Peach Cove, Whangarei Heads June 2014

Northland isn't the most popular or well known tramping destination in New Zealand; there's no snow, no towering peaks and no wide, gravelly riverbeds or glaciers. But there are quite a few good walks and easier tramps to do, which provide the opportunity to see some of New Zealand's coolest coastal scenery.

On a long weekend trip up to Auckland, my sister and I decided to head up to Whangarei Heads to check out a few of the walks up there.

The first of these was a trip to Mt Manaia. Manaia is a very dominant and distinctive peak, sitting right near the edge of Whangarei Harbour. Despite only being 403m high, it seems a lot larger than its height as it is a volcanic peak which rises straight up from the coast. It's quite a popular track and despite being a solid climb, thanks to the well built and wide track, it doesn't seem too bad at all. It only takes us 45 minutes to reach the top.

Looking towards Whangarei from the summit

Marsden Point Refinery from the summit

Looking towards the coast and Bream Head from the summit

View from side track on the way down

Although the views from the top are great (180 degrees, plus another 50 between some rocks, there's an annoyingly large rock (which is really the summit, at about 20 metres above the viewing rock, the farthest point you're allowed to go) next to the viewing platform, which prevents the views from being almost 300 degrees. You can go past this, if you really want and we try to, but there's a very narrow ledge on which to walk, a lot of loose rock and a very large drop below. And we don't even know what the views are like on the other side. So we abandon this plan and avoid risking our lives and head back down. There's another track, about a third of the way down, which provides great views to almost fill in the gap left by the rock near the summit.

The trip back down takes a similar amount of time.

The second, slightly longer, trip we do is to Peach Cove Hut in the Bream Head scenic reserve. Bream Head, as the name might suggest, is at the head of the Whangarei harbour, and only a 10 minute drive from Manaia (or about 40mins from Whangarei).

From the Peach Cove carpark, it's a solid 30 minute climb to a saddle. From the saddle, it's only a very steep 15 minutes down to the hut. However, the track is of a great walk standard and extremely well built, with steps most of the way down to the hut.

The hut is set back amongst lush coastal forest, and looks almost tropical with the Nikau palms and a large Kauri tree with its roots spread out over a large boulder. The hut is only a short distance from the serene Peach Cove.

Peach Cove Hut

Being a Sunday night, we had the hut to ourselves. Although a little shaded and dark on a June night, the eight bunk Peach Cove Hut is nice and cosy, with a bright yellow door and a large deck complete with a picnic table. Inside the hut is quite cramped, with only a very small communal area. Though it was perfect for two people.

We reached the hut about 5pm and after an hour or so of snacking and reading the paper, we cooked (well rather, put bags in a billy of boiling water) dinner ($4.50 Kaweka meals from New World - the best backcountry meals ever!).

We were very shattered from the previous night in Auckland, where we stayed at the very noisy, dirty and cramped Ibis Styles Hotel. Despite a 7am start the next day, we didn't get to sleep until 4.30am due to the noise of the bars below! At the hut, we were both asleep by 7.30 and slept for a solid 12 hours. The $15 hut accommodation sure beat the $90 a night hotel! It was just so quiet and falling asleep to the sound of the ocean and Moreporks calling out was fantastic.

Hut interior

Peach Cove

Although there are options to go along the ridge of Bream Head, to make for a longer and more challenging tramp, we headed back the way we came as we needed to head back to Auckland. 

Whangarei Heads is a beautiful and accessible area, studded with calm bays, fantastic beaches and some of the North Island's best coastal bush.

Papatahi Crossing

After running the Jumbo-Holdsworth circuit in the Tararuas back in January, I'd been on the look-out for some new trail running challenges.

I'd always wanted to complete the Papatahi Crossing, a track over the Rimutakas from Lake Wairarapa to the Orongorongo Valley near Wainuiomata. I'd completed almost half the track before, from the Orongorongo Valley on the way to Mt Matthews, and knew that most this was a very easy, well graded track, with only a few kilometres of riverbed travel.

