Ruapehu Lodge Bunking

A bit of a nothing weekend as far as tramping goes, however I generated some karmic credits by donning my builders pinny and attending a working bee at the WTMC lodge at Iwikau village (Whakapapa side of Ruapehu).

Mike, for his sins, has taken on looking after the lodge. One of the challenges that has developed in recent years is that when the lodge was built double bunking was an acceptable and effective method of cramming the punters in. Accordingly, the lodge has lots of double bunks and not so many singles.

In the new fangled error people are apparently less than enamoured with the idea of sharing their intimate sleeping space with a complete stranger or even a nodding acquaintance with dubious personal hygiene.  The ratio of double to single bunks is therefore no longer hitting the sweet spot - someone had to do something.

 

The genesis 

Mike figures that by ripping out a settee, installing new single bunks and redesignating a double bunk as a king single then all would be sweetness and light.

So, one weekend he turns up at home with some dubious numbers and scribbles on a piece of paper and my drop saw reclaimed from our brother-in-law. We set to designing and it soon became clear that the numbers and a couple of blurry photos on his phone weren't quite enough input data for the precision sleeping platform we were intent on building. A phone call to the lodge elicited a few more measurements but the dubiousness was only heightened by the fact that the chap wielding the tape measure had had a drink or two.

The design is two 50:100 timber frames with slat bases screwed to the wall studs on two walls and held up the ladder. MDF sides complete the whole affair.

Just build one of these - dodgy design photo

With executive decisions made and the design complete we potter off down to the Mega and fill one of their trailers with timber. The shop floor chap thinks the whole thing is hilarious but clearly has plenty of time on his hands and is happy to provide input into a few more executive decisions.

Back at home Mike drops the trailer back, via the waste transfer station (no sense wasting the opportunity) while I set to work. Over the next day or so we cut the timber to length, shape the sides, cut rebates and build the ladder (scaled off the blurry photo using some creative flying estimates).

Steps cut

The ladder takes shape

The ladder is a thing of beauty. As a result of compounding conservatism through sequential executive decisions, it is sturdy enough to bear the weight of a large man carrying a small family sedan.

The weekend of the lodge working party rolls around and we start with some convoluted logistics to get pieces of bunk, masses of tools and a van from Lower Hutt to Wellington station at 5.30 (more or less) to pick up 11 punters on a Friday afternoon. However, the trip up is uneventful and nobody complains about the ladder wedged into the cabin.

On arrival the first item of business is to inspect the space. A built in settee with a storage locker incorporated into the base inhabits the corner in question. In the interests of not upsetting the owner of the locker we will have to somehow incorporate it into the final design. Something to think about over night.

Meanwhile Sue takes charge of the punters who will be giving the lodge a top to bottom scrub.

On the Saturday morning Sue organises the cleaning frenzy while we rip out the settee carefully to retain the locker - but then have to take it out anyway as it has to be trimmed to size. It turns out to contain lots of old club photos, christmas decorations of dubious vintage, an old projector, a printer and a lemon, lime and bitters that expired in 2010.

Next up we confirm measurements and discover that our sides are slightly too short given the need for a packer at the bed head. The only solution is some packers but that will have to be done last.

Sergei - licensed to drill

It's at about this point that we realise that the one tool we are missing is a hex bit for the big screws that will hold the whole thing together and to the wall. Fortunately, for some inexplicable reason I have brought an angle grinder so the appropriate allan key gets sacrificed and ground to fit into a drill chuck.

Tool making

Whilst Sergie and I glue and screw the two basis together Mike gets on with sanding the sides. By lunchtime we have the bases curing and ready for assembling and Sergei is getting on with staining the sides.

The existing bunks are stained an attractive dark brazil nut brown. With the orange carpet the effect is mildly depressing but we elect to match the decor lest we earn the frothing outrage of club members incandescent at the prospect of upstarts having the temerity to drift from the cultural norm.

