This text was read by OCR from a scanned newsletter and has not been proofread yet, so expect odd characters and mistakes.
SK stands for "“Shoremans to Kaitoke",a tramping route from the now disused Shoremans track near the Putara Rd access in the northern Tararuas to Kaitoke in the south. The present day route comes out at the same place but starts from Putara thence via Herepail.
The “SK" is steeped in tradition, part of that tradition being that you wust drag your pack and silently protesting body the entire distance within two daye. Hence this particular weekend trip offers a bit of a challenge. This challenge has enticed many keen punters in the past and no doubt will continue to suck ther in, in the future.
Its 2.30pm Friday the 2nd December 1988, and five SK punters, return driver, and two dogs are squashed into a Mitsi 4x4 van hastily departing Wellington. The close confines of the van barbours the usual discussion of food, gear, injuries and general reasons for piking. But underlying the nerves and apprehension, spirits are high. Partly because the weather has cleared after a week of rain leaving the weekend looking rather promising. Two and a half hours race by and the van comes to a halt at the Putara Road end. Qut pap Paul Critchley, Glen Turner, Allistair Booth, Eric Evans and Geoff Crockford.
Ite 4.50pm and the five punters are strapped in, preparing for take off. 4.52pm we're off and the twe day countdown begins. As the punters disappear into the bush Marie Critchley is left wondering bow far she'll get in the van with the petrol guage on empty. We pop onte the tops fairly smartly. The weather is excellent, amazing panoramic views and little wind induce a little confidence in the task ahead.
Just past Vest Peak about 7.25pm a young deer checks out ite running gear as the punters invade its peaceful surrounds. We are feeling good as we skip along Dundas Ridge, our eyes feasting upon the sights around us: Kapiti Island, east and west coasts, Wairarapa, Levin etc. Our destination is Dundas Hut and as we kick aside the wee hillocke in ‘our way duek approaches. Qur eyes feast upon the incredible sights of a distant, contrasting world below us, The sea of lights vanishes as euddenly as it had appeared as we pop off the ridge down to Dundas hut. Four hours 20 minutes have passed . STAGE 1 COMPLETED i"
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Beep Beep Beep ! ... Ite 4,.30am as our watch alarms signal the start of round 2. I clamber cutside and am greeted by a perfect clear sky with dawn not far away. This information is relayed to the rest of the punters who are sparked into immediate action.
5.00am we're away. The wee hillocks af Logan, Dundas, Arete and Pukematawai bite the dust very quickly as the air is so fresh and the punters so keen. We look down upon the surrounding towns and ponder at all the human type animals sound asleep, unaware of our watchful eyes far above.
From Pukematawal (7.00am) we descend to Dracophyllum Knob. The scenery here is beautiful: on one side the bushy upper Otaki, on the other the awesome Park Valley.
The fine weather and amazing scenery is most encouraging, we begin to make rapid progress and settle into our task. As we pick our way along this very pretty bush ridge a deer crashes off. 9.55am we emerge on to the open of Kelliher to be greeted by three more deer sunning themselves. They look a little perturbed as they smoke up their hooves and descend into a very nasty little gut.
