This text was read by OCR from a scanned newsletter and has not been proofread yet, so expect odd characters and mistakes.
PAUA HUT, ORONGORONGO RANGES 30 - 31 OCTOBER 1993 by Zar Lilley
It was warm. There was virtually no wind. No-one was carsick in the truck on the way there. It just seemed .destined to be a great weekend!
The participants descended on Paua Hut by foot tramping and running - and by mountain bike, with one enthusiast (who shall remainnameless, though longhaired) arriving by 10 speed. The Medium tramping team got off to a good start at demonstrating their physical prowess by being overtaken by the Easy team. Bruce enlightened us with his unique method of crossing rivers without letting water into his boots (though soaking the rest of him), and upon arrival at Paua, Leanne ran over Kath's pack with a runaway tree-stump.
With the trampers' arrival completed, the Mediums set off to climb Paua Ridge to restore their shattered pride, while the Easys settled into camp. Naturally, the consumption of food came to everyone's minds. Upon the retum of the Mediums, a frisbee was produced and a bout of frisbee-throwing was organised on the riverbed, an event altemating between aeronautical finesse and spectacular crashes, with the odd stream jump added in for the onlookers (two). Dinner soon followed, and then it was down to the serious business of organising the Halloween Party.
The mountain bikers arrived after a short while and set about making camp, joined soon after by Wayne, Sue, and Woodstock, and then Francis, Toni, and Austin. Plagued by inadequacies in their childhoods, Woody and Wayne had come equipped with the latest that waterpistol technology could provide - in happy, bright, fluorescent colours. (According to Austin, this also symbolised their inadequacies in another, more masculine area). The boys soon went to work, showering people with water and thus setting themselves up for severe retribution later that night. Hehehe!
With the decorations carefully arranged and set up by
Harry, stereo in place and rearing for action, and bonfire and seating laid on by alycra-ed Lyndsay, everything was ready to go. Sue generously donated her tape ‘The Pits of the 70's" and we were soon raging down to "The Monster Mash". Those in costumes played their part, including a rather enthusiastic portrayal of a witch by Karyn, through to the fascinating and scary "Boy in Bush Shirt" costume, meticulously arranged by Ben.
lf there were awards for the evening, they would have to have been: * Most Wettened - Wayne * Most in the Partying Mood - Ilse * Most Enlightened Costume - Bruce "The Mummy" * Most Spectacular Pyrotechnic Display - Harry "Witch! Witch!" I * Best Ambush and Water Bombing While Intoxicated - Zar & Francis
Gradually, people exhausted from raging crawled off to their sleeping bags, and the party drew to a close at 3 am. It was at this time that Zar and Francis décided to carry out anambush on Wayne (The Wettened - see Awards). Albeit drunken, nonetheless the outcome was Wayne being Totally Saturated. The next day's tramp back to the truck was well-spirited -and remarkably unhungover, and I saw some good achievements including the covering of the Five Mile Track by Zar and Leanne in 38 minutes (yes, OK, ! blew my ownwhistle. So sue me). Oh yes, and a pithy attempt by Wayneand Woody to wet Zar with their water pistols in the car park, which was sadly unsuccessful. Maybe next time, guys. All in all, the weekend was a fantastic one, and the Halloween Party a great success. Credit must go to the trip leaders, the people who brought costumes, Harry, who brought the fireworks, Mike, who brought the frisbee, and of course, Sue Walsh, who kindly provided her wonderful tape "The Pits of the 70's". a