This text was read by OCR from a scanned newsletter and has not been proofread yet, so expect odd characters and mistakes.
With Murray as leader we knew we were in for mud and probably rain and we encountered both in large amounts. Our trip began at the Wellington Ferry Terminal where we were informed that the ferry was delayed for a couple of hours. This was an exceilent excuse for fish and chips. An uneventful crossing brought us to Picton where we boarded the bus driven by an expert with excellent wit and witty repartee, Nelson, or more exactly the visitor centre beside Lake Rotoiti, was the place for a quick kip. Once we had woken up the unfortunate trampers already there we got several hours sleep. What a pleasant morning Saturday was and the E-M trip was the first tao trudge off into the blue yonder. What kept the others? It was easy walking along the
lake shore, then past Mt Robert and along a good track through the forest following the Speargrass creek. By early afternoon we had arrived at the Speargrass hut which was already inhabited by four people. Were they alive or dead? Who knows? Who cares? We camped dawn by the river and had an excellent meal of beef strogonoff followed by trifle. There was good crack sitting around the fire watching keas and wondering why they like eating jandies and plastic bags. Strange birds, Sunday morning started dry but just as we put our ruc sacs on enroute for Angelus Hut it started raining (surprise surprise) and the higher and closer we got to the hut the more the weather degenerated. Standing in the snow, in a white out, we wondered if there really was a hut ahead. We didn't wait to find out and decided to go back down. We spent another night at the visitors centre but this time the parky caught us there and tapped us for $5.00 for the privilege. Monday was a beautiful day and most of the team walked up onto St Arnaud's ridge and got really spectacular views of the Nelson Lakes area. A good end to a very enjoyable trip. I have since pondered over several questions. How does Debbie carry so much food in her rucsac? Why does it always rain on Murray? Do sand flies really have teeth an inch long? Do the fish and chip shops in Picton deliberately go slow when they know you're in a hurry to catch the ferry? Team members were: Murray Worsop (leader), Dick and Dervile Pyper, Walter Moore, Cathie Austin, Debbie Douglas, Maryann Wright, Gary Wood, Geoff Warnes, Michele Mars, Kit, Rose and Sheba Withers, and Gerald Clark.