This text was read by OCR from a scanned newsletter and has not been proofread yet, so expect odd characters and mistakes.
IF ONLY seis & Seticews The astral wonders were not resplendent on the shortest night of the year - we should have been warned by the boulder hopping techniques required: to sidestep puddles on the Wellington streets that morning.» - What a way to celebrate the winter solstice = up Frances Stream with no paddle (but lots of piddle!): the Medium trip to Renata - Maymorn Ridge. Fly pitching on Friday night went awry as the heavens opened (lucky a C.G. got out of having to share this beautiful experience). Our leader by default, Murray MacRae, was particularly inspired by the morning's vista and suggested remaining in our pits for the whole weekend. But alas, after forcing down our muesli and milkpowder (burp!) and the odd alternative breakfast (cold: frankfurters -— I wouldn't recommend them), we reluctantly packed up -.only to set a good example to the Easies you understand. ae be Frances Stream would have been attractive if only... After a slow chilly plod we reached Renata Hut. The smell of woodsmoke was like a red rag to a bull - well to some of us anyway. - Andrew Denley (T.O0.) was already installed, complete with weapon... Did he really expect to kill’ and maim this weekend. re After a scoff of !"sandwiches a froid" we; in a fit of generosity, pitched. two flies,for. the Easies who still hadn’t arrived. — The numbers were swelled by their arrival and also the addition of Paul Driscoll complete with lilo.and.1.5 litres:of "orange juice" — not’ forgetting the cigar for after dinner. } Ag. the evening wore on, it became ificreasingly apparent that some of us_ ~
‘would have to lose an awful lot of weight fast in order to fit on the sleeping platform, let alone the floor. A few of us reluctantly trooped off to the vacant flies for an extremely cold and unpleasant night. The only thought that consoled the authors was knowing that the others would be. gasping for breath amidst all that human flesh. ; fest a: Another reluctant start ~ particularly knowing that Paul had his wagon 20 minutes. down the track - the wrong way unfortunately. A misguided .- “sense of duty spurred us on. . No "if only" could save the reputation*cf Maymorn Ridge. It was just as it had been described -- slippery, muddy and overgrown with species of the cutting kind. =x pels "ki We. returned to our Friday night campsite and pitched a veranda ("if only" it had been to shelter from the sun!). Alas, we huddled together waite’ ing for the Easies. Eventually it was time to head for the bus. A thoughtful driver turned heaters on and placed a billy of hot water (kindly donated by the "Sallys") on the engine to keep warm. . Andrew (T.O.) finally came into his element - forced out into the cold : to assist the final trocps_ in their return to warmth and a hot Grink...., if: only they hadn't gone down Maymorn Ridge! ~ altogether. a weekend that could be described as "The Pits". The saving grace was. the company and the inspiring leadership of Murray MacRae who suffered all weekend ie
- Kirsty & Julie