My mate Matt was keen on the run as well, and had walked to the base of Papatahi on the Orongorongo side before, but not beyond that.

What we weren't too sure on was the section from the Wairarapa side to Papatahi. I knew the climb up Papatahi would be tough, from my previous experience climbing Mt Matthews, but the rest of the section seemed relatively straightforward, with no major variations in elevation.

We'd managed to find a few accounts of people walking the crossing, with times varying between 9-13hrs for the whole thing, but found no accounts of people running it (although I'm sure it's been done many times before). Based on the distance (25km), elevation gains and the fact that we knew the last half of the run would only take about 1.5hrs, we estimated a time of a time of four hours to run the whole thing.

We set out on Saturday morning, with a cloudy and windy, but dry, forecast. We took two cars over to Wainuiomata, and dropped one off in the Orongorongo carpark and drove around to the Wairarapa. Finding the start of the crossing was a bit of a challenge. There's only a very small, faded DOC sign by a fence on the side of the road, so it's very easy to miss.

To get there, heading South down Western Lake Road from Featherston, drive past the East-West Access Road for about 1km, until you get to a farm called 'Devon'. Slow down here and the sign and a small 'car park' is just past the farm gate. It's just before a corner and a gravel road which veers North from the left hand side of the road. If you pass a bridge after the East-West Access Road, you've gone too far.

The start was very windy, but as pretty much the entire Rimutaka Range is covered in bush, we knew we'd be pretty sheltered.

The 'track' initially goes through a farm for about a kilometre. There are no markers on the farm, but follow the stream West, in the direction of the hills. At this point there's an orange marker and you'll need to cross the stream (a big jump or wet feet) and the proper track starts on the other side.

The track begins nice and wide, heading through some beautiful manuka forest. There's a gentle upwards gradient, perfect running terrain. Before long, the track narrows and becomes more and more overgrown. We slow down and briskly walk through some sections as it becomes  too difficult to run these parts.

Although there are plenty of markers, the overgrown nature of the track means that we have to stop and find the next marker quite often as occasionally we veer off the track. It's obviously not a well used track. After crossing Battery Stream, we begin the climb up a small saddle just before Wharepapa Hut. The final stage of this is very steep and not at all runnable. Thankfully someone has put ropes in some of the sections to assist with the climb. We finally emerge out on top and there are fantastic views over the surprisingly large Wharepapa river. The river is quite a way down - the climb was much bigger than expected. There's quite a steep track that winds down through beech forest.

After almost 1.5hrs of running we reach Wharepapa hut. It's pleasing to see the first major landmark of the day, but we'd hoped to have reached it in an hour. Walking this track with a pack would take a good three hours.

Wharepapa hut is old and basic, seemingly created with leftovers, but very tidy inside, with a good open fire. There's plenty of space for camping around the hut. Water is from the river. It seems as though mostly hunters pass through here, coming up the river from Wharekauhau. The mattresses are pretty gross and quite old and mouldy though, so I think I would bring something to cover them if I were to spend a night here.

We have a short break at the hut, but we really have to get moving and cover some ground as we're behind schedule.  

The climb up to Papatahi begins a short distance up the river. We head up the river bed to try find the track leading into the bush. We can't find it. We pull out the GPS and realise we've missed it (if you get to the first side stream up from the hut, you've gone too far). We scan the banks but can't find the track or a marker. With the GPS at hand, we bush bash for a bit until we see a marker. But now it's been two hours and we've hardly begun the climb to Papatahi.

It's a very long, steep and relentless 800m climb to Papatahi (902m). The track is quite overgrown and at times isn't obvious. You need to keep an eye on the orange markers. We start to worry about how long this is going to take and whether we've got enough food, or even if we're going to get out before dark! We kind of regret even doing this, given it's becoming more of a tough tramp than a run. To make matters worse, we loose the track for quite a while and it takes a lot of bush bashing and GPS-consulting to find the track again. At this point Matt reveals that he's left the keys for his truck (parked at the finish in the Orongorongo Valley carpark) in the car that went back to Wellington. With no reception at the carpark, we're probably going to have to hitchhike back to Wainuiomata...or run an extra 14km! We're both feeling pretty dark at this point. I just want to go home and laze about for the rest of the weekend, like most of Wellington is probably doing.

