This text was read by OCR from a scanned newsletter and has not been proofread yet, so expect odd characters and mistakes.
- Mike Drake
Arrived at Mangahao No i reservoir camp site aoprox 22:00. Quickly erected flies and hit the deck. Next day set off at 8:15 up the Puketurua track. At Baber Forks the group selit, ane party continuing up the track to Ngapuketurua then down to Harris Creek, the other party fallowing the. original plan. This is the report of the latter expedition. . .
Five of us continued up Baber Creek being super cautious in counting the number of side streams. The objective was the fifth branch on true left (branch whose scurce is South of the 870m 9cak of Island Ridge). Up we plodded, the creek getting smaller. and smalier, various techniques being employed to negotiate the many obstacled creek: rack climbing, caving, boulder hopping (diving:}. We finally ran out of..creek anda compass bearing was taken (230° mag. } ta connect, on the other side of the saddle with the only true sight branch of Dick Creek, After following this course for.a while @ scree Slope was encountered and uo we scuttled, thinking chat the saddle we were. looking. for was near the summit of the Southern peak. Alas this. infor mation proved to be faulty. A democratic decision was. made to have lunch on the sunny scree siope. Murray was duly dis- ~ patched to: find a suitable route while the trouvs attacked their lunch. Yo cut a iong story short we went back down the scree, turned right, sent Murray up a tree (no, not for nuts!) to see if he could sge the way. After further discussion, a course of 230° (mag.) was again followed (which we had deviated from to go up the scree}. A :short while later the beginnings of a stream was found. I Further on a.compass bearing. on the direction of the stream confirmed that we were on the right track (creek). We arrived at the Harris Creek hut, at approx 15:30. The other party arriving approx 30 minutes later after apparently having an equaliy good Gay. Po: A-long discussion ensued as to the merits of a fly over a hut (ie shouid we be tough Kiwis or not}; the "or not’s* won at which point out we went to gather wood. Many cups cf: tea, rice, veg and. cheese, and stove made for a very pDleésant evening. The next day, two parties were again formed. The masochistic party followed the river starting at Dick Creek; the other party followed the switch-back track. the river proved most enjoyable if a iittie cool in places. Although the river looked at normal. isvel {and therefore according to the book, “walkable” } the party shortiy decided that swimming was an inevitability, Ken showing the way in true Kiwi style, the rest following a little more cautiously. We found that the best method of swimming with a'pack in this siow river was to keep waist beits fastened and swim upright. Two hours later we found ovrselves back at the van.
Thanks Murray for a very enjoyable tramp.