This text was read by OCR from a scanned newsletter and has not been proofread yet, so expect odd characters and mistakes.
A true account of an expedition into the rugged Ruahine:. Range. This factyal report was written to: ‘Gisprove. malicious rumcurs and heinous” lies spread ‘by pensioners ana sharp shooters... , Friday Night: After some fun and games in farmland for some, circular walks etc, we arrived at Heritage Hut. All accounted for we’went in ‘search of ‘Bome elusive Z's. Alas this was not to be. Midnight heralded the arrival of a. party of deer stalkers who. had contributed generously to the Apiti. Hotel!s takings. We were kept amused and awake by. graphic recounts of past kills. complete with sound effects for the. unfortunate few. who didn ' i kriow, what . $e gun sounds like. ; “¢ ; ia. oh “4 Saturday Morning: The etpedition: fascaped and Bogen the long climb over Umutoi and up to Tunopo. We encountered snow well below the bushline and: had to plug steps about 1500' to the top. Tunopo offered magnificent views é and shutters clicked in ail directions taking ins Ruapehu, Egmont and the: Tararuas, all glistening under a mantle of: snow. The Fit Party could be seen way down in the leatherwood making good use of our hard won steps.’ ‘ge? a along the Ngamoko Range plugging - steps in crusty knee to thigh deep snow, In a show of typical generosity Jack and Bruce marked the carefully tramplen: : trail with blood to make it easier.for the following Fits, We reached atrig marked on recent editions with the accompanying numbers 14071. If this was the height it might explain the overhang though I don't know what happened to the in-between contours. We found the route to Pohangina Saddle and crashed Gown through waist deep crusty snow resulting in more blood loss. 20/2
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i) fu A late lunch was held at Longview Hut. After iunch we foliowed the ridge to Rocky Knob and then down an open stream to the Pohangina River. It was now 3.30pm and our destination was Leon Kinvig Hut. A brisk pace down the river resulted in only % hours walk in the dark for the rear-guard. Sunday Morning: We left the comforts of Leon Kinvig at dawn and headed on down the Pohangina to Ngamoko tent Camp which now boasts a 6 man F.S. hut. Gorges and pools in the Pohangina to this point can be sidied and with marked routes, A good track led us up to Whaingapuna Fal into the snow and mist. A quick snack was taken at the bush-edge. We silogged back along the Ngamoko Range in deep slush looking for a route down. At this point the troops cracked. The tremendous sures endured and perhaps the Southern Gscillations tgok their toll. The boys took the wrong spur and were faced with a 800' leatherwood bash. .A few hours and several layers of skin later we entered the bush and were soon. out onto the farmland just on dark (a familiar pattern). ~° The kindness and hospitality extended by a farmer and family was much appreciated. Jack was driven to the van whilst the bedraggled rest supped on cups of tea. Jack soon returned with the Fits ‘ined a few others and we headed hopes Thanks Chris’ for a great geelsy On the expedition were; Chris Garton, Jack McConchie, Glen Turner, . ° Bruce’ Barnes~-and ‘Ean Hadfield (reporter). -.- 22.