This text was read by OCR from a scanned newsletter and has not been proofread yet, so expect odd characters and mistakes.
4-6 February 2000
Mike Barna
. Participants: Jon Parker (trip leader), Eva Lottermoser, Raymond Morgan, Jen Barna, and Mike Barna
U.S., Jen and I were pretty excited to get involved with the local hiking club to explore some of the New Zealand backcountry. The Otaki Forks trip was our first excursion with the group. Rated as a “medium fitness” trip, Otaki Forks provided a good introduction to hiking in the Tararuas. Having successfully completed the hike (more or less...), Jon thought it might be interesting if we wrote the trip report. So, what follows is the slanted perspective of two recently transplanted Americans. The group, which consisted of Jon, Eva, Raymond, Jen, and myself, left the Wellington train station on Friday afternoon. We arrived at the Otaki Forks parking lot at about 8.00 pm and proceeded to Field Hut (via the trail along Judd Ridge) shortly thereafter. The hike to the hut took a few hours, and we finished the last hour in darkness, using headlamps. So, this was our first surprise — hiking in the dark. We were prepared for this since we had brought headlamps/fresh batteries (and Jon did mention that we would use them). In general, though, the only time you'd hike in the dark in the States is if you were lost. We did spot our first glowworms, though, which was a nice surprise. The trail to the hut was in good shape, and not too demanding. We arrived at the hut around 11.00 pm, and found it to be pretty packed. The following morning (Saturday) we left for the main portion of the trip, which consisted of a U-shaped path along the Tararua ridge-tops. Starting at Field Hut, we left for Bridge Peak, then turned northeast to hike fis, recently moved to Wellington from the
~along the ridges: towards Vosseler-and-Mclntosh-Peaks:— After Mcintosh, we descended Pakihore Ridge towards Penn Creek Hut. The distance was around 14 km. Fortunately, the weather was favorable, with light winds and scattered clouds, and we had some very nice views along the ridge-tops. The trail, which later turned into a route, was fine most of the way, although overgrown portions made it seem more like hiking through a green salad. Also, it quickly became apparent that establishing switchbacks on the steeper portions hasn’t yet caught on in New Zealand. A nice surprise was that the “Tararua mud” was conspicuously absent. Before descending Pakihore Ridge, Jon and Eva left to find the infamous chain ladder between the Tararua Peaks. The descent of Pakihore Ridge towards Penn Creek Hut was an exercise in route finding, as the remainder of the trip would be. Fortunately, Jon, Raymond and Eva were quick to find the little orange markers, so we didn’t waste time off the trail. On Pakihore Ridge, Jen and I were introduced to some of the flora of NZ, including “cutty grass” and “bush lawyer”. Although you don’t have to worry about being trampled by a moose or eaten by a grizzly bear while hiking in NZ, you do have to wonder if you can wade through all of the vicious plants. We arrived at the hut in the early evening and rinsed off in Penn Creek. We had the small hut (six bunks) all to ourselves that evening. There was lots of good chow that night, with Jon preparing chicken satay for dinner and Eva making a fruit salad and custard for dessert. The last day (Sunday) was the alleged “easy day”, although there were a few surprises in store. Our route was along the Penn Creek track, which is no longer maintained and crosses a few slides. The track, if you can call it that, was steep and overgrown in places. At lunch time, we came upon a large slide that appeared to have wiped out the remains of the trail. Nobody wanted to cross the face of the slide, since it appeared to be quite exposed, falling very steeply to find an alternate route; however, after hunting around for almost an hour, we couldn’t find another way past the slide, and there was a lot of debate as to how to proceed. It was at this point that another group of hikers appeared, and offered to show us the secret to get past the slide. This group was also from the tramping club, and had just descended from the Maungahuka Hut on their “fit” trip. Their “secret”, to the dismay dba ene mou cs EE
—the-ereek-a-few-hundred-feet-below.-We-needed-to—_§
____ prospecting a claim just north of the
Trip Reports
of everyone, was simply to cross the face of the slide! Our confidence was boosted when we saw them walk effortlessly across the face, and we quickly took their lead. Once on the other side, it was only a few hours hike back to the car. We returned to Otaki Forks at about 3.00 pm. So, our introduction to the Tararuas had itall: scenic vistas along the ridge-tops, wading through dense bush, crawling through mud (really — on hands and knees), dodging falling rocks, and traversing steep slide paths. Next time though, we'll pack much lighter — the trails in the Tararuas are more demanding than what we typically have back home in the States. All in all, it was a very enjoyable trip, and we're glad that we signed up. Thanks to Jon, Eva and Raymond for the fun time and good company!