11.05am - We reach Nichols for lunch. At this stage the lactic acid build up in our muscles becomes noticeable. We know the freshness we were using to get this far had departed and would not be returning this weekend. 11.30am - Lunch is over and we're off hillock hunting, Crawford is the first to be nudged out of contention as we make our way to Junction Knob, keen to jump onto the next map. The weather which did seem a little too good to be true now restores our faith in the Tararuas. A bit of mist and drizzle passes intermittently across our path, but wind and temperatures remain mild. 1.30pm - Anderson Memorial Hut. This is the first major “T" intersection on the “Trip” where T stands for TIRED. A Punter decides to negotiate this intersection by attempting to reach Kime Hut to rendezvous with the "Pilot". Remaining punters decide Maungahuka's the place they'd rather be. The pretty wee bush ridge past Anderson disappears as Kahiwiroa looms up out of the drizzle. On top, the sun breaks through. I stop to suck on bulk O2 and som amazing views for a few minutes, before descending to face the next climb onto Ackaporangi, before descending to face the next climb onto Wright, before descending to face the next climb etc ... ate... Ensuing tiredness, tough terrain, and the thought of a huge distance still to travel, make each successive step a little harder. The SK now begins to unveil the secret to its challenge. The trip begins to change in character. The wonders of Mother Nature now give birth to a relentless, uncompromising obstacie course. Its drizzling again now and reduced visibility coincides nicely with the need to stop looking so intently at surrounding sights. Fleeting glances naw will suffice. My mind reitterates the importance of replacing dwindling physical energy with increased mental effort to maintain that equilibrium required to elude mistakes and accidents. 5,15pm Hah lah luya! Maungahuka. At thic stage I'm in na condition to continue; a shivering, tired, dehydrated body Signals TIME OUT. A little housekeeping becomes most important. The sweat/rain soaked tee shirt is traded for a nice dry polyprop, neoprene knee warmers ara slapped on. I retrieve the balis of wool from my boots, resurrect them into socks and once again stick them round my feet.
Twenty five minutes pass, I feel revitalised. The route ahead to Kime ie new to me, however as my feet wander out the door I know my brain is now switched to mite.
Three hours later I arrive at Kime. Don't remember mich about that 3 hours except the sucking in of bulk Oz and cursing at the number of hillocks between Maungahuka and Kime.
What took you so long yells Steve as I stumble into the hut. A beer is pumped into my band and the smell of a hot stew fills my nostrils. I relax mentally and physically. For ma, the challenge of the “SK" is now over.
6.15am Sunday, on top of Mt Hector. Below the mountains and valleys tucked away amongst a blanket of thick white cloud, the sky above is crystal clear. As I look across to Wational Park, and ewing 360° absorbing views of the South Ieland, Wellington etc my eyes strain to focus on the mountains disappearing to the north. These are but some of the mountains that bear the remnants of our insignificant footprints thie weekend. 6.45am —- In true mystical style the wind picks up. Ambling along towards Kaltoke I reflect upon the sights, sounds and feelings of the trip. Concluding that cramming so much into such a short time has left an impression of the Tararuas that has made the trip my best ever tramping trip.
B Punter .. At Maungahuka there was general agreement amongst the rest of the punters nat to push on to Kime. They were soon in their pits. The night seemed fervent with the intrepid excitement of the next day. Severe attacks of cramps and nightmares of it being 3 o‘clock already, made it a very restless night for all. Well 3.00am was soon to arrive with the troops 'keen' to embark on the second leg of the trip. 1t was dark leaving Maungabuka. However dawn was soon to arrive revealing a truly magnificent sight. The Tararua peaks were poking up through a carpet of cloud tinted with the pink of the emerging dawn. Everything seemad crisp and clear, the troops were on a ‘high’. The previous nights sleep and views gave the punters a new lease of energy and so they soon reached Kine. Like a mirage in the desert, 'Pilot' (alias Steve Beechey) was at Kime hut with piping hot steak sandwiches for the punters. After an excellent scoff - thanks Steve, we were soon on our way along the southern section of the mission. The southern crossing part seemed like a highway. Again amazing views out over Wellington, the Kaikouras, and back north were to be had. At Alpha hut entertainment was provided by the state of various punters’ feet, Amazingly they didn't come off with the boots, although some looked a bit of a worry. After Alpha the novelty of tramping along the Marchant Ridge soon wore off. Determination to get out by 4,30, and mutual support amongst the punters drove some very tired bodies along the Marchant and down to Dobsons for a quick snack. Then it was a race out to the road end to wind up a successful 48 hour SK and the trip of a iifetime. Thanks to the punters, Marie Critchley for dropping them off, and to "The Pilot" for the refreshments at Kime hut.