This text was read by OCR from a scanned newsletter and has not been proofread yet, so expect odd characters and mistakes.
by Michael Lightbourne Kapakapanui must be one of the best daywalks you can do from Wellington. I had done it twice before, the first time was years ago with Gerald Dreaver. We were lucky and enjoyed spectacular views of Kapiti Island and the Coast, and on the other side, the main Tararua range. The second time was with our current VP, and Margaret Craigie, who’s now living in Australia. Unfortunately that time we saw the inside of a cloud, which is always a bit of a guiting experience for those who haven’t seen the view before.
On this occasion, the walk was being led by veteran of many tramps, John Hoffeins, and there were four other non-members. We met at 8.30am at Platform 9, and drove to Waikanae. There you turn right and take the back roads to the start of the track. We set off on foot a little after 9.30am. This time we started on the northern side of the loop track, which passes Kapakapanui Hut on the way up to Kapakapanui peak. On both the previous walks, I had gone up the southern side of the loop. It makes more sense to take the northern route, because it gives you somewhere sheltered to stop for Iunch. If you go the other way, you would need to have lunch at the top, which may not be a pleasant experience in the middle of winter.
The first part of the walk is very steep, but it does eventually ease off. John was keen that we keep up a good pace, so that we could beat an approaching southerly storm. I have to say however that the northerly conditions we had weren't that great — lots of rain and mud everywhere — the Tararuas were doing their usual thing. The northerly winds were gale force too.
The hut was reached at lunchtime, and there were three trampers there, intending to stay the night. Kapakapanui Hut is an old 6-bed hut, functional, but with a run-down feel to it. We didn’t envy their plan to sit around in the hut for the rest of the day. After a good break, we continued on up the hill towards the peak, which is a bit over 1000 metres high. Bush becomes low lying scrub around the top, and we were pleased that at that point in time, the winds were gentle and the rain hetd off. And we had beaten the approaching Southerly storm, much to John’s relief. However we could only see about 20 metres in front of us.
Back into the bush, and it’s a long descent, gradual at first, and becoming quite steep at the end. It had become quite dark in the thicker parts of the bush and it was only 4pm. It is recommended that you carry a torch for this walk if you do it during the winter months, we almost needed ours!
We had completed the walk in about six hours, which is the time stated by DOC needed for the walk. The Medium grade given to this walk is spot on. You are left knowing you’ve done something, and still knowing the following Wednesday when you finally start walking normally again; but it doesn’t leave you half dead like you might be if you walk up to Sparrowhawk Biv and then on to Barlow Hut, which you can read about elsewhere in this newsletter.
John suggested an ice cream at the dairy in Waikanae, but being a June trip, people were more interested in consuming a hot pie. Unfortunately the dairy had sold out of pies, so we carried on home. The southerly did pass through on Saturday night, vicious but short lived, and Sunday turned out to be quite a nice day, with a light dumping of snow on the hills. Maybe those trampers who stayed in the run-down Kapakapanui Hut had the last laugh?