As we near the top, things begin to look up (excuse the pun). We realise that the hardest part is behind us and that we can make good time on the final half of the run. We're a lot happier now especially knowing we'll be out before dark.

We reach the summit at 1.30pm, by which time we'd hoped to be on the final stretch to the carpark. The summit is a bleak and very windy place, with no views (covered in bush and cloud), although there were good views of the Wairarapa between the trees on the way up.

Thankfully, there's reception on the top, and we get a text message out letting a few people know where behind schedule.

The climb down Papatahi is much easier. Although incredibly steep in parts (there's scree and ropes on large parts of it), we can run parts of it and it's only another 20 minutes before we're at the bottom. There's a short run on the Orongorongo riverbed before reaching Papatahi Hut.

Papatahi Hut is a lovely ten bunk hut. Rebuilt in 2009, it's located just above the river in a clearing, surrounded by bush. It's available to be booked out exclusively and would be a great destination for a relaxing weekend away. It's the most upstream of a river valley covered in huts. The Orongorongo valley has something like 100 huts, mostly private, tucked away in the bush surrounding the valley. 

We chat to a bunch of hunters in the hut about whether they came in on the riverbed or the Big Bend track. It's started raining and the rocks are a bit slippery. We're keen to run in the bush again, but not if there's anymore climbing involved! Thankfully, the hunters advise that the Big Bend track, which begins 1.5km down the river is very easy. 

We reach the track and it's like a motorway - wide, easy and well graded. It's so good to be running at speed again! Within 30 minutes we reach the main Orongorongo track and from there it's only 25-30 minutes back to the carpark. After seeing no-one (except the hunters at Papatahi hut), we pass so many people. It's a very popular track. Plenty of opportunities for people to hitch a ride with!

After almost 5.5 hours on our feet, it's such a relief to be finished. Thankfully, there's a landline at a lodge by the road, so we only have to walk an extra 2km instead of  14km to be able to call for a ride. 

A very tough day out, and despite the disappointment at not being able to run a large chunk of the track, I'm very glad I did it. There's something quite satisfying about crossing an entire range on foot.

Although challenging and involving a bit of logistics in getting to the start and back home again, it's a great trip and covers a fantastic variety of terrain that allows you to experience the full variety of landscapes the Rimutakas offers. 

Approximate Timings (run/walk):

Western Lake Road - Wharepapa Hut: 1.5hrs/3hrs
Wharepapa Hut - Papatahi Summit: 1.5hrs/ 3hrs
Papatahi Summit - Papatahi Hut: 1hr/ 2hrs
Papatahi Hut - Orongorongo Track: 45 mins/1.5-2.5hrs
Orongorongo Track - Carpark: 30mins/ 1-1.5hrs

Liverpool Hut, Mt Aspiring National Park, January 2014

Over the 2013/14 summer break, I'd planned many tramping adventures over the two weeks I had in the South Island with a bunch of friends. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't playing ball and it pretty much rained every day of the break. So we had to cancel many of the trips we'd been looking forward to for so long.

After making our way down the South Island (and cancelling the Mt Tapuae-o-Uenuku climb in the Kaikoura ranges and the Copland Pass trip by Mt Cook because we couldn't get up or over flooded rivers), we arrived in Wanaka rather fed up with the weather and the destruction of our plans. 

One trip that we were able to do, was to Liverpool Hut in the West Matukituki Valley. The valley is a popular tramping area, being only an hour's drive from Wanaka, with plenty of options available for tramping adventures. 

The last few kilometres of the gravel road to the carpark are pretty rough, with a few fords to cross, but in dry weather these shouldn't pose any problem for an ordinary 2WD car, except to test the suspension (cars with low clearance not recommended!).

