This text was read by OCR from a scanned newsletter and has not been proofread yet, so expect odd characters and mistakes.
I have recently experienced two club weekend trips where the only real similarity has been their dates — both were held in late March. In most other respects they were entirely different — most notably the extent of physical exertion required. The first weekend was the Committee social weekend at Castlepoint. Glynne drove us there in the club bus, and we were met in Castlepoint by the man who's probably climbed more hills than I’ve had hot dinners, and current Editor of the FMC Bulletin, John Rhodes. Our accommodation was a bach, a bach in desperate need of some maintenance, but situated perfectly on the beach road. You could literally throw a stone from the gate over the road and into the ocean.
Saturday happened to be the day the Castlepoint horse races were being held. The mountain bikers did have ambitious plans to go for a major ride, but the midday races and general sense of relaxation that Castlepoint somehow forces on you combined to change the major ride to something much shorter, with fears being expressed about facing a “big hill” shortly out of Castlepoint.
My role was to lead two daywalks, one to Deliverance/Castle Rock and the other to the Lighthouse. I had 5 takers for the main walk to Castle Rock: Darren, Margaret, Constanze, myself, and yes it’s true, our President decided to join us for the walk! The day was Castlepoint at its best, sunny with a slight sea breeze and warm. It's worth climbing Castle Rock, which is a very dramatic rise just south of the Lighthouse. On returning to the bach for lunch it was obvious the races were about to begin. In fact walking down the beach road reminded me too much of Lambton Quay at lunchtime, except the people had different clothes, and often far fewer of them! The races were exciting when the horses came galloping past on the beach, but there were huge gaps between the races, so in the end some of us left the races to walk to the Lighthouse (about 20 minutes each way). Darren had the brilliant idea of bringing a cricket bat and bail, and a game was started up on the very small front yard, so small in fact that one of my more enthusiastic shots came within 10cm of breaking the glass in the bach’s front door, and another batsperson hit the ball to lightly tap a passing car on the road.
Craig and Victoria, who organised the weekend, did a fantastic job with the BBQ dinner and supplied an impressive selection of desserts. It was a slow start on Sunday. When a second visit to the Lighthouse was finally proposed, I expressed an initial reluctance to go, but when reminded that we were in fact a Mountaineering Club, I gave in and went and got my shoes. It’s ironic that the only person who really pushed themselves that weekend was also the most senior of us in age: John didn’t need our transport, he just biked to and from Greytown. However the next weekend was a different story, when I showed an Easy tramping party the upper-most limit of an Easy tramp. On the Schedule we were due to go to the Putangirua Pinnacles on the edge of the Aorangi FP. However I decided this would fall into the category of
“Picnic”, not “Tramp”, so after consultation with the Chief Guide decided to go into the first hut in the Forest Park, being Washpool Hut, which doesn’t look very far on the map.
Actually most of the drama of the tramp happened before we even left the Railway Station! When the Medium tramp leader Sarah picked up the second van, she found that it would keep slipping out of first gear. This was the same van that broke down a few weeks before during the River Instruction weekend, and she considered the van unsafe and refused to drive it. Unfortunately the rental company was unable to supply us with alternative transport. I drove the van around the block and found that it was just when getting the van going that this problem was occasionally experienced. The rental company representative assured us it was safe, and that when in first gear and actually moving it would not slip out. I agreed to drive it, but we had to call for volunteers to fill the van who would travel “at their own risk”! The sooner we get our own reliable vans, the better. Fortunately we got up the Rimutaka Hill in second and third gears, and arrived at the Pinnacles Picnic ground quite late in the evening. On Saturday, our large group of 13 went to have a close-up look at the Pinnacles rocks, which become more impressive the further in you go. Then it was up the track to the lookout where you get postcard quality views of the whole formation. And then further up to the Ridge where there is a 4WD track leading to the Aorangi Forest Park. The most notable feature of the first part of the track is how grassy the sides of the track are, with the bush fully formed on both sides. At the highest point of the walk there is a small clearing a few metres off the main track, which offered really good 360 degree views of the Park, the Wairarapa and the Coastline. We carried on and on, dropping to our destination next to the Washpool Stream. Just as I was becoming a bit concerned about how long it was taking, the little hut appeared out of nowhere. We drifted in at around 4pm, having left the Pinnacles at 10am. In the 6 bed hut we found 4 young hunters, so the flys and tents went up. We then cooked the dinner which was a vegetable curry on rice, and I tell you there are fewer challenges more extreme for a trip leader than trying to cook for 13 people in 4 billies with 4 cookers. However considerable concentration ensured the dinner was a success. Plans to make a trifle were abandoned until the next morning, partly because no one had the energy to make it, and partly because the hunters had by now consumed a few beers and were bordering on becoming a bit obnoxious. The next morning was another clear and warm day, and the plan was to climb the hill and exit the Park on the same track. When we got to the Pinnacles lookout it was amazing to see Patrick, who had really struggled to get up the hills, was now smiling and almost jogging back to the carpark. Possibly he was just happy that these two days of “hell” were finally coming to an end (Patrick was expecting the “Picnic"), but it was also obvious that he was enjoying a sense of achievement. Back at the car park we met with the Medium group, who had also experienced a demanding tramp, to the extent that the group had split into two. It was really good to have the chance to explore the Aorangis, and we returned to Wellington in the vans without incident.
Michael
Thanks to Murray Altheim for the photos All contributions & suggestions welcome newsletter @wtmc.org.nz Or snail mail!