This text was read by OCR from a scanned newsletter and has not been proofread yet, so expect odd characters and mistakes.
KAWEKAS 6.00am on Saturday morning and the Fit Group were up and preparing to leave after a comfortable night's sleep at Ball's Clearing, just up the road from Puketitiri and 60 km inland from Napier. 7.,00am and we were away in a rental van being driven up Kaweka Road to Makahu Saddle Spur track for the start of our Kaweka Hills tramp. Many thanks Chris for the lift that morning. At Makahu Saddle the Forest Service have developed a pleasant camping area where they also have a base which is being used for extensive erosion control exercises’ on the Surrounding hills. The track up Makahu Spur to Mt Kaweka is a steep climb of 700m which doesn't take long and offers splendid views of the Black Birch Range and Hawkes Bay beyond. Once on top the ridge track north is scenic and fairly gentle. Weather at this stage was windy and cold with signs of an approaching southerly so good time was made to arrive at Ballard Hut 3% hrs. after leaving Makahu Saddle. Ballard Hut is a cosy 4 person hut in a bushy saddie 200m below the open tops. A decision was made to stay here and so the 3 members of the group who had rifles ventured out for a mid-afternoon stalk, Paul, being the only successful marksman arrived back late afternoon with a sika hind over his shoulders. The carcass was duly quartered and hung in the meat safe. During this time the Medium Group arrived and promptly got upset that they couldn't get : their 9 members into an already full 4 person hut. And so they spent an indifferent night in various locations around the hut while the Fit Group dined on Chicken Stew and Venison Steaks. Day two, being Sunday saw us take a direct route down an unnamed ridge from Ballard Hut into the upper Makino River Valley. The weather was drizzly but clearing and travel was excellent until we had to carefully negotiate bluffs directly above the river. Once in the river spirits were improved, mainly because of the beauty of this valley. Lunch was taken in the sun on a mossy river bank just down river from the Mangaturotu Stream junction, After lunch we followed deer trails down the valley through Beech and enormous Manuka tree forests. The valley is — dotted all the way with perfect campsites on grassy flats, generally next to river pools containing trout. We arrived mid-afternoon at Te Puia Lodge on the banks of the mighty Mohaka River. We didn't rest long before heading off up. valley for a tough 4 hour walk to the Mangatainoka Hot Springs and the recently arrived Medium Group. The first task upon arrival was to strip off and climb into the 8 © person fibreglass tub for.a soothing wash and relaxation, on /2
2a Monday, our last day, was spent sidling out down the Mohaka Valley to Makahu Road, The sidle track is steep in places but generally very enjoyable while always offering good views of the swift Mohaka River, The weather was deteriorating badly as we climbed into the rental vans for our drive home, but not hefore experiencing an unusually heavy snow fall. The Kawekas are definitely an area to be visited again. Group Members: Jamie Cleliand (scribe), Paul Driscoll, -Murray Middleton, -: Pony Storie.