The original plan was to head to French Ridge Hut (1600m), which is at the top of a spur leading up to the Bonar Glacier and is a key starting point for the climb to Mt Aspiring. However, a washed out bridge and a raging Matukuituki River put that plan to bed. The next best alternative was to Liverpool Hut (1200m), which lies on the flanks of Mt Barff, opposite French Ridge. 

The day started out mostly overcast, but sunny enough to warrant sunglasses. But with dark clouds looming to the West, it was never going to last.

The track begins from the Raspberry Flat carpark and initially travels through scenic farmland/ river flats, next to the river. The walk is easy going, but with a lot of stream crossings. In dry periods, most of these can be crossed, by utilising boulders placed by previous trampers, without getting your feet wet. Given the recent rain, we didn't quite manage to do this.

After about 1 3/4hrs walking, we arrived at Cascade Hut. Built in 1932, this lovely four bunk hut, with two separate bunk rooms and fires, is owned by the NZ Alpine Club and is not available to non-members. It looks like it would be a nice, cosy place to spend a night, or to camp out the front.

Cascade Hut

While soaking up some sun before venturing further up the valley towards the clouds, my mate Ben managed to catch a baby rabbit with his bare hands. What a bushman! Here's me posing with the happy fella! We let him go after that.

A further 20 minutes up the track is the colossal Aspiring Hut. It's a gorgeous hut, also owned by the NZ Alpine Club, but managed by DOC and available for public use. It's almost more of a luxury lodge, with its North-facing bench seats and large windows offering views of Mt Aspiring and thick stone walls upgrading the hut far above the much more basic corrugated exteriors of New Zealand's backcountry huts. Despite its size and popularity, I would loved to have been able to spend a night here and sit by the window reading a book with the fire crackling nearby. As it sits near the junction to the Cascade saddle route, I hope to get back here shortly to attempt the trip over the saddle to the Dart valley, leading to Glenorchy.

Aspiring Hut

The track continues up the valley on the grassy river flats for a another hour and a half, briefly going through some beech forest as the valley begins to narrow. Steep mountains tower over us and, I'd imagine, provide a fantastic sight were it not for the cloud smothering them.

The next part of the trip is not so easy. The climb to Liverpool is straight up - an all-fours climb from 500m elevation to 1200m in the space of about an hour and half. It's very steep and hard-going. The drizzle had set in by this point, to add to the fun. From the picture below, you can get an idea of the steepness of the terrain leading up to the hut. 

It pays to take your time on this track. There are a number of steep, slippery and narrow rock patches to get up and in wet conditions they're quite treacherous. Sadly, an experienced member of the Otago University Tramping Club died from a fall while climbing up to Liverpool Hut a few years ago.

Liverpool Hut looking East

The climb is well worth it though. The ten-bunk Liverpool Hut occupies a spectacular location, in a small alpine basin, offering fantastic views of Mt Aspiring to the North and the Matukuituki Valley West (in the picture above). French Ridge Hut sits almost opposite the hut, across the valley and a bit higher up. 

Unfortunately, due to the low cloud and drizzle, we couldn't see much of the views. Occasionally the clouds would peak slightly and we were treated to a small part of the view and our imaginations could run for a bit, picturing what the view would be like on a clear day and

I don't want to post another person's picture of the view on here of the view on a clear day, as I'm not too sure about copyright stuff, but Google Liverpool Hut images!

Approaching the hut

Although Liverpool Hut sits just above the bushline and is surrounded by tussock, it feels like it is much higher up. 

It has a 'freezer' door, a massive thing, designed to keep the cold and snow out. To add to the alpine feel, we were kept company in the hut by an alpine guide and his client, an Australian surgeon, who after a failed attempt to climb Mt Aspiring, had tried their hand on Mt Barff, just behind the hut. They had to turn back due to blizzard conditions near the top though. 

