This text was read by OCR from a scanned newsletter and has not been proofread yet, so expect odd characters and mistakes.
azel volunteered as leader
H for this trip and set the limit of people at 12. Did that stop people putting their names down? No, not really ... 19 people had put their names forward so Hazel split the group into two - with John Hoffeins being the other leader. Hazel’s group started at the North Egmont Visitor Centre, whilst John’s group started at Puniho roadend. Friday 10 October 1997 — 1737 hours: Wellington Railway Station The station rapidly fills and empties with suits and skirts — trains leaving and arriving; almost mirror images of each other. Amidst the flood of ties and heels is a sight that doesn’t fit the surroundings — someone wearing boots, polar fleece and carrying a pack. One by one these particular people descend upon a waiting bus and mini-van.
1751 hours: By about now the suits and skirts are outnumbered by a swathe of polar fleece and Tevas, chatting about what they packed and what they didn’t pack; where they were going and what the weather would be like! After a few last minute coffees and toilet breaks, it was into the mini van with the next stop being dinner at Levin — Chinese takeaways. Hazel had this brilliant idea of swapping rides at Levin from the minivan to the bus (the bus left the station before she could get on it). “2227 hours: The bus was mountain-bound somewhere between Hawera and New Plymouth. Its cargo of approximately two dozen trampers/climbers were pretending to sleep while listening to Bob Marley music piped to most seats of the bus.
2330 hours: Arrival at North Egmont Visitor Centre. One by one we all awoke from our semi-slumber. A few of us went to look for a campsite: our chosen “Hilton” was the porch of a derelict “camphouse”; not exactly comfortable, but at least it was dry! Saturday morning: By now, time on a digital watch was irrelevant. We all awoke to a beautiful morning, a bit misty, but really clear — especially the mountain — so nice. A bunch of us were having breakfast outside, taking in the views and sunshine when in a nearby tree came the beautiful sounds of a tui — magic! (Well, you had to be there!) We took our time to collect hut tickets, get ready, etc. After the traditional photo stop with Mt Egmont in the background, we were walking around 9.30 am. Our group of 10 quickly separated out, as some stopped for water, snacks, photos etc. The weather was really nice that Saturday; a bit of wind but mostly sunshine. Approximately one hour into the walk, it started to roll in — yes, the mist. Once above the bushline, walking amongst small sub-alpine plants, the views were spectacular. Every turn in the track revealed something better. It was a varied track, complete with waterfalls, slips, various shades of grey rocks, views up and down the mountain, tough subalpine plants growing in really unusual places — just amazing! We encountered seven other people going both ways; some trampers, some day walkers. After a short while above the treeline, we slowly zigzagged back down into the trees. About half way into our tramp, Ray spotted something in the bushes and decided to go and chase it — head first. He didn’t even wait for someone to get a camera out! All you could see was a pair of boots on the track. Quite serious at the time, but funny afterwards. (Ask him how he got that cut on his chin!)
Matthew Kirk
A 4% hour amble later — Holly Hut — quite an oasis. Not long after we arrived, a family arrived at Holly Hut — 3 kids and 2 adults. These kids had tramped from Puniho roadend and they still had excessive energy, as kids tend to have. After a rather long lunch/rest period, our group headed off in search of Bells Falls — two minutes down the track we met John’s group walking in. Bells Falls were quite impressive — well-worth the walk there. We all headed back to Holly Hut in two separate groups because some of us stayed longer and ventured closer to the waterfall. Back at the hut, about 7 pm, a very dense mist cloud rolled in out of nowhere and you could only see around 50 ft, but as soon as it arrived, it cleared again. Unbelievable! Both groups had large meals of rice, vegies, spicy sauce and pork — very filling. When it got too cold to stay outside, some of us went back inside and played cards ... Sunday: If it wasn’t the doors being shut very loudly, it was the bacon cooking that woke me up and I’m sure everyone else too. Yep, those kids again! Both groups went their separate ways (around 9.30-ish) after all the morning rituals, John’s group in the North Egmont Visitor Centre direction and —Hazel‘s-group-headed-out-in-Puniho—__—. roadend direction. Very quickly, the mist enveloped everything which gave the track a mystery feel to it — we could have been anywhere! It was quite warm despite a bit of wind. It was misty but every now and again we would get glimpses of farmland below and patchy snow above. The track from Holly Hut round the mountain towards Kahui Hut is welldefined without being over-tramped. Pages
There are no really steep parts. The track is gently graded and well-built staircases guide the tramper down what would otherwise be a few nearvertical descents. We were half way up the little indent that looked as if it would be “a bit of a grunt” before it became noticeably steeper. It’s all above the bushline and the views in clear weather would be tremendous. Again (as yesterday) our group quickly spread out but still managed to keep more or less within sight of each other. Next time we all met up again was at the track junction to Kahui Hut going one way, and Puniho roadend the other. It was all downhill very gently from there. It was quite interesting as I was descending, to see how the vegetation changed from sub-alpine trees/ shrubs to mid trees and up to fullgrown trees and rainforest. Just when I was starting to wonder if there really was an end to this downhill track, the van appeared along with the rest of our group flaked around on the ground. We all changed out of our “nolystinkalene” and into clothes to head back to Wellington. It wasn’t until “ice creams at Hawera” that we realised how stiff our legs were getting as we climbed out of the minivan — quite a funny sight.
Next stop was tea at Bulls. Heading into the Wellington province it was getting windier and windier. Actually, you could see all the wind cloud from the road through Levin. Overall, a good trip, pleasant conditions, and a good mix of experience (peoplewise) in the groups. As group leader, Hazel was friendly, helpful, concerned, and thinking ahead. I would recommend this trip to anyone who hasn’t done it before — all you have to do is put your name up — really easy! Group Two: John Hoffeins (assistant leader), Leanne, Ted, Lisa, Kim, Kathy, Szusza, Chris, Christiane.
ast time I was here it was snow ing and we were geographically embarrassed. It was meant to be a day trip, the time was 4.30 pm and getting dark fast.
The location somewhere down Rae Ridge and a decision what to do?! First thing was to get off the ridge down to Tregear or to Sheridan Creek. Tregear Creek was obvious because I had been in that area a few times, whereas I had not been to the Sheridan catchment; nor had my friend Maurice. Tregear it was. Wrong option you guys! Even though _it’s.a-bit of hassle. we always brought
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10 - 12 October 1997
Trip Reports