This text was read by OCR from a scanned newsletter and has not been proofread yet, so expect odd characters and mistakes.
By Shane Connolly A classic last minute decision: saw me phoning Allen Higgins on Wednesday night at 10:30. “Meet me and Sue __ outside work tomorrow at 4:30.” All a bit of a rush but at least I didn’t have to work over Easter weekend.
The trip to the Kaweka roadend was uneventful apart from some careful navigation through a thick mist. And misty it was as we arose to a typical 6:30 start. However, by the end of breakfast the cloud had bumt off and sunlight lit the bare ridge in front of us.
From the roadend it was a straight 700m climb up to Kaweka J. Not my idea of fun, but this was a Higgins Medium (translation - FE) trip after all. We did pause at the cute Dominie Biwy though. Inside were two bunks and a 1 metre bench which was “just your size, Shane”. Hmmm...
Near the top of Kawekaj, we came across mountain bike tracks. Presumably the bikes had been chopperedin and out as there was no easy access. More than just full suspension required here!
On top of Kaweka J we stopped for a good break, dried out the fly, and took some photos of Mts Ruapehu and Ngauruhoe in the distance. After a half hour break we cruised down Back Ridge, past Back Ridge Hut, and on to a lunch stop at Back Ridge Bivvy. The fine weather was such a contrast when compared to the cold, wet Queens Birthday I spent there last year. Lounging in the sun, the only thing to complain about was the odd fly or two.
Dragging ourselves away from lunch, we headed down the steep track to Rocks Ahead Hut. As Sue aptly described it, this was a real “knee wobbler” track. Rocks Ahead Hut had been taken over by a group of hunters who had been choppered in with all of the comforts of home - cast iron gas burners, flagons of sherry, and enough food to feed a modest army. The hunting and fishing hadn’t been successful for these hunters, but they weren't too perturbed. It was only 2:30 pm when we arrived here and the conversation soon followed the lines... “What are we going to do for the rest of the day?” ... “There might be a good sunset on the Venison Tops”. So we climbed another 700 metres up to Tira Lodge, only to watch the sun fade out in the grey haze behind Mt Ruapehu’s silhouette. Again at Tira Lodge we met another group of hunters who had been choppered in with home comforts, and again they hadn’t had much success, but weren't too upset! Saturday morning dawned red, overcast, and cooler as weleft TiraLodge. Passing Mangaturutu Hut we headed on to the Makino River via another “knee wobbler” downhill. Shortly after lunch, we met up with a couple doing our trip “in reverse” who told us about a vague track down the river. We managed to follow this track down to the Mohaka, thus avoiding a long river grovel. The only hitch was the thick cutty grass on the flats which performed some “plastic surgery” on Allen’s nose.
Reaching Mangatainoka, we quickly set up ourfly before sliding into the hot pools - so good for those tired legs! We weren't the only ones camping here, but we found the locals very friendly. Two anglers shared half of their catch with us and in return for some collected firewood, we were rewarded with trout baked in garlic, curry, and paprika seasoning - Yum!
Sunday morning saw another brutal 700m climb on our way to Middle Hill Hut. This seemed a particularly tiresome climb - steep and unrelenting. While climbing, the sun peeked in and out between the clouds, and the mist in the valleys rose, but only enough to shroud the tops. After much discussion, we took a lower track to Middle Hill Hut, but this proved to be a track I wouldn’t recommend, Although the start and end points had the same elevation, there were numerous 200m climbs and descents into and out of creeks. Even though the tracks, like all the tracks we tramped, were in great condition, it was a relief to get to. Middle Hill Hut at about 3:00 pm.
From Middle Hill Hut it was half a day’s walk over the Kaweka Flats (not flat!) out to the roadend. Much to our disappointment, we found Allen and Sue’s van had been broken into and gear stolen. Rather a shame to find this at the end of such a fun weekend.