Liverpool is a very new hut, built in 2009, and has all the modern features of a modern DOC hut - double glazing etc. Although it has no heating. It's a very tidy and well kept hut, thanks to a DOC ranger based at Aspiring Hut, who regularly visits all the huts in the valley and maintains them. We had a pleasant evening, reading National Geographic magazines, watching Kea potter around on the deck outside and eating far too much chocolate.

Visitor outside the hut

The next morning, it really poured down. The only way back out is to retrace your steps the same way in. After an hour, and because the track was pretty much a stream by this point anyway, we gave up trying to keep our feet dry and proceeded to walk through every puddle we could find. It was quite liberating actually, and made the walk much faster. All of the side streams were running very high but didn't pose any problems crossing them. 

 So, despite the weather obscuring the views and a miserable walk out, it was still a great trip, with a nice variety of terrain. 

Approx timings:

Raspberry Flat car park to Aspiring Hut: 2-2.5hrs
Aspiring Hut to Liverpool Hut: 3-4hrs - take off 30mins for the return trip

Kime Hut, Tararua Range, May 2014

My flatmate, Anita, had purchased her first pair of tramping boots and was keen to give them a whirl. I'd suggested a trip to Kime Hut, being a cool spot and not too far to get to. We'd planned to head to Kime in Easter, but due to the bad weather forecast, we gave it a miss. The weather forecast this weekend was much more promising though, so we decided to head out and up to Kime from Otaki Forks. 

Although both Metservice and Mountain-Forecast.com had promised me fine, clear, weather, the reality at Otaki Forks didn't quite reconcile (I was going to say match up, but reconcile is a much more exciting word for an accountant). 

Although eerily calm, there was a faint drizzle as we pushed our way up the Southern Crossing track towards Field Hut. They'd completed a bit of work on the track from where it enters the bush to just before Field Hut from when I was last up here. The new gravel on the track cuts out a lot of the really bad muddy sections, while at the same time not upgrading the track to a highway, great walk style.

We arrived at Field Hut to a bunch of very loud and excitable teenagers, accompanied by their parents. I was not keen to linger any longer than necessary. The hills are meant to be a peaceful place and this sounded like what I imagine Queensgate Mall to sound like in the school holidays. Ugh. We had to get moving anyway, as it had taken about 45 minutes longer to get to Field than I'd previously done and I'd expected to be there much sooner than that, so we needed to push on to avoid walking in the dark.

The drizzle had stopped by this point, and we enjoyed a calm walk across Table Top. 

Just past Table Top

We finally arrived at the new Kime Hut just on dark. It was quite clagged in and I was disappointed, as it's always kinda nice to take people to a new spot and show it off. But views weren't the forefront of my mind at this point. It was dinner time!

I chucked the pasta in the billy to boil and went to get the container of vegetables, spices and chorizo I'd chopped up earlier. Only to find it wasn't there. I'd left it in the fridge at home. Dammit. So pasta and pasta sauce for dinner it was. I wasn't popular. 

Luckily, we were so hungry we pretty much cleaned the billy out (500g of cooked pasta between three people!) anyway. And we had lots of chocolate and tea for dessert.

The new Kime hut is quite large and without any form of heating. Although it's well insulated (double glazed windows too!), it's a cold place to be. We were sharing the hut with six others and everyone was in the sleeping bags in bed reading by 7.30pm. Much nicer to be doing that than feeling cold sitting around a table. 

After a solid 10 hour sleep, I awoke to a special surprise. 

Kime Hut looking South

Looking North with the rest of the Tararuas in the background

Looking East towards the Wairarapa

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Not a bad way to start the day, huh? Although the pictures don't show it (it could be seen quite clearly, it's just my camera's not good enough), we could see Mt Taranaki, Mt Ruapehu, the Wairarapa, Wellington Harbour and the South Island all from one spot. It was quite something. I've never before been able to see so many different geographical features from one spot. 

