This text was read by OCR from a scanned newsletter and has not been proofread yet, so expect odd characters and mistakes.
It Take To Change A Lightbulb? HE riday night, Queen's Birthday Weekend was the usual _-frantic-dash-trying-to.get every-. thing ready in time for our departure. We were later than anticipated but finally got to our .destination - Whakapapa Motor Camp. We had two cabins booked for 10 of us. It was sort of first in first served but we finally got ourselves sorted out; four in one cabin, six in the other. Pageé
Saturday morning came around too soon and the cabin was soon --filled- with people_milling-around ; and having breakfast while deciding what to do. The weather wasn’t the best so we finally I settled on doing a short walk then going to the hot pools after lunch. . We walked down the road to the start of the Whakapapanui Track
By Sue Walsh
then meandered our way back, exploring the.small deviations, chatting.-and— munching. on aeroplanes.
We had lunch at the cabins, ferreted out the card players, debated the merits of another walk or going straight to the hotpools then headed to Lake Rotoponaumu for another stroll. We split into two groups and headed off in opposite directions then met back at the cars. By this time the hotpools were really beckoning. We managed to score a private pool without having to wait too long. The twenty minutes went by too quickly and we soon found ourselves looking like prunes, heading back to the motor camp. We had an amazing moonrise on the way back with a full moon showing between gaps in the clouds. The light rain soon turned to snow and the landscape just looked great! We had a frantic dash to the kitchen to start cooking dinner and, because it was so cold outside, we all had to have something to drink to warm ourselves up...!
After a huge meal we retired to cabin number one and improved the lighting after a sock hit the light bulb, twisting it slightly and making it glow brighter. The evening soon settled down - with Andrew, Kim, Leanne, Eric, Steve and Shona playing cards on the floor while Rod, Prakash, Nola and I discussed the merits of everything under the sun, while continuing to have the odd drink to warm ourselves up.
All good things must come to an end, however, and we all eventually crashed, almost literally _ with the snow on the ground.
Sunday was a beautiful day, except for the wind. We went for a_ short walk up a ridge line which gave us views of the surrounding area. Leanne and I decided that it was our duty to throw © some snowballs at the others!
It’s amazing how quickly you can end up on the ground after someone’s been hit by one, hmm.
At the bottom of the walk World War III had broken out. It was every person for themselves! Snowballs were flying everywhere. And if they weren't flying they were being shoved into faces, down necks, you name it!
Shona thought: she was onto a good thing by hiding and firing snowballs at people, but failed to see Prakash sneak around the back. I think the whole mountain heard her yell!
After lunch we ventured up to the Lodge, but conditions weren't the best. Clearish skies but a very strong wind and icy temperatures. We had a cup of milo at the Lodge then half of us headed down to the Silica Rapids walk while four went for a plod and skate on the mountain (how did you get that bruise again Prakash?), then went to the hotpools again. We had another huge meal then retired to the cabin for further entertainment. The bulb that had been glowing so well decided to shorten its life and died. Instant consternation. It was the only bulb in the cabin. Then the music died, but that was Leanne being cautious. Rod saved the day by swapping light bulbs with a new one from the dining area. Cards, yarns and more liquid kept us going to the wee hours yet again (the neighbours were very good and didn’t complain at all). I _Monday was full on. Prakash, walked up to Soda Springs. It was sheltered in the valley and none of us wanted to move. After Andrew & Co departed we stayed for a bit longer soaking up the rays and people-watching before heading back for a late lunch.
After lunch we blobbed for a while but Rod and I got itchy feet so decided to investigate the lower track to Silica Rapids. We found some good skating (even if it was by accident). Dinner on Monday was a bit of a problem as we had forgotten about ourselves. We decided to try the Whakapapa Tavern - forget it! It’s fine for having a drink, but the food. ..
We started with wedges, which were fine, then had a choice of three pizzas. They weren't fine. They were half-cooked; burnt black on the underside and raw on the top. Customer service didn’t seem to be very high on their list of priorities and the cook was not appreciative of the situation. His language was interesting too. We crashed that night after having ample quantities of toast.
Tuesday was another great day. After packing the car we went to view Taranaki Falls. Heaps of work has been done on parts of the track which was a great improvement. After lying in the sun for a while we headed back for a huge lunch (we were a bit hungry) before heading back to Wellington. Kim and Eric were heading back I, after breakfast. Andrew, Leanne and Steve were heading back around lunchtime, and the rest of us were leaving on Tuesday.
After Prakash & Co had departed -we drove around to the Mangatepopo roadend and
If you want to spend time at the mountain but can’t get into the Lodge I can really recommend the motor camp. The owners are very friendly and helpful, the prices are reasonable, and their store is well-stocked - just don’t eat at the tavern!