This text was read by OCR from a scanned newsletter and has not been proofread yet, so expect odd characters and mistakes.
By Jo Thomson
It was 11.30 when the Duchess came to an abrupt halt. We clambered over the Gourmet's who were enjoying some much-needed beauty sleep to brave the cold night air. Much to our surprise, it was a lovely mild, calm night. Packs on, we stomped off into the night guided by the full moon. Who needs torches!!? A little way in we came across a campsite full of activity -,the Fits. Much to Wayne's disappointment, it was decided that we would tramp some more tonight and sleep-in in the morning - well at least that was the understanding at the time. We arrived at Waihohonu Hut some time after midnight and set up camp alongside the river. After a couple of attempts, we had Woody's virgin, top of the range alpine tent erected and climbed into our pits looking forward to that sleep-in. Thanks Woody! Bloody 6.30am! If this is a sleep-in, I'd hate to see the time we'd get up for an early start! Motivation was hard to find for most of us but finally we were ready for the task ahead. Upon take-off came some echoes from above. No, it wasn't God, only the Fits who we followed, heading toward our destination. It was a testing tramp at times and some got more of a sweat up than others. At one stage it was assumed that Don was on a mission to catch the Fits but on regrouping at Oturere Hut it was revealed that he was only trying to get to his maximum heart rate. After a short rest and an earbashing from our leader about how heavy his pack was, we trudged on, but not before Damian introduced jet-planes to a couple of German tourists - yum yuml! Brilliant views all the way to Emerald Lakes and a lot of determination got us to the top of the spur, along with the aid of an ice axe. While relaxing over lunch, we spotted a group of yetis climbing up Mt Ngauruhoe, but after some discussion it was concluded that it was in fact the Fits. After a well-deserved nosh and breathtaking views, we set off via Blue Lake for the downward climb. Along the way we met the Gourmet's who were out for a bit of an afternoon stroll. At around 2.30pm we made it to Ketetahi Hut for an evening of friendly rivalry with the Gourmet's. There was a lot of debate over whose meal was the best which amused two Swiss tourists. After tea, wine and laughter we hit our pits for some well-deserved sleep. Sunday dawned another brill day and after a wallow in the hot pools, we hit the track, almost a motorway, for the - casual walk down to the Duchess. All safe and accounted for, we headed home and for those who stayed awake, topics of discussion ranging from g-strings, Wayne's revealing clothing and God occupied us until we reached the Railway Station. All in all, a massive, enjoyable trip.
Trip Members: Woody McColgan (Leader), Wayne Stevens, Don Goodhue, Damian Kells, Graham Morley, Mike and Johanna Jo) Thomson.