The Tararuas are quite a private range. They are almost always covered up in some sort of cloud or mist. And it the skirt is lifted, it's usually only a tease; a small peek through a brief gap in the clouds. It's quite rare to be able to see the whole range and surrounds in its entirety. So I was particularly taken aback by the views today. 

Looking West with Kapiti Island in the background

The new Kime Hut is large, modern and practical. It's largely based on DOC's template modern hut and doesn't have a lot of character. But what new structure does? Character develops over time. But I think it's quite difficult for a large, popular barn such as this to develop the sense of quaint cosiness that many of the smaller, older backcountry huts have. 

Like the old hut (which actually had a fire and a wood lined interior to give it more of a feeling if cosiness), it's a cold place to be and not the sort of place where one could happily linger for a few days. Although as the sun came out, we opened all the windows in the hut and sat on the deck for a bit to enjoy the calm, warm rays. On days like this, Kime Hut was a nice spot to be, but days such as this apparently only occur on about 40 days of the year in the Tararuas. 

I was so struck with the beautiful sunrise that I forgot to get a good close up picture of the new hut and interior, but here's the best one I took. Nothing amazing. 

After a leisurely breakfast, we began the walk back down to Otaki forks again. 

On the way back down to Otaki Forks

I didn't really want to go back down. On a day like this, I just wanted to get out and explore all those other places I've been meaning to go for ages. Like up to Mt Hector, and back to Otaki forks via Elder and Renata huts, or to complete the section between Maungahuka and Waitewaewae huts I've never gotten around to doing. Ah, the possibilities. 

Approximate timings:

Otaki Forks - Field Hut: 2-3hrs
Field Hut - Kime Hut: 2-3hrs

Field Hut

Rock & Pillar Range Run, Middlemarch - May 2014

I've been to Dunedin a few times, but have never really explored much beyond the city. With my sister's impending graduation in Dunedin, I'd vowed this time was going to be different.

Via the DOC website, I'd penciled a few potential trips in to try and make the most of the trip to Dunedin. With only four days in town, of which half was taken up with graduation stuff, I couldn't do any over night trips, so a run seemed like the best way to check out some cool spots with limited time. 

With a fine, calm, day forecast, I'd managed to convince my brother to come along on the run with me. 

The Rock and Pillar Range towers above the village of Middlemarch, about an hour's drive North-West of Dunedin. It's not quite Central Otago, so the area is a nice mix of green coastal Otago landscapes, and the golden tussock landscape of Central Otago. 

There was quite a bit of fog around, but occasionally mother nature lifted up her skirt to reveal a much nicer day above. 

On the road to Middlemarch, with the Rock and Pillar Range Behind

The plan was to run up to Leaning Lodge Hut, then across the tops to Big Hut and back down - a nice loop. But we had to be back in Dunedin by lunchtime to pick my sister up from the airport, so I wasn't sure if the planned route was entirely achievable.

The range is typical of many in Central Otago, with broad, almost rolling, tussock slopes. This, combined with the fact there was a rough 4WD track up to Leaning Lodge Hut, meant that it was an ideal track to run. Although there was still a solid 1100m climb to actually get to the hut!

My brother was not impressed as we pulled into the carpark. The temperature gague on the car informed us that it was -1 outside. I love running in the cold though, and within five minutes, the cold air stopped burning our lungs and we'd warmed up nicely. As we were running above the thick layer of fog above Middlemarch, it actually warmed up quite a bit as we climbed. 

Above the fog, looking SE towards the Tairei Plain 

 Although the first few kilometres of the trip are on a farm, aside from the first kilometre, you'd hardly notice but for the odd bit of deer poo. The hills appear to be quite sparsely grazed (probably due to the elevation and tussock) and most of the farm looks like the conservation park further up the range. Farm crossings can be a bit tedious, so this was a pleasant surprise. The above picture was taken on the farm bit. 

4WD Track climbing up

Cool colours looking NE 

Despite the length of the climb, I really enjoyed it. The track was a fantastic gradient and made the climb much more bearable. 

