This text was read by OCR from a scanned newsletter and has not been proofread yet, so expect odd characters and mistakes.
by Chris Collyns
Friday came around again, the end of another week and I was feeling burnt out and uninspired. What better excuse for a weekend blast into the Tararuas. Even the rain which began to fall on my way to the truck couldn't dampen my keenness to get away but the journey over the hill seemed to drag and the rain was getting heavier. We reached Walls Whare by 9.15pm and the Easy's and Medium's were left behind happily rolling out their pits in the toilet block while we set off into the dark, wet night heading for Cone Hut. Crossing the bridge was fun but finding the track up to Cone Saddle was even more fun as the sign at the end of the bridge had been relocated. After tramping through a couple of mud swamps without starting to climb, it was decided that perhaps the track up started back the — other way, So we went back the other way for a while but still no track. So we went back the other way a bit further, still no track, so back the other way even further and there it was - the signpost and the track up. Phew! Was this some kind of omen? Matthew reckoned he was just warming us up for the grunt up to Cone Saddle. For trampers who don't need a warm-up, tum left at the T-junction just above the end _of the bridge, crossing over the small creek.
It took us about an hour to climb up to the saddle by which time, Adrian's new boots had decided to bite back, so we stopped to administer some first aid. It was then on to Cone Hut, arriving around midnight. Next morning we were away by 8.15am heading for Cone via the Block XIX Track. This is definitely not a tourist track and so it didn't take long to get on the main ridge and then on to Cone where we arrived at around 10.00am. The sun was shining and we were treated to some excellent views of the Wairarapa. Maungahuka was surrounded by Clouds but the Tararua Peaks occasionally broke through like giant fangs - things were looking good.
Adrian's blisters from his new boots weren't so good, one was starting to bleed and was causing pain. Perhaps a word of warning here to other trampers thinking of taking their new boots out for a stroll - a simple precaution such as taping up the back of your heels with a heavy duty tape such as Leukoplast before you head into the bush will stop any blisters from forming. ) Me We decided to carry on to Neill Forks for lunch so we set off down Neill Saddle and then a short steep grunt up on to Neill, hanging a right just before the top down on to Neill Ridge. Things were going well, despite the fact that the track had disappeared, and we were roughly on the right compass bearing when the ridge just petered out. To cut along story short, we did a new route inspection and dropped into Neill Creek about an hour and a half later slightly battered and confused. We had lunch there and decided that with the sun beating down, life wasn't so bad after all. It took us about an hour to reach Neill Forks Hut via the new route, and once there, decided after looking at the springy bunks and foam mattresses, that we had been cured of tramping and what was needed was a nice cup of tea and a bit of a lie down. Dinner was relaxed, pudding was interesting - a sort of "Death by Chocolate". Four members of the Tararua Tramping Club ‘tured up so we had quite a full hut for the night. Next morning we had another early start although we were beaten out the door by the TTC by a good 10 minutes, enjoy your day, we called after them, smiling to ourselves as they disappeared into the bush, heading for Neill Ridge. We headed off in the opposite direction up towards Cone Ridge past the NZR Bus Stop of which| have serious doubts is really a bus stop at all! We hit Cone Ridge an hour later but we didn't rest long as it was cold and windy. An idea to bushbash on down to Totara Flats was abandoned as it was felt that we had completed enough new route inspections for the weekend, so we took the longer way via the track, which was probably the shorter way in the long run, if you know what I mean, arriving at Totara Hats around midday. We crossed the Waichine River time warp and checked out Sayer’s Hut for lunch. This hut has atmosphere and has a real yesteryear feel. Time seemed to stand still as we soaked up the sunshine, tuned into the bush vibrations, and ate our sandwiches. Aware 1993 and the Duchess awaited us, we crossed back over the Waiohine River time warp and galloped off down the track. We made it back to the swingbridge at approximately 4.00pm. The Duchess was waiting alongwith the Easy's and Medium's - that's the way trips should end, no waiting around. I returned to Wellington physically tired and sore, mentally and spiritually inspired and energised.
Trip Members: Matthew Grainger (Leader), Adrian Evans, Chnis Collyns (Scribe).