The bases take shape

In the afternoon we screw the bases to the walls and clamp them to a temporary 4 by 2 before installing the slats in the upper bunk then attaching the ladder as a temporary measure. This gives us sufficient stability to attach the foot boards then remove the ladder and attach the side boards. Reattaching the ladder for the final time proves to be somewhat of a sweat: learning point - bring an 11mm bit for 10mm bolts! Oh, and bring long drill bits so you don't have to disassemble joints to drill sufficient depth holes.

In the morning Sergei sets off to climb Ruapehu bright and early and I get on with rebuilding the storage locker while Mike does lodge leader duties. By lunch time Mike has built lids under the bottom bunk slats for the locker and after lunch the final acts of staining the ladder, installing the packers to cover the gap from the short sides and cleaning up are dealt with in plenty of time before our target departure time.

The finished product looks like it will be serviceable and is not completely unlike the existing bunks. Time will tell whether they hold together but duty done and now to get a van full of punters back to Wellington.

I should mention that whilst we have been immersed in bunk building the lodge has become sparkling clean and the punters have even had time to go off on various walks. And all with absolutely stunning weather.

Loading the van is a lot easier with out the timber. We head down the mountain on schedule to pick up a bunch of punters led by Aimee who have followed a track down. They turn up on time and we have another uneventful trip back to Wellington.

Done ....

Top ...

and bottom

Beautiful!

Ruapehu

It's unusual to be heading out on a trip with a bunch of others. However, Mike has taken on the task of organising a club trip to Ruapehu with Tony and there's one seat left in the two vans going up - the intent: a mass assault on the summit.

This will be my first tramp with others in a while and I'm a bit reticent about going out in such a big group. However, I've never got around to the top of Ruapehu before and also figure there's a fair amount of learning to be had.

What:    Wander up Ruapehu
Where:  WTMC Lodge, Iwikau
Why:      Not been to the top before
Who:     A million WTMCers
When:  11 March 2017
Map:      Map 

One of the reasons for going on so few club trips becomes apparent during the course of the preceding week. The weather forecast deteriorates and although it's clear we won't be getting to the top, the relentless momentum generated by the complex logistics of getting 24 people up, accommodated and fed means there trip will proceed. I'll also note at the outset that the weather meant I left my phone in my pack all weekend so no photos I'm afraid.

Bang on the dot of 10 minutes late we leave platform 9 and head north for the traditional Friday afternoon traffic jamb up the Kapiti coast. I have claimed a seat in the back corner of the van and settle in for a long trip.

The new Kapiti express way seems to be working admirably as we have no hold ups and a smooth trip north, with the usual stop at the Kebab shop in Bulls. Mike has the foresight to ring his van's orders ahead so their food is ready when they arrive. We continue in the dark arriving at Iwikau (Top of the Bruce) a bit after 10pm. It's drizzling as we stand around in our coats while the person in the hut fails to wake to repeated banging on the doors and windows.

Someone eventually climbs in a window and we claim our bunk rooms.  I'm sharing with Mike and Tony and have remembered my ear plugs so have a comfortable night.

In the morning the weather looks very settled - solid rain, close clag and a bit of wind. The lodge is at about 1600m so the wind at the top (1000m or so higher) is likely to be fearsome. As Mike cheerfully points out: "Ruapehu is protected from the weather by Mount Taranaki in the west and the Kaikouras in the south."

Tony and Mike pick some lower altitude walks with a view to some sodden exercise and possibly views of water falls and lakes.  Mike takes a van load down to a walk to some waterfalls near National Park and I elect to follow Tony and six others on a longer walk to Tama lakes.

We leave the van at the Tama track entrance and set off, well wrapped against the elements. Despite the weather there is a fair few other people on the very well formed Taranaki falls upper track. Pretty soon the rain has dropped away and we're stopping to peel off layers.

The track sidles through gentle landscape and some nice bush, but mostly open tussock and scrub. We stop briefly above Taranaki falls but don't go down as we will likely be taking that track on the return.