We finally spotted a building up ahead - was that the hut already? Well, it was a hut, but not the one we were looking for. It was a very basic and shabby affair, with a large rock to hold the door closed. Perhaps a good spot for some brief shelter, but certainly not a place I'd like to have spent a night.

Slightly disappointed, we carried on. It seemed to take forever at this point. After an hour and a bit of running uphill, I'd expected to at least have seen the hut by now. 

Finally, after an hour and a half of running, we came to a fork in the track and Leaning Lodge Hut came into view shortly afterwards. The hut is down off the track about 15mins, at an altitude of 1200m. 

It's a superbly located eight bunk hut, with fantastic views out over the Middlemarch valley and towards the Tairei plain in the distance. It's also a very tidy and clean (probably the cleanest I've ever been to), and well cared for hut, owned by the Otago Tramping and Mountaineering Club, rebuilt by them in 2007. 

It would be a great place to spend the night. Though bear in mind that the only water source is from the creek nearby and there's no form of heating in the hut. 

Unfortunately, we'd run out of time to head up to the top and over to Big Hut. It would have been cool to make it right to the top (only another 150m of vertical climbing) and to see what the other side of the range looked like. But another trip for another time.

Moi standing on a rock near the turn-off to the hut

It only took us about 50 minutes to run back down from the hut back to the carpark.

A great run, with some fantastic views. I estimate that it would only have taken another 20-30 minutes to run to Big Hut, but the track down would have taken slightly longer as it is a tramping rather than a 4WD track.

Access: Kinvara Station, just across Lug creek, 9km North of Middlemarch. There's no DOC sign by the road, so drive up the farm driveway even though it feels like it's the wrong place. There's a big sign by the drive for the station. The carpark is not far up the drive. 

Estimated times:

Kinvara car park to Leaning Lodge Hut via Kinvara Track: Running: 1.25hrs-1.5hrs, tramping: 2-3.5hrs
Return: Running: 40mins - 1hr, tramping: 1.5-2.5hrs

Managaweka and Purity Hut, March 2012

Another great trip to the Ruahines (two years ago, to provide some history to this blog), this time to the Western side of the range.

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. 

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. 

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.

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!

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.

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

Mt Hikurangi, January 2013

This trip was a while ago, but was a superb one. 

Being from Gisborne, I'd always wanted to tackle Mt Hikurangi on the East Coast. Hikurangi is a striking peak, and I think it is one of the North Island's most distinct mountains, and a classic climb that every tramper should attempt. It's about half an hour's drive inland from Ruatoria, which is about 1 3/4 hours drive North East of Gisborne. 

At 1754m, it's the highest non-volcanic peak in the North Island, and a relative outlier from the main Raukumara Range, which forms part of the main spine of mountains stretching from the Rimutakas to the East Cape.

Unfortunately, most of the track (distance wise) up to Hikuarangi is across a sheep and beef farm, but this does mean that the peak can be reached relatively quickly and simply. Of course there's the option to walk up the farm track, but Ngati Porou (the farm owners) also offer the option to be driven up the farm track to the hut at the border of the Raukumara Forest Park. However, this does come at the hefty price of $200.

Completing the climb with my uncle, who had a sore knee, meant that we opted for the drive up to the hut. Although I felt lazy and as if it were cheating to get a ride up to the hut, if my uncle was getting a ride, I may as well too! It also meant that we could complete the trip in a day. We may have been able to do this regardless, with just day packs, but it would have meant a 9 hour day. Not that appealing on a day in January in the East Coast sun.

The views from the hut, only five minutes walk from the end of the 4WD track, are fantastic. 

Whanakao, with the Eastern Bay of Plenty in the background

The peaks around Hikurangi, and Hikurangi itself, are quite something. They appear as giant monoliths, seemingly out of nowhere. 

