Text taken from the club newsletter.
A new translation of FE: Fairly Excruciating. Into darkest Panatewaewae stride giant-killer Bruce and dragon-slayer Brian intent on a conquest of Oriwa Ridge. Undeterred by rain and a complex route they are tempted from the Panatewaewae by the wrong spur ("but everything seemed to be in the right place!") and end up far from the ever-beckoning Oriwa. Deciding to abandon their heroic pretensions in the face of overwhelming bush they follow a magic compass west towards Waitewaewae trig, then turn south to have lunch in Prout Stream. They slither into a familiar looking stream flowing east - the East Waitewaewae! "Fie, forsooth," oath they cry! "How can this be?" - they have been tricked into the demon's very jaws.
The demon is unrelenting. Many log jams, waterfalls and bottomless pools later the foot of the Oriwa Ridge is reached. At least it hasn't rained again. The climb to Motoriwa gives Bruce a chance to dry out after 2 swims - the second a graceful dive backwards off a high bank. Although our heroes have striven manfully to reach their objective, the spirit is no longer willing and the flesh is downright rebellious. They set their faces towards Oriwa Biv. Darkness on Oriwa, mutterings over a sodden map, joy at finding a well-cut track, extreme relief at finding the mist-shrouded biv, just before torrential rain starts.
Lulled into a false sense of complacency by a comfortable night, they tackle Sunday. The most successful navigation of the trip sees them down the spur to Makaretu Stream, where there is a bit of sun and no sign of demons or goblins. The climb up the other side, however, en route back to the Panatewaewae, is the ultimate. Compass bearings are borne, rain falls yet again, and downhill grovelling commences. Visibility - about 3 metres. They end up in a stream that flows into a stream that flows into the Panatewaewae and hasten down.
Three thirty back at the carpark is too late they find - the vans are gone. A message is conveyed to Waitohu by some hunters and the road is assaulted for an hour. Communication problems and a late-out medium trip complicate things a bit, but eventually the lads are vanning back to Wellington.
Bruce Wilson and Brian Dobbie would like to thank Sir Edmund Hillary, Thea Muldoon and the National Youth Choir for not being on the trip, and fervently request that the Forest Service napalm the whole Panatewaewae area.
Bruce Wilson.