This text was read by OCR from a scanned newsletter and has not been proofread yet, so expect odd characters and mistakes.
By Darren Hammond
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TP me SG eee. ae in near Smiths Creek Shelter
After an awful week of wet, cold weather, it was a relief when the forecast was correct, and we woke to clearing skies and mild temperatures. We got underway from the Kaitoke road end about 9.30, and by the time we reached the Puffer summit, we had blues skies and a warm day. There are a couple of slips between the bottom of the Puffer track and Smith Creek Shelter, the first one from the Kaitoke side is best avoided by walking up the river, but the 2nd one is easy enough to cross. There are plenty of pink ribbons marking this route through to Smiths Creek Shelter, which we reached about midday, where we enjoyed our lunch in the sun on the riverbank. Many of you will know that 2 previous bridges over the Tauheranikau River have been washed away, a new one has been built about 30 minutes from Smith Creek Shelter, so considerably further down stream from the previous bridges. A temporary track has been reasonably well marked all the way up to where the last bridge crossed the river, but it is a bit rough in places, and there was one nasty scramble up and down which convinced us to try an alternative route back the next day. At times we found it easier to walk up the river bank than follow the temporary track. We got to Tutuwai Hut about 4.15, so it was a decent days walk for an easy group. Having been warned about the rats in the hut, I was still alarmed to see one by the steps to the hut soon after we arrived, it did not bode well I thought if they were bold enough to be out in daylight. But as it was, that was the only sight or sound we had of rodents. We were sharing the hut with 4 young hunters, who were fairly considerate, although some in the group suspected that they were smoking non-tobacco products. With able help, I managed to rustle up a decent meal of fish kedgeree (tip for cooking rice - turn off the heat, and let the rice cook in its own steam - saves burnt billies!). After a few hands of cards, we retired early with the rain now lashing down on the roof. The rain had stopped when we woke, but the skies were grey. We got underway by 8.30, and made our way back to a point 10 minutes downstream of the last bridge, and crossed the river in 2 groups of 5, which was achieved with few problems, and was a useful learning experience for many of us. The reason for our aquatic diversion was to join the old track back to Smiths Creek Shelter, which we correctly assumed would be an easier walk than the temporary track on the true left. By now, we had a GLORIOUS warm and sunny day, it is just a pleasure to be out walking in the bush on days like that. Lunch was once again on the river bank by the shelter, before we set off up the Puffer track to meet the bus, which turned up exactly on time. A short but perfectly formed overnight trip, with a fantastic group. Can't wait to go out again...
Crossing the Tauheranikau River
Snaiet took the photos and the other punters were Danniel, Anita, Ray, Monique, Carla, Barbara, Clinton and Lucy