This text was read by OCR from a scanned newsletter and has not been proofread yet, so expect odd characters and mistakes.
Ruahines - 3 - 5 September 1993 Perhaps you'll recognise the following stunningly successful television commercial, screening regularly on WT&MC broadcasting:
It just so happened that Shane (trip leader cum kite flyer extroadinaire and WT&MC Social Convenor) also thought this sounded like a fine idea. And so it was that he set forth into the hills to embark upon the Crow-Hut-Kite-Flying- Extravaganza. On this significant occasion, Shane was accompanied by his partners in kite flying: Karyn (trip prankster and chief knitter) Don (trip cartoonist cum Dad) Helen and Ben (trip "youth of today") and .... most important of all .... two highly trained snow kites and one aerodynamically-designed onion on a string (quite an efficient kite replacement in just the right wind). Fortunately this was to be an Easy trip. Unfortunately the track which the party had intended to follow to Crow Hut came to an abrupt halt 50ft above the river bed.
Fortunately there was a cableway stretching across this great divide. (Cableway = Precarious hanging basket thingie which slides across a cable in much the same manner as a flying fox, carrying one tramper and one pack). Unfortunately a technical difficulty occurred just as Shane reached the middle of the cable and dangled . precariously above the raging river!
Fortunately everyone else found this most entertaining. Unfortunately Shane had the primus and the map. Circumstances were desperate! And so it was that a real effort was made by all (i.e. BJ who had happened along just at this point) to rescue Shane and begin the ascent to the tops where it was planned to rendezvous with some perfect kite flying weather. Unfortunately it was a bit of a grunt up that hill. Fortunately Shane had trained his kite to carry all our packs.
Unfortunately Shane's kite had an attitude problem.
Don had forgotten his kite altogether, but Fortunately he happened to have with him that onion on a string. Unfortunately however, Karyn and Shane's kites flew just about as well as the onion!
Also Unfortunately, that glorious kite flying weather was late for another rendezvous and departed ungracefully after a mere 5 minutes. Things began to get a little chilly! _ And so it was that the Easy trip battled onward and downward (as well as over the odd precipice) to Crow Hut.
Fortunately Crow was at home - hanging welcomingly from the fireplace! And as luck would have it the good weather returned just in time for Shane's Mum's never fail chicken curry, followed by a home-made out-of-the-packet cheesecake thingie on the lawn in front of the lodgings. (Fortunately the onion had returned to the landing bay just in time for dinner.)
It was at about this time that night set in at Crow Hut. Fortunately Helen had enough candles with her to form a serious cult.
Unfortunately one-particular candle-over-achiever burned out-all-its wax and began work on the hut itself.
Fortunately Tim Tam Slams (check this year's Journal for the recipe) were on the supper menu. This meant that plenty of Milo was on hand to douse the flames.
Unfortunately more rain fell over night. (Did I say more rain fell? To be truthful I would have to say that Cats and Dogs bucketed incessantly out of the sky for hours on end; several of these animals managing to make it through the roof and into Crow Hut).
Fortunately by morning there was silence - the rain had stopped.
Unfortunately this was because it was snowing... . and snowing... . and snowing. And so the Easy's packed up their gear in quite some rush and returned the way they had come as fast as their legs could carry them. (This was actually pretty slow - YOU try to hurry through snow up to your unmentionables!)
. ’ TT —)| Fortunately everyone was too cold to stop and the journey back to the truck was made in very good time. Now CAN rt hava « pet monkey 22 A Unfortunately this is THE END. .
Fortunately there's a Post Script!
POST SCRIPT: Two weeks later ..... sesee Karyn was out at Makara trying to fly her kite only to find that her kite- bow must still be somewhere in the Ruahines. Unfortunately this made things very difficult. Fortunately MacGyver was with her to construct a makeshift bow out of some toothpaste and a piece of toilet tissue. (Actually he used a stick, but this is most uncharacteristic of MacGyver). .... Shane was still unable to untangle his kite strings, ... and the onion was nowhere to be seen.