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Anzac Weekend '86 gaw six friends on the bus to the Tongariro: — National. Park, for some fun and laughter with a touch of tramping thrown in for-variety. We eventually decided by concensus to start — fsam the Chateau, and were deposited en masse at Whakapapa.. yillage -somewhere around midnight. By the time we had put up ont’ ~ tents and performed various essential bodily functions, we were able . to get a good view of the eclipse before hitting the pit. “Piona, (alias Veronica) gave us her predictions on the weather « front and: ~ ’ we. began the examination of the insides of the eyelids. with hopeful .. _expectations._of_the. next day's atmospheric conditions. rt Le ee ee We awoke Friday morning to a clear, calm day, the confidence inour Weather-girl restored. Masquerading as trampers, we set out at 8 am for Mangetepopo Hut. Geoff (better known as Goff) kept™ ~~ us entertained with his "flying" impressions along the way and we arrived at the Hut for morning tea, Continuing..on_aur way, progress was halted only for the occasional blister stop, posed . photo, and drink from a decidedly tinny-tasting stream., The saddle was reached in time for lunch, and during the next 30 minutes we modified our trip plan to exclude the proposed climb up Mt. Ngauruhoe as the mountain swiftly became enshrouded by cloud. A stroll across South Crater saw several of the party competing with the sulphur smells in the area. Red Crater provided an... interesting diversion,and we caught fleeting glimpses of Blue Lake through the clag on our way down past the Emerald Lakes. Following the track down through the lunar-type landscape, we watched with horror as Fiona threw herself at an unsuspecting Park Ranger and his wife: we found out with relief that they were-in ~ fact her uncle and aunt. We were beginning to think that the altitiude wes really getting to her: After a jovial conversation we were once again blatting along the track, arriving at Oturere Hyt to find the Medium trip already settled in. Ritching our tents some distance from the hut, we relaxed before dinner, admiring the view out to the Kaimanawas on the horizon. Geoff put us all to shame as he disappeared down to the Oturere Stream for a bath — we thought he was going to soak his bean sprouts! Dinner consisted of a delicious but potentially I a explosive curry and rice, and the usual crass tales before retiringto our pits around 8 pm. The wind gusts erupting within the tents, provided stiff competition for the more natural force, buffeting the outsides of the tents. The wind and rain coused some concern in the early hours of Saturday morning when our tents began to resemble portable paddling pools: a NY
One look a weather on Saturday and the decision to “*blob" for much cof Gey, Was favourably and unanimously reached, We observed without envy, the Medium party setting out in the wind and rain for Mangatepopo around 8 am, then settled curselves down for some pit-bashing and storytelling. An attempt to lighten cur packs by devouring the adible contents left us resembling the way we felt - blobs. We decided that some form of activity could be aporopriate since the time was approaching 2pm, A stroll for just on an hour and a half brought us to Waiohonu. Hut, where we delighted in yiving the occupants a nasty shock by anncuncing that we had a party of 25 school kids with us. We laughed sur way down to a choice campsite amongst the trees beside the Waiohonu Stream, relishing the thought of distressed trampers back at the hut, who were visualising, night of noisy ankiebiters destroying their (relative} peace and quiet. A bath in the stream followed by dinner and a session of tail tales before retiring, brought a lazy day to an end, se w . : A. LIVING SIMPLY oq All the gear you'll need from the mountains to the sea
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Sunday dawned wet and cold, in contrast to guar Weather-girl's predictions. At breakfast Ficna and I observed our resident steel-guts (Geoff} engaging in self-torture and seemingly enjoying someching that he referred to as "food". It put us off our breakfast Just watching!
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Packing was compieted by 8:15 am, and we began the wander out to the Chateau via the Waiohcnu Track. The weather deteriorated rapidly and the planned Tiki Tour to the Tama Lakes was abandoned in favour of dry cicthes and lunch at Whakapapa Village Anne “woman with a mission" Greenwood led us out at a cracking pace with short, occasional steps to count participants in the mist, and feed our faces. It was a successful,enjoyable weekend. Thanks team! \ Team Members: Fiona Neilson, Anne Greenwood, Geoff Crockford, \Peter Noble, David Fowler, Claire Silcock (author). Q . . SKE a” ARE YOU INTO CLIMBING? Then jump into the most popular plastic climbing beots in N.Z.
There’ sno doubti git it's reputation as a warm and comfortable bcot for general mountaineering in New Zealand. hAAINLY TRAS Scr GRAND ARCADE, WILLIS WELLINGTON Ph. 735353 MA ORDERS WELCOME §