navigable -
but lots of little ups and downs were frustrating in the sun. Dipping into
the headwaters of the Waingawa at Arete Forks was a relief. The sidle track
out to Cow Creek was every bit as bad as remembered. (Especially with 12
hours in your legs) Lots of ups and downs, nettle and slow work.

By contrast the final trip out to Kiriwhakapapa via Blue Range was quicker
than expected, arriving at the road end two hours earlier than expected. It
was fantastic to meet Tony Gates there who had offered to drive us back
around to Putara and the car.

A great day out in the Tararuas. We already have the next trip planned -
now all we need is to wait a couple of weeks to recover and then pick the
weather again.

Mike

Andrew McLellan, Mike Sheridan, Kiriwhakapa, January 2007.

Carkeek Hut Expedition

Carkeek Hut Expedition, 20- 21 January 2007. Chris Watson, Christian Thiemann, Tony Gates.

Our 24 hour rogaine to the legendary Carkeek Ridge Hut and back via McGregor Spur was split into three almost equal time sections- 8.15 to reach the hut, 8 hrs there, and 7.40 back. It was an excellent way to see the place, particularly as it was new country for Chris, and the first Tararua experience for Christian (from Hanover). We bagged a few huts, but retreated the way we had gone in due to inclement weather. Pity that, but somehow, the rich pickings of all the other high value huts around Carkeek Ridge lost their appeal in the mist and wind. And we felt much safer going home the way that we already knew.

We departed Holdsworth Lodge 2.05 pm Saturday, and scurried up to Atiwhakatu Hut, Jumbo Hut, then McGregor Biv. Good going, misty on top, with a mostly well worn foot trail. McGregor spur was mostly good travel, with open, mossy beech forest, and the occasional old track marker. Navigation essential. Really nice to hit the Waiohine River at Dorset Creek, where there was good river travel. We felt like we were going to make it to Carkeek Ridge Hut before dark. Park Forks was attractive- one of those really special Tararua places- and Carkeek Ridge was too, despite the track being overgrown. It got dark about an hour before the hut, and our pace slowed accordingly. Reflections on misty drizzle droplets partially obscured our head torch beams. Very glad to reach the hut. Primus used, but we didn’t eat much, and getting to sleep wasn’t difficult.

5.30 AM Sunday, I peered out the hut door into more Tararua clag. We brewed up, and discussed options, with the eastern side still the best route home. We could at least complete the Jumbo Holdsworth circuit. We had plenty of daylight, not quite plenty of energy, and by heading east, we had the promise of some finer weather. Back down to Park Forks, The Waiohine River, and Dorset Creek, we saw more of what must be one of the most scenic areas in the Tararuas. And for the second time in less than 24 hours, we were a bit fresher, so could admire it from a better state of mind. The big hill back to McGregor Biv was daunting, but we were soon back up in the mist. Periodic time checks suggested that our finish time would be close to 24 hours. We pushed our pace when we could, really appreciating the several easy sections of ridge, and soon gained some time over our earlier estimations. McGregor Biv again, Angle Knob, Jumbo, etcetera, and so back into fresh hutbagging territory. And we were back with the crowds, as expected, with a few people out training for next weekend’s popular Jumbo Holdsworth Trail Race. It was certainly a good feeling to reach the well trodden path. A few rest/ drink/ lollie stops, then more and more crowds around Powell Hut. The day warmed up a lot on the descent, which ended in a mad dash down past Mountain house. We guzzled lots of water. A hell ov a relief to hit the last flat before Holdsworth Lodge, and see the lodge shortly before our 24 hour deadline. The Atiwhakatu swimming hole was lovely. Then the rush to catch the train back to Wellington was about as fast as the rush for our Rogaine deadline.

Tararua Peaks

Beyond the Tararua Peaks.

We wanted to follow parts of the famous Tararua Mountain Race, traverse the most rugged section of the entire Tararuas, and complete a circuit of the Southern Main Range in under 24 hours. So, we started from Otaki Forks 5 January 2007 under a beautiful full moon, and enjoyed perfect weather all the way. A chilly wind sometimes, but warm sun on sheltered side as day warmed up. Just a few misty fingers over Simpson, Wright, and Junction Knob- sort of artistic in style and look without the feared complete Tararua whiteout. And it was lovely to enter the cool of the big Otaki forest mid afternoon. The people we disturbed 0130 at Parewai Hut we met again at YTYY 1600, and the people we disturbed 0500 at Kime Hut we met again at Parewai 2125. The sunrise and moonset were spectacular from Kime and Bridge Peak. Tuiti and Tunui (The Tararua Peaks) were very special on such a good day. Kelly was good all the way, despite a few frustrating leatherwood bits on McIntosh, and the deep mud there too. I was good till Aokaparangi Peak, when I began to experience stomach problems, forcing us to miss Aokap Biv. The trail dried out nicely from Mangahuka north, particularly over Kahiwiroa and Crawford, with excellent travel. Kelly was eating all the way, I was throwing up a bit, but I found I could keep going, with the only sustenance being water- in very small droplets. Due to my condition, we were fully planning to overnite at Andersons or YTYY hut, but a 30 minute rest/ sleep/ dry out did the trick at each hut. I came back to life fairly quickly, and just wanted to keep going. We took primus and billy, and used them to great relief. Very reassuring having EPIRB and emergency stuff, should we need it. Foot and crotch rash problems only minor, thanks to ability to dry feet out on good tussock/ gravel sections of track. We used the Otaki River- Arapito Creek section instead of the sidle track, and saved a good 30 minutes. Met a joker on the track to YTYY who offered me $60.00 for my topo map. Rapid travel back on the farmland, then we reached the car without using torches. Tony Gates and Kelly Holland- Total time 19 hours 59 minutes.

If same route done in reverse, or as part of 48 hour mission, good track travel to YTYY (use Arapito Creek, cross then recross Otaki river to reach hut), very big hill up to Junction Knob, excellent tops travel as far south as Maungahuka, (but careful not to loose track if misty or dark). Steep, rough up and down, plus more mud and leatherwood south of Maungahuka. You could miss the worst leatherwood on McIntosh, and dive down to Penn Creek Hut via Pakihore Ridge, then back up to Table top, then Field Hut, and home down to Otaki Forks.

Day 1

Day 1

Greg and Hazel - Kapakapanui and Otaki Forks area. A somewhat shorted trip than planned due to the weather, but still a good trip.

Kapakapanui Hut (photo not from this trip), Parawai Lodge, Renata Hut and Waitaru Hut

HutBagging season is here!

Hello All,

The competition is now open and the first points have been scored. Entries are still being accepted and it's not too late to sign up and get started.

The Hutbagger's Rogaine is a summer-long event involving teams of people visiting as many huts in the Tararuas as possible in a set amount of time. For more info, and to sign up, visit www.outdoor.co.nz

Happy hutbagging,
Hazel :)