This text was read by OCR from a scanned newsletter and has not been proofread yet, so expect odd characters and mistakes.
he signpost announced a right turn for Herepai Hut or aleft turn for Roaring Stag Lodge. Those of us keen for a further climb took the right hand turn and headed for Herepai. Lunch was eaten “al fresco” with a lovely view of the tops as we sat on the doorstep of Herepai Hut. A few whoops! and halloos! was heard above as “Irish Mark”, “Kiwi Mark”, Prakash, Andrew, and John trekked onwards and upwards with the intent of crossing the tops and then descending to the river. The less ambitious group led by Ed° and Janine then descended to Roaring Stag Lodge following the track. We passed Sue, Dave, Kate, and Dan on our way down looking none too happy as a descent to the river had proved impossible without some “Rambo-style” abseiling.
Roaring Stag Lodge had an impressive name but was not exactly 5 star among mountain huts! However, with a roaring fire made by Ross
By Pat Flanagan (obviously a boy scout in earlier days) we were soon at home. An enormous plate of chicken, vegetables, and rice with one of Sue’s secret sauces, followed by cheesecake amply filled the tummies.
An early start the next morning was necessary for those who intended a tramp along the Ruamahanga River to Mount Bruce Road. I was rather dubious of the impending river crossings as it had rained copiously in the night. Sue gave calm reassurance that the secret with river crossing is to hang on to someone who is of “beefcake status” and don’t let go! In fact, the weather improved considerably as we set off so that linked crossings were not required.
We crossed the river on numerous occasions and those of us of the shorter legged variety soon suffered a dampness of the nether regions. Luckily the river current was not too strong so no one was forced to take a full icy bath!
Thescenery was great withthe dense native forest ascending around us. However, a sharp reminder that we were in hunting territory was apparent as we passed the remains of a deer.
Andrew’s keen observation skills set us on the main track to Mount Bruce Road and we exchanged the icy, cold water and slippery rocks for a squelchy, mud track with tortuous tree roots designed to trip up the uninitiated like myself.
After six hours steady tramping we reached our meeting point for the truck. It was raining heavily once again but with shelter under an enormous tree and a billy brewing piping hot tea we were quite comfortable.
After an hour of generally putting the world to rights we had the welcome sight of the “Duchess” approaching and nine weary trampers (Andrew, John, Janine, Ross, Dan, Ed, Prakash, lrish Mark, and Pat) climbed aboard.