This text was read by OCR from a scanned newsletter and has not been proofread yet, so expect odd characters and mistakes.
The wonderful, brilliant, and not to mention super fit A team, otherwise known as the punters of the Easy tour was comprised of the following outstanding people:
Sue (kite flier extraordinaire), Claire (mega superfit person, who can leap ridges in a single bound, and this is with injuries), Jason (possessor of plastic coke bottles for beating people with, and mega smelly socks), Ginny (jason’s partner in crime), Andi (professional smelly sock thrower, and possessor of blindingly bright pyjamas), Heather (resident child psychologist), Lisa (resident fish “n chip experd, Sarah, Elizabeth, Angela (assistant to kite flier extraordinaire), Caroline (assistant smelly sock thrower), Bernie, Daniel (possessor of weird and wonderful hats), . Kelvin, several honorary Wellingtonians (otherwise known as the Auckland contingent, anyone else Ihave forgotten (sorry guys), and me (otherwise known as Tash).
Sue volunteered me to carry out the wonderful task of : writing the trip report for the Easy tour to Ketetahi. After the initial panic of thinking “what am I going to write”, I stumbled upon what I believed to be, in the words of the immortal Black Adder, a “cunning plan’; namely get everyone else to put their thoughts on paper, which effectively writes the article for you. So here you have it, an amazing collection of inspiring thoughts and.” experiences with additional comments (where appropriate) thrown in by me.
FRIDAY
Friday’s journey to the Tongariro National Park began with a mass congregation of people dad in multicoloured polypro, waiting in the “hitch hiking’ zone outside the Railway Station for the eminent arrival of the Duchess (this had nothing to do with Fergie), and a hired van. Moments passed and finally it was time toload gear: and start on our journey, the first port of call along the journey was the “huge metropolis” of ... Levin. Here we stopped to feed our faces before heading off to our final destination.
At Tlpm when the truck was grinding along at a snail’s pace, through the extreme conditions of the Desert Road, it was unanimously decided that we should shed some weight. The so-called “hard bodied” Medium group were surrendered to the “tropical” conditions of ” the Desert Road. However, it was noted by everyone in the truck that they weren't prepared to go without a fight. Finally after an hour of grovelling, greasing, and generally begging upon their knees by certain Medium group punters, we decided to be generous to their plight and threw them a spare blanket out of the truck to the _now whimpering lot. Having satisfied ourselves that their needs had been adequately met, the joumey was continued.
SATURDAY
Saturday moming saw an absence of water for brekkie and a brew (we strongly suspect sabotage by a certain mediocre Medium group!!!)
(a comment from Lisa)
It was a beautiful day and we set off up the hill filled with anticipation. As we emerged from the bushline, we hit the first signs of snow and were also greeted with the - spectacular sight of the mountain and the hut that awaited us. We continued upward, lugging our gourmet delights with us. (and now over to Heather)
At the hut we occupied ourselves with a range of activities, bum sliding, soaking in the hot pools, attempting to fly akite, and generally just relaxing until it was time to "prepare the gourmet feast. The atmosphere of a gourmet meal was maintained with many people “dressing up” for dinner. Sue’s stunning gown with its plunging neckline symbolised the glamour of the evening. (Bernie’s comment) - Themost memorable part of my first tramp with the club wa the two hour soak in the hot springs, followed by a demon ride down the slopes on plastic bags with Andi and Caroline. The whole weekend hada very enjoyable : _ atmosphere!
(Caroline’s view)
By the end of the day, full after a gourmet feast of chicken satay, chocolate mousse, marshmallows, and after dinner mints, I was ready for some serious sleep. My eyes were tired after:
1) the glare of the Ketetahi sunshine, and 2) theglare of Andis bright yellow and pink Japanese pyjamas. Iwoke up the next day with we feet and discovered that my sleeping bag and boots were covered in snow, as some miserable Medium punter had left the window . open!!!
It would also appear that the same Medium punter had sabotaged the window in the sleeping area off the main living area; those sleeping in that area woke to find snow pouring in through the window, but quick thinking and fast work with freezing fingers by the punters of the Easy tour saved everyone from the perils of a room filled with snow.
SUNDAY
(comments from Jas and Ginny) After an awesome sleep on a full stomach, the chirpy, keen, and still totally rockered punters faced death in extreme conditions of deep powder, ice, and gale force winds. Although we had such awesome forces against us, we still managed to sprint down the mountain ina time that the moaning, miserable, mildew infected, Medium group cringed ‘at!
Well, there you have it, a detailed account of the Easy tour to Ketetahi. It was an awesome trip, which was — enjoyed by all.