The track meanders and climbs with none of the streams looking particularly swollen (Tony guesses that they are more locally fed and the rain is further up the mountain). It feels a bit weird to be relying on someone else for navigation and decision making but it's a good opportunity to watch and learn from an experienced tramper.

Where the track reaches the edge of the explosion crater around Lower Tama lake we scramble down and grab a bite of lunch before heading across the wide, flat and bare crater bottom to the lake edge. Despite the clag the water is blue. A creek flows into the crater but disappears into the flat bottom before reaching the lake - and the lake itself has no outlet so there is apparently some considerable underground drainage at work.

At the lake edge we skirt to the north before heading up the east wall at a spot Tony knows, although it isn't marked on the map or obvious from a distance. This takes us on a steep scramble to the top. The wind has picked up and intermittent showers come through.

There's no problems with timing; the party isn't fast but Tony obviously figures that the weather is settled enough and the party capable enough to head up to the Upper Tama lake. We head north up the spur to  1450, sidle along the east face before crossing to drop down a stream to the south shore of the upper lake.

The clag is still close around the peaks but down by the lake is more sheltered from the wind. Time is still good so we decide to circumnavigate the lake. There are indications that others have done this although we get to a section on the western shore where the bank drops steeply to the water. There seems to be some indication that a trail climbs up the crater wall to get around the section.  I watch the leaders scrambling up and decide to do a reccy nearer the waterline, sure enough there's a slightly acrobatic but quite feasible route around.

As I sit in the comfortable moss waiting for the others to complete their scramble I contemplate the decision to depart from the group line to follow a path with a slightly higher chance of a slip but with significantly reduced severity of resulting harm. It's the line that I would follow on my own but perhaps I should have just gone with the group. On balance though we were never far apart so I reckon it was within reasonable bounds of finding the route that suits you best without putting others at risk.

We continue around a sandy than bouldery shoreline with wavelets lapping at our boots until we reach another section where the beach disappears.  I'm not so keen on following the lead group into thigh deep water, and this time find a well formed foot trail along the bank above. This takes us comfortably around the rest of the lake and up the west side.

The track doesn't seem to be official but is clearly reasonably well used. I can only assume that people are either heading towards Ngauruhoe just a couple kilometers away or east to pick up the Waihohonu-Oturere track.

The clag closes in and the wind rises as we climb out of the crater to rejoin the upper end of the marked trail we left before lunch. The going gets easier, as we drop down and we are soon following the well formed track back to Taranaki falls.

Tony and I are bringing up the rear and stop to chat with a couple of women who are on the around-the-mountain trail. They sound like they are from the US and one of them has three vertical lines tattooed on her chin. I wonder if some native American tribes have a similar practice for facial tattoos for women as Maori moko. If so I imagine she would get a pretty positive reception in New Zealand.

The falls are pretty with a sizable stream dropping off a lava bluff  through a narrow slot. Most of the party clamber in behind to be immersed in the spray and be close to the force of the crashing water.

The track then follows a tongue of forest down along Wairere stream before sidling through more open country with views of the Chateau and back to the van. The weather has considerably cleared and it is apparent that down country has been much better than the slopes of the mountain.

All up, 8 pretty easy going hours and despite the clag and a bit of rain some quite pretty country side. A good day walk.

The next morning is claggy and rainy again. After tidying the lodge and packing, Tony takes a group of 14 with the intention of wandering up through the ski-field and possibly as far as the bottom of the glacier. (I couldn't find a name for it on the map - it's a little one that feeds the stream that runs through the ski-field). Mike takes the remainder to either walk the Old Coach Road or sit in an Ohakune cafe.

A 4WD track takes us up to the top of the first chair and to the stream beyond (top end of the Whakapapanui stream). Visibility is low so we keep the group reasonably close together.  It's difficult to picture the landscape as I normally see it - covered in snow and skiers.