The hut (1200m), known as the 'Gisborne Canoe and Tramping Club Hut', and built by the club of the same name, is a short walk from the end of the farm track, just on the border of the Forest Park. It's not a particularly well cared for hut, with bits of the roof lining hanging down, holes in the mattresses and only a few patches of wood covering the exterior corrugated iron, but I kinda like it. Although the hut is rather lonely in a barren paddock, and not even in the bush, it still feels as though you're away from everything. It is probably one of the most isolated huts in New Zealand, being far away from any population centre. The sheer distance required to even get to the carpark to the hut gives it an immediate feeling of isolation. 

The longdrop is horrendous, with a door that doesn't close properly. 

The Raukumara Forest Park is a true wilderness area. The route (most of the way up) Hikurangi is the only track in the entire park, so travelling elsewhere within the park would be a true navigational and physical challenge.

The track climbs steeply from behind the hut, through a grassy patch with regenerating bush on the sides. 

The views on the way up are just fantastic. It's an amazingly clear day, with not a cloud to be seen anywhere.

Looking out to Wharekia, with Ruatoria and the East Coast behind, about 150m elevation above the hut

After a short section of stunted mountain beech trees, we emerge onto the tussock and the gradient eases off as we walk on the flanks of Hikurangi, behind it.

We pass a tarn, framed by remains of dead leatherwood. The tarn and surrounding alpine vegetation must be the Northern-most in New Zealand, and so this area is quite significant botanically. Despite this, I feel no more partial to my encounters with speargrass on the way up. If anything, its sharp jabs seem more arrogant than usual. 

After a steep section of scree, we reach a big gully for the final push to the top.

Steep section of scree on the flanks of Hikurangi

Bottom of the steep gully

The track/ route from the hut, up to the gully is poled and isn't difficult to follow at all. But there are no markers after you reach the gully, which is VERY steep, with lots of loose rock. But at least you can see the top of the gully in the distance, so there is a clear goal to aim for. In snow conditions, this gully would be quite an undertaking. 

At the top of the gully, the views of the East Coast once again emerge, and we can see the summit. Quite a reward after scrambling up that gully!

Aorangi with Ruatoria in the distance

The summit, with trig station

But the final section is probably the worst bit of the whole climb. There's an area (of which I didn't photograph), where you have to scale the side of the cliff, clinging onto vegetation, with a steep 1500m drop below. This is on the upper rocky knob in the photograph, just before you get to the knob with the trig on it. My heart is definitely pounding, but the adrenalin from seeing the summit so close gets me through it.

At the summit!

Whanakao from the summit

I've never before experienced a view as complete as the one we get from the summit. We can see the entire East Cape of New Zealand, stretching from Opotiki in the Bay of Plenty, down to Gisborne at the bottom of the East Coast. It's really special to be able to see such a large and distinctly shaped part of New Zealand in its entirely. It makes you realise just how small New Zealand really it. It's quite something.

We don't linger at the summit long. It's very windy, and I really want to get that cliff scaling section over and done with before I can start to relax on the climb down. 

We stop at the hut for lunch on the way out. By this time my brother and sister are really feeling the day's efforts. They had the beginnings of the flu the day before the climb, and for them the carpark just can't come soon enough.

The walk down the 4WD farm track is long, very hot, and tedious, but we make steady progress. I think the encounters with some staunch looking bulls in the paddocks give us an additional reason to keep the pace up. I look back to the mountain quite a bit on the way down. It's quite satisfying having climbed Hikurangi, and being able to look back on the achievement. We soon roll up at the Ruatoria Four Square for all those food items we'd been thinking about on the way down. Ice cream, ice cold coke. A pie. 

Back in Gisborne, I shared some pictures of the trip with my great-grandmother. Her next door neighbour popped around and mentioned that he had climbed Hikurangi some 30 times, but had never been on the mountain and had the weather conditions to offer the clear 360 degree views that we had received on our first climb up the mountain! 

Approx timings:

Carpark to Hut: 3.5hrs
Hut to summit: 2hrs
Summit to hut: 1.5hrs
Hut to road end/ carpark: 2.5hrs