This text was read by OCR from a scanned newsletter and has not been proofread yet, so expect odd characters and mistakes.
All roads maty lead! tO ROTC oon but not alll streams lead to Waterfall hlut
Ruahines, 5-7 August 2005
It was perhaps an ominous sign that both vehicles providing the weekend transport to the Ruahines independently got lost finding their way to the Triplex road end. Two roads divided in the woods and they took the road most travelled (by farmers) and ended up in a field with several sheep in the headlights but no hut to be seen. A muddy multi-point turn was executed and all reached Triplex Hut well before midnight without any assistance from orbiting satellites.
d rolled in - Photo by Rob Collins) (Broken Ridge before the clou Saturday dawned fine and sunny and our punters prepared themselves for a truly exceptional day on the tops. Their planned route took them up on the tops to the south, the intention being to continue along Broken Ridge from Three Johns then down Tussock Creek to Waterfall Hut. The troops were in fine fettle, morale was high and a sprightly pace was achieved up the river valley to Waipawa Saddle and up onto Three Johns. All seemed splendidly well, A little high cloud could be seen to the east but there was sunshine as they stepped along the crusty snow on the ridge. Gradually the cloud thickened and before long our fearless friends had lost their view but were still enjoying good alpine conditions. The wind picked up and visibility shortened. Our leader was undeterred. He had been doing this for years. At his right hand were two more veteran trampers. They too were at home in the hills. And, as on the Titanic, there seemed no cause for alarm. Everything seemed normal. The map, the compass, the altimeter — it was business as usual. The group proceeded, casually bantering about the stuff of life. They reached a narrow ridge that required a bit of caution. They were pleased to have brought ice axes. It was starting to get interesting. Before long they reached the point where their navigation fold them it was time to drop down into Tussock Creek. They stopped, studied their maps for some time, agreed on where they were, and began to descend. It was good to be out of the wind. Down steep tussock slopes and then into even steeper leatherwood. They were route finding now ~ this was not an often-travelled path. The terrain didn't seem to fit with the map quite as it should. The navigators surmised that they must be higher up in the stream than they had first thought. They continued down. The spur soon became too steep to follow and the group descended down scree slopes into a deeply gutted stream. This they followed over a few tricky drops and rock scrambles. Then round a corner a 10m waterfall obstructed the way. This was indeed not an often taken route. The leader peered over the waterfall and made the alarming observation that the entire catchment below was heading east not west as it should have been, All road may lead to Rome but not all streams lead to Waterfall Hut - our friends were headed for the Pacific Ocean instead of the Tasman Sea! They were not where they thought they were. It was time to reassess their position. The decision was quickly made — "We have to go back up” said the leader. “Are you serious?” said a punter. It was a long way back up that steep stream and bush-clad spur. There were some mutterings about the need for better leadership and navigational training but there was no choice. It was 3pm. Perhaps a hour and half later they were back on the tops after some stiff climbing. Where now? If they were where they now thought they were, there was a hut further down the same ridge. But confidence in navigation and enthusiasm for further route finding was low. The troops were weary. The decision was made to retrace the steps back to Waipawa Saddle and then to drop down the Waikamaka Stream to Waikamaka Hut. It would soon be dark. There was nothing else for it but to rally the troops and to proceed back along the ridge they had traversed that morning as fast as they could. On reserves of stamina — the going was tough but the tough kept going — they reached the saddle in the dark at 6:30pm. From there it was a very steep and precipitous descent by torchlight down a spur to the Waikamaka and thirty minutes of river bashing to the hut. They arrived at 7:30pm and it was “Three Cheers for Eva who had so competently led the punters on this final leg. It had been a 12-hour day but once in the hut, with dry clothes on, a fire lit and the dinner on it seemed that all's well that end’s well. The group reflected that they had come into the hills for adventure and adventure they had had! Warmed by an excellent beef stew people pored over maps by candlelight and it seemed they had turned off the main ridge too soon. They had followed a prominent side spur in the right direction but not at the right time. It was all very obvious in hindsight. The three navigators had been eased into a false sense of security by the presence of others equally experience at the craft.
It rained all night and all the next day but there was jelly for breakfast and the walk out was an easy one — up over the saddle and back to the Triplex Hut road end.
Views on the trip varied - some loved the adventure, the uncertainties, the challenges thrown up and the group dynamics along the way. Others would have preferred a more controlled expedition — they had signed up for Fit Trip not for an FE! At the end of the day all had survived, had risen to the challenge and got home with a story to tell.
Punters: Roger Bolan (Leader and Reluctant Scribe), Gareth Morton, Eva Lottermoser, Rob Collins, David Jewell, Sharron Came, Alison Stevenson, Stuart Palmer, Geoff Crochford. SuAMISe [nut