We roughly follow the spur up until first an implement shed then the cafe loom out of the clag. The lee of the cafe is a chance to regroup and add a layer. From here we follow the line of the Knoll Ridge T Bar to the top with a brief pause to cram into the emergency shelter for lunch.

Above the T Bar we come across the first snow - it's a bit hard on top so most of the party stick to the rocks as we sidle and climb a short way to a snow field with a stream flowing out of it. This is close enough to the bottom of the glacier for our purposes so we stand around in the rain for a bit contemplating what it might look like in something better than 20m visibility.  We're probably at a little under 2300m so it would be just a 300m climb to the summit plateau with nothing to see. And probably a bit of a risky scramble on icy snow to get there.

Retracing our steps is of course somewhat quicker with just a little bit of casting around to find the best way down the spur to the true right of the waterfall.  The volcanic rock is incredibly grippy compared to the Tararua streams I am more accustomed to, so you can boulder hop quite comfortably.

Back at the lodge we change in the vestibule to minimise the need to tidy up then scamper back through the rain to the van.

Mike is just picking up the other party when we get to Ohakune so we convene for a pretty good late lunch at the Mountain Rocks Cafe.

The trip home is uneventful and it's still daylight when we arrive in Wellington. Not my usual weekend trip and the weather was pretty awful but quite enjoyable.

Around the volcanic plateau

7-8 September 2013
Solo road ride

Some time ago I had promised to help drive a club van to Ruapehu for a ski weekend thinking to make it a rest week in the training schedule. But, as the date nears the idea of circumnavigating the volcanoes starts to germinate.  It looks like a loop of either 160 or 174K (depending on start point) through some pretty spectacular landscape.  The route is simple; State Highways: 48, 47, 4, 49, 1, 46, and 47 and 48 again.

The trip up starts a little late as I exit work to pick up the van from the ferry terminal.  The logistics are incredibly complicated but cars, bikes, vans and punters end up in the right places and we have an easy trip with the usual dinner stop in Bulls.

The van drops a few of us at the Forest and Bird Lodge (just up the road from Whakapapa Village) and heads up the hill to the club lodge.

The F&B lodge is pretty standard with bunk rooms and common areas. It's comfortable, warm and everything seems pretty new and clean. As a skiing and biking base it's perfect and is even within walking distance of the pub (serving ok pub meals but just main stream beer).

Saturday dawns misty and the promise of a strong westerly on the high slopes is enough to make a bike ride the order of the day (the skiing in fact turns out to be superb).

This will be the furthest I've ridden in a day so a careful carbohydrate breakfast of muesli is first up. But then someone starts frying bacon and, inevitably, second up is a big protein and grease breakfast.

The skiers head up into the clag and I drop quickly down the 7km to SH 47 and a left turn towards National Park.  It's cold and drizzly but it dries within 20k and the wind isn't too bad so the 50k to Ohakune pass easily (apart from mild regret about that second breakfast). The gully with the Makatote viaduct is a breeze and the net drop from National park to Ohakune is 130m so it's basically flat.

The town is quiet with all the skiers up the hill, I refill the first drink bottle at the BP, and cast a longing eye at the chocolate éclair shop.  This is a traditional stop for a generous, cream filled treat with lashings of choc icing, but not on top of that breakfast.

Playing 'spot the carrot' helps pass the time during the 27k and 200m rise to Waioru through rolling farmland and forestry.  Carrot farming is big up here and they tend to be lugged around in large unsecured loads so the game is simple, spot as many carrots as you can that have fallen on the side of the road. This is not so easy since they eased many of the corners and less fall off the trucks, but you generally see a surprising number.  Today I can only rustle up one suspect.

Waioru is a bit dank but I have to stop at the Z to top up a bottle, buy some batteries and text. So it's a cold start up the desert road.

This is the part I'm a little worried about; it's a long way with no services, and quite exposed. I have no idea how the strengthening westerly will affect the ride and am conscious that the road