The weather forecast was looking great, so we decided to give camping on the tops a whirl.
The first part of the trip, from Mangakukeke Rd, crosses a farm, and we walk across this for about 45 minutes. The last part of this is a VERY steep climb, but thankfully not too long a one, to reach a fence and the entrance to the Ruahine Forest Park.
The track then tapers off slightly, before climbing steadily again towards Purity Hut. Almost all approaches in the Ruahines are quite steep, but it does mean that the tops can be reached very quickly.
But I find steep climbs quite motivating, as I love the quick progression to the tops, spurred on by the changes in vegetation suggesting that that final burst through to the open tussock isn't far off. Unlike walking on undulating terrain, you feel like you're making good progress towards your target.
Not far from the bushline, after about 2.5hrs walking, we reach Purity Hut.
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| Purity Hut |
Purity hut occupies a spectacular location, with commanding views across the lumpy Rangitikei landscape.
Only built in 2006, the 6-bunk hut is very clean and tidy. With double-glazed windows and a wood fire, coupled with its compact size, it would be a very cozy place to spend the night. Though I feel the hut's best feature is its longdrop. Although the standard is improving, longdrops are a necessary evil in the New Zealand backcountry. The smell, the grime, the presence of huge blowflies, that you are paranoid about coming into contact with because you know where they ate last. They're horrid, dark pits of filth. In short, they're places to be avoided. Spectacularly shit (haha). Hold on if you can.
Purity hut's longdrop is none of these things. It is very clean and tidy, almost pure. Like it's the sacred dunny of the Ruahines. But best of all it has a window in its door (you can see out but not in), and that door faces out to the West, where the views of the Rangitikei and Ruapehu are. A great place to settle in the morning and read the Sunday paper (or FMC magazine as it might be up here!).
But as fascinating as the longdrop is, we have to move on. There's much more climbing ahead to reach our campsite for the night.
After another hour or so, we reach Wooden Peg (1672m). To our left is the featureless Mangaweka, which at 1731m, is the highest point in the Ruahines. A true peak bagger would probably make the 45 minute return trip, but it's a bit too clagged in when we approach and none of us think we'd get any real satisfaction from the extra effort to the top.
So after a short break, we turn right, and down towards Kelly Knight hut. Although often brutal in their approach, the Ruahine tops are relatively gentle, wider, and more rolling than their Tararua counterparts. Because of this, and because they're studded with tarns, they're much more ideal for camping. Not to mention that the weather is often more favourable as well.
The other good thing about the Ruahine tops is that there are a lot more poled routes than the Tararuas. Although they not frequent enough to take away from the wilderness experience, and that there's still only a small proportion of routes with poles, it provides a good option for tops travel in low cloud, and makes them more accessible to people without a great deal of navigation experience.
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| Walking down from Wooden Peg - our campsites lay just ahead by the tarns |
We spot a nice, flattish section of the ridge ahead where we can plonk our tents for the night, and settle in for the rest of the afternoon.
We settle down and pitch our tents. We'd brought up mini bottles of Lindauer, which we crack open and enjoy in the sun. Although it's warm lying the sun, as soon as it hides behind the clouds, it becomes freezing. Eventually, the coming and going of the cloud forces us to relent and retreat to our tents to warm up.
After dinner (tramping staple: pasta, pasta sauce, veges and chorizo) we go for a short stroll to a nearby peak to check out the lights of the towns laid out ahead. We can see Palmerston North, Fielding, Wanganui even. It's quite cool, feeling like you're high above them.
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| Looking East from our campsite |
The next morning, we awoke to an incredible sunrise, with views right out over to Mt Ruapehu.
Not a bad spot to be in while eating your morning porridge.
Shortly afterwards, we begin the descent down to Kelly Knight hut and the car. The track in this part is hidden by the long tussock grass. Normally this isn't that much of a problem, as you can find the track quite easily as you walk along. But when you're going downhill, on a relatively steep descent, the tussock hides short, sharp drops. It's quite hilarious watching the person in front of you briefly disappear from view as they encounter a drop and slide down between the tussock on their bums!
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| Heather, Nick and Bart: Re-grouped after a bit of sliding down the hill |
The walk down is very pleasant - nothing too steep or nasty and the sun and calm winds make for a nice morning on the tops.
Not too far from the road-end, we hit the turn-off to Kelly Knight hut. The sign says it's about 30 minutes walk away, and we vote not to bother with the detour. Though I now wish I'd made the effort, as it looks like a pleasant hut, and with my current obsession with hut-bagging, my 2014 self would never miss such a close opportunity to bag a hut. Hopefully I can make up for it in future by spending the night there.
The rest of the trip is a straight-forward, easy descent along the Pourangaki river and across a pleasant few kilometres of farmland back to the car.
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| Heather proving that she's not just a pack with legs |
A fantastic loop in the Ruahines, that's easily achievable in a weekend. A pleasant combination of bush, farmland, tops and a bit of river, along with a couple of very cosy huts (presuming Kelly Knight is as nice as it looks in pictures on the internet!).
Approx timings:
Mangakukeke Road-end to Purity Hut: 2.5-3hrshrs
Purity Hut to Wooden Peg: 1.5hrs
Wooden Peg to Kelly Knight Hut: 2-3hrs
Kelly Knight Hut to Mangakuke road-end: 2.5-3hrs
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