This text was read by OCR from a scanned newsletter and has not been proofread yet, so expect odd characters and mistakes.
he weather forecast sounded the pits: gale force winds both days, heavy rain, thunder... Despite being advised to the contrary, we decided it was safer and more comfortable to camp in the camping grounds at the bottom of the Ohakune mountain road—the Duchess having left for Whakapapa and the skifields.
We had the tents up in good time, the wet slightly blustery conditions motivating people to move quickly. The wind got up during the night and sleep was disturbed by the gentle lifting of the sides of the tent in the wind.
We. were being picked up at 9:00am by the Snowline Shuttle sO we were ready in plenty of time. They gave us an updated forecast as we went up the mountain road. It was absolutely © bitter when they dropped us off so we didn’t hang around at all but headed for the track andsome shelter from the weather. The Mediums soon disappeared into the distance and we trundled along in their wake.
We made relatively good time and arrived at the hut for lunch after being buffeted by the wind on the boardwalks going over the tussock. We soon settled down for a lazy afternoon sleeping, eating, talking and playing cards.
The weather worsened as the afternoon wore on, with the odd comments being made about the Mediums and wondering how they were getting on. By dusk the weather had improved and dinner was started; blue sky was showing through the clouds‘and by the time dinner was finished we had a clear night. ,
Morning came around too soon but we weren’t in a hurry so we had a lie-in before heading back to the road. The weather had improved greatly and we had blue sky with high cloud and a gentle breeze. We meandered back to the roadend, stopping at different places to enjoy the sunshine. Half the group went
By Sue Walsh down the old Blyth track meeting the truck further down the road while the rest of us waited for Roger at the upper track end. We decided to check out the alternative campsites mentioned; one of them, a tractor shed, would have given protection from the elements, but the stink of the fumes was overpowering even before we got to the shed. We had made a wise choice.
- Roger arrived with the Duchess and we were soon on board picking up the other half of the group and driving to Waiouru. We were meant to be picking the Mediums up from the turnoff to Tukino, but they had come out early and hitched into Waiouru, waiting for us by the turnoff to the main road. After an essential stop at the local café we headed back to Wellington with blue sky all around.
Thanks to the group for being excellent companions on what turned out to be a pitbashing weekend.
Mountains of Ash and Cheesecake
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Mangaehuehu 13-15 September