This text was read by OCR from a scanned newsletter and has not been proofread yet, so expect odd characters and mistakes.
very year, sometime JL between the 21st and 23rd of December, the sun is, for a brief moment, over the Tropic of Capricorn bringing with it the longest day before beginning its long journey north towards winter. A few weeks earlier, Matthew and I had decided that a good walk around the Southern Main Range of the Tararuas would be in order as a warm-up to Christmas trips. With every other weekend till Christmas already committed, the only chance we had was the weekend immediately before Christmas, so on Friday evening of the 22nd we were at Otaki Forks, ready to head for Kime.
The plan was to get to Kime on Friday night, and then head for Waitewaewae_ via Maungahuka and Anderson’s on Saturday. Depending upon when we got to Waitewaewae, we would ideally continue on out to Otaki Forks the same day. By the Thursday night before, the weather forecast was looking gloomy, with a front having spent the last few days in the Tasman trying to decide if it was going to strike before Christmas.
The walk up to Kime was only interrupted by a brief stop at Field Hut for water, the trip up Judd Ridge having been extremely hot and humid. We eventually dropped down to Kime 3 hours and 10 minutes from Otaki, just in time to be able to get to the hut without the need for torches. Not long after we arrived, the cloud descended and with it, we thought, the forecast weather.
At 5:30 the next morning we were surprised to find that the cloud had lifted and the weather was clear, with nothing on the tops. After a quick breakfast we left the hut at 6:30am. Up onto Bridge Peak, we briefly poked our heads into the clouds and_ then descended out of them for a clear run to Maungahuka, arriving at 9:45am, slightly ahead of the anticipated 4 hours. Up until this point, although there had been a number of showers passing to the south, we had managed to stay dry. As we sat in Maungahuka Hut having a brew, there were a few spits of rain on the roof, heralding what was to come later in the day. Out of Maungahuka, we headed towards Aokaparangi. As we dropped down between Aokaparangi and Kahiwiroa, the sun came out, and out of the wind it became as humid as it had been the night before. At this stage the Main Range to the south behind us was clear back to Bridge Peak but dark clouds were gathering to the northwest. We dropped off Kahiwiroa for the short stretch along the tops in the bush, arriving at Anderson’s four hours after leaving
Maungahuka, just behind another tramper who had arrived from the north, and just ahead of the rain. We ended up stopping at Anderson’s for the best part of an hour, having a brew and talking to the man from the north. One glance at his gear was enough to work out he wasn’t a Kiwi. In the course of our discussion with him, we learned that he was a German tourist, backpacking his way through as many of New Zealand’s National and Forest Parks as he could within six months. He had walked into Waitewaewae the day before and was now on his way to Mid-Waiohine via Anderson’s. (We later agreed that this was slightly off the beaten track for the average tourist).
From Mid-Waiohine he was planning to spend Christmas Day at Powell and then head out to the road. As we sat talking, the rain steadily grew heavier. By the time we left, we had convinced him (we hoped) that heading up onto Aokaparangi would not be a good idea right now and that he was better to spend the night where he was. We climbed up out of Anderson’s as the rain came™ down. It wasn’t cold, but it sure was wet and as we descended Shoulder Knob and headed into the bush it seemed to get heavier, to the point that it was literally pouring off the trees in mini waterfalls. On the way down, we talked about the likelihood of anyone else being at Waitewaewae and decided that even though it was raining, we would be prepared to continue to Otaki if the hut was full, or inhabited by a bunch of bogans. By the time we crossed the river, the water had become quite discoloured and the rain was still as heavy as ever. We arrived at the hut 3 hours and 15 minutes after leaving Andersons.
There were five others at the hut along with countless dogs which had settled in for the night on the porch. We eventually reckoned that there were six in number - one was an old Black Labrador, going grey around the edges and looked something like an elderly statesman: , Another I was a real ugly one that must ‘I have had mongrel as its first, middle and last names. If you can imagine a Collie crossed with a Pit Bull - the colours of a Collie, an elongated Pit Bull head, short hair and beady eyes. Fortunately they had the good sense to stay out of the hut.
As we sat having dinner, the river continued to rise - we were not too proud to admit that this was a better place to be than sloshing through the rain to Otaki Forks.
The rain had stopped the next morning when we left the hut at 7:30am. One of the five in the hut had been asleep for the entire time we had been there. The walk out to the Forks was
‘uneventful - having a cellphone with us, we had phoned home from . Anderson’s to arrange our. : transport and were picked up in time to be home for lunch. ' . Perhaps the next time the sun’ “ is on the Tropic of Capricorn,” we might repeat the trip, but" try and do the last bit out to” Otaki on the Saturday. If you 1 haven’ t figured it out thy” now, there were only two’. punters - Matthew Grainger x and me.
Next year, sometime between ‘ the 21st and 23rd of December, — the sun is for a brief moment over the Tropic, perhaps we will try and complete the I Kime - Waitewaewae day walk.
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By Don Goodhue