This text was read by OCR from a scanned newsletter and has not been proofread yet, so expect odd characters and mistakes.
Mid September saw some members of the Club join the ‘Tongue & Meats’ Tramping Club from Wellington for a weekend's rafting trip on the Rangitikei River.
Five members of the Booth family, together with their Wellington friends, camped the night out at River Valley on the Friday night, whilst Caroline, Graeme and yours truly met them out there on the Saturday morning. It had been a little wet, but, maybe the weatherman decided we would not need any more precipitation from above, as the weekend proved to be fine. There was enough water in the river - together with all that splashed from the paddles ----- somehow we seemed to be the main targets for the trip. Next time I’ll have my priorities right, and hope to be equally adept at both paddling, staying upright in the raft and inflicting equal quantities of river water over the opposition, whether from the bailer or the paddle!
There were 15 of us altogether, with the plan being to raft the scenic part of the river downstream from River Valley to the meeting of the waters, camping overnight below Davis’s at Mokai. The new four-person Incept Raft was being initiated this trip (where was the champagne John?), with one three-person, and the rest two-person rafts making up the party. Caroline and I had a practice in the pool immediately out from River Valley before we set off. The rafts were portaged past the difficult rapid below River Valley - except for those with experienced rafting skills. We stopped at the Mangatara for a break (namely, lunch) and most of us crossed the stream to walk up and view the Ohutu Falls. These were quite spectacular as there was a reasonable amount of water in the Ohutu Stream. The Ongaonga (stinging nettle) was just starting to rear its ugly head - or vicious nettles - to be avoided at all costs. As we were clad in wetsuits we were mostly protected from inadvertently brushing against them. It seemed strange to be clambering about up through the stream and bush in sneakers and a wetsuit when one is used to tramping boots, however it wasn’t for long. After lunch it was back into those rafts again, and off downstream. It was just great being on the river, viewing the scenery from river level. Graeme and Alastair had obliged us prior to the lunch break by demonstrating what to do when one is tipped out .... something to look forward to I wondered?! By 4.20pm and much paddling later, Davis’s camping spot was in sight. Two fishermen were in the river there, and, I gather, had had success. After dragging up the rafts, emptying the water out, and untying our packs, we then proceeded to set up the tent flies - a regular encampment - home away from home! We lit a big campfire and proceeded to prepare the evening’s 'noshup’, and what a feast it proved to be. The Camp Oven had come along for the ride, and was proving Its worth with a huge stew and accompanying vegetables being consumed. Soup had preceded this. Paul constructed the ‘piece-de-resistance’ for dessert, ably assisted by young Paul - the custard stirrer. (not the only thing he stirred over the weekend, he was adept at Stirring and splashing water as well!). We were pleased it was your birthday John, would we have been treated to a fruit salad sponge otherwise? But, where were the candles? With Alastair having purchased his new toy, namely, a lamp, the candles seemed to have been forgotten! We concluded with coffee and liqueurs. One of the Wellington members had a box of Dessert Mints - they didn’t last long, so, all in all, we were more than replete! One by one the party departed to their various sleeping mats, leaving only three stayers playing cards until the witching hour when all good things turn back into pumpkins! So it was out with the lamp followed by the sleep of the just. The morning dawned fine, and with remarkable Speed we were organised to be on the river by 9am. Caroline and I were congratulating ourselves at how adept we had become at lashing our packs together and tying them firmly in place in the raft. The scouts may have been dismayed by our knots, but they worked as we discovered sooner than later .... We were enjoying the rhythm of paddling again. Nearing the Hokai Bridge we were too close to two of the other rafts to see properly what was ahead of us. Suddenly we were in a backwater, stuck against the cliffs blocked by a branch that had been swept down in a previous flood. We could not paddle back out of it with the force of the Current being far too strong - couldn't go over the branch, didn’t want to go under it! Meanwhile the rest of the group had pulled over to the other side and were trying to give us helpful advice? - which we couldn't hear anyway! Alastair threw us a rope, but with the raft quickly filling with water it was obvious a swim was inevitable! Paul very kindly had his camera at the ready so he could record all this ... you just needed us to provide you with a good laugh didn’t you Paul? Just wait, my turn will come ... Meanwhile it was grab hat and paddle downstream to shore. the branch obligingly broke once the raft tipped over. Caroline was left with the raft and her paddle, as I was off downstream before I had time to hang onto the raft.
Having not been clad in a wetsuit before, I was surprised at how warm I was, in spite of my involuntary swim. The packs had remained firmly attached to the raft so we had passed our rope test with flying colours! Next time I go over the Hokai Bridge I will be able to observe that part of the river from another perspective! As one is told when they fall off a horse - get back on - SO for us it was get back in and proceed with more caution! Somehow, some of the others didn’t think we were wet enough and so the water-warfare continued!
Lunch in the sun, and a boil-up on the beach proved to be a very enjoyable exercise. We had a change around in the rafts after that, Caroline being promoted to the three-person raft, whilst I paired up with one of the Wellington guys. It was just lovely on that beautiful river, and I found it interesting viewing some of the familiar countryside from the river. Bungy jumping was not in evidence as we went under the Omatane Bridge. It would have been interesting if it had been! We came across a mother duck with her brood who swam some considerable way downstream with us until she decided it would be more prudent to take her ducklings to shore. I found the cliffs quite awe inspiring in places - the Rangitikei certainly is a spectacular river. All too soon we seemed to be nearing our destination with a couple of jet boats passing us roaring upstream. Then it was round the last bend and here we were - at the meeting of the waters - journey completed and over all too soon. My pack and I had certainly enjoyed the change - different experiences from a tramping weekend.
Rafters: Anne Mould (Writer), Caroline O’Rourke, Graeme White, Richard Balchin, John, Fred, Paul and Johnny Booth, John Finger, Darryl Goulding, Tony Alexander, Ilse Seilis, Harry Smith, Keith Strode-Penny and Paul Critchley.