This text was read by OCR from a scanned newsletter and has not been proofread yet, so expect odd characters and mistakes.
5.00 pm Friday turned up too quickly and the office was a mess with my tramping gear strewn all over the place while I madly tried to pack everything in. Time ran out and I had to dash off with gear pushed into a spare bag, boots in one hand and two paviovas in the other - sure sign of a gourmet trip! As soonas we had the punters split between the Duchess and a mini van, we were on our way to Bulls and dinner. With dinner eaten, we continued on our way under a full moon to the Desert Road where Lyndsay dropped:the Mediums off. The mountains were clear and provided a spectacular backdrop to the Mediums sorting out their gear. Friendly bantering was flung back and forth between the two groups before we disappeared along the moonlit road to our destination and sleep. The morning definitely came too soon for me but I couldn't slow down the sun rising so finally crawled out of my pit to face the day. It was very pleasant in the sun and looked to be a good day to be out in the hills. After last minute preparations and panic we slowly set off under the sunny sky. We had a major refreshment stop when we got to the top of the bushline and took time out to admire the view and take photos. Harry quickly headed off as he was going to do some exploring on the top and the rest of us went on at a more sedate pace. Next stop was Ketetahi Hut for lunch where we sprawled over the decking, sunning ourselves. The cool wind eventually moved us into activity again with some going to the springs while others meandered up the hill towards Blue Lake. Zig zagging up the track, we had an encounter with some snow balls - thanks Susi! - then with a strange looking apparition who insisted he was Wayne. At first I didn't believe it but then the rest of the Mediums rounded the corner. They were full of tales of snow this deep, slopes this steep and rivers this widel We looked suitably sceptical until they threatened our food and wine supply; this didn't impress John who'd kindly volunteered to carry the wine, so we thought we'd better believe them. They carried on down and we carried on up until a couple of snowy areas split the group, so some continued up to Blue Lake where it was discovered the Mediums were telling the truth, and the others took a slow stroll with photo stops back to the hut. Once everyone was back, the mammoth task of dinner was started. But where do you start? This had me perplexed for a while, but we finally got there with garlic bread being heated on top of the heater and billies-boiling for a brew and soup. It was now time to dress for dinner so those foolish enough, sorry, brave enough, to bring something up put their evening attire on over their tramping attire. It was very becoming and absolutely classy! The end result was a tux, 70's style dress, cocktail dress, and a sort of bridesmaid type dress. The Mediums rolled their eyes, the other Gourmets hid their eyes, and the general public present at the time couldn't believe their eyes!! We had to have a group photo for posterity then it was time to fill our stomachs with the soup and garlic bread. Wine was gently I flowing, both into people's cups and into the main course. Snide comments from the Mediums were quietened when they were offered some wine, but started up again when it became obvious they'd be eating their main before us. One of the Gourmets nearly deserted until a detailed description of the main course brought him back to his senses. The wine was beginning to tell on some of the punters with interesting comments flying around the hut (I'm sorry, but they can't be repeated!) which caused a lot of hilarity at one or two people's expense. The main course was finally ready and everyone watched in drooling anticipation as it was served. It smelt okay, looked okay and tasted......... okay! Thank goodness! Silence descended over the Gourmets as they tucked into the food and the Mediums looked on in a drooling envious silence, wishing they'd put their names down for the Gourmet trip! Several people went back for seconds and thirds, and-was there a fourth-(Harry)? It was decided our palates needed a break before dessert so the dishes were done and people relaxed while we checked on the paviovas - were they still in one piece? Success!! Dessert was then served with cream and fruit salad followed by seconds and then finally After Dinner Mints. It was well past the Mediums bedtime when a few hardy punters trotted down to the hot pools for a soak with more After Dinner Mints and a touch of Baileys. The rest of the crowd tried settling down for the evening, but a hard core group of singers, who'd been singing throughout the evening, decided to serenade Woody, Wayne and Don. For some reason it didn't go down particularly well, maybe it was the Christmas carol they were singing!? A couple of
punters had set up their pits in the lee of the veranda where they had a perfect view of the countryside until cloud came up and obscured the scene leaving only the red moon and stars. Slowly everyone else collapsed into their pits, snoring until morning came round. When it did, people were moving very slowly, preferring to stay in their pits until they had to get up. Outside the day was clear but with a cool breeze that everyone tried to avoid. Bit by bit people got organised then piled off to the hot pools for a soak before heading down to the car park. Some of the Gourmets really took to the pools, becoming very attached to the spots they found. The Mediums had joined us and Woody had found a comfortable site in one pool until Wayne decided to give him a face/body pack from a distance. This wasn't appreciated by Woody and a short war ensued with casualties on both sides. Once the last of the Gourmets was hauled protesting out of the pools, we had lunch then waddled (or more like rolled) back to the car park. We eventually piled into the Duchess and set off for Waiouru and an ice cream stop with the Mediums trying to impress us with tall tales of their exploits on Saturday. We knew though, that they were all jealous of the Gourmets and were wishing they'd been on the Gourmet trip! The rolling punters were: Bruce Pool, Hanne Jorgensen, Liz Mcintyre, John Sim, Susi Penny, Ferrida Curwood, John Griffith, Brian Ellis, Harry Smith, Mike Copeland, Sue Walsh (scribe/leader).