This text was read by OCR from a scanned newsletter and has not been proofread yet, so expect odd characters and mistakes.
he Club’s annual Haurangis trip meantan eager bunchof Tongue & Meats trampers at the Railway Station ready for the weekend's activity. Driver Allan soon had the Duchess on her way, with 20-something bods on board. After nearly three hours of hurtling (Duchess-style) down darkened South Wairarapa roads, our driver stopped and announced we had come a tad too far, but we would camp and go back in the moming. A combination of map studying and a large tell-tale lighthouse in an unexpected place may have given them that idea. No problem! While some punters stayed steadfastly on board, a few more set up flies next to the truck. Not all settled for the softish option! Across the road was the ocean, and a scattering of bushes shaped and
By Marilyn Duffy
formed by the prevailing wind. “Let’s camp out”, said trip leader Eric (and that was the Easy trip)! The doubtful luxury of the Duchess was spurned, sheltered spots amongst said bushes were found, and pits assembled.
It was toasty cosy inside my borrowed bivvy bag and high tech sleeping bag, with borrowed thermorest for added comfort. The bushes and long grass gave plenty of shelter from the wind, and it was a pretty good pit on tramping standards.
The sea was very close and rough, and pounded all night. There were stars by the million, and a tiny moon. Beyond the shadow of the Duchess, the beam from the Cape Palliser lighthouse flickered eerily across the light mist which drifted by intermittently. It was a magical place to be, and. not even a smattering of rain at 4:00 am could spoil the effect.
Daylight came and revealed to us the cause of the strange odour we had noticed, reminiscent of that left by dogs marking a favourite spot. We had shared the beach with some 14 large and smelly seals.
Tramping hasled me to sleep insome unusual locations, and in some very unusual company, but this would have to be one of the most memorable yet. In all, an interesting experience and a good start to a fun tramp.
Editor's Note: Please tell us more about the "very unusaul company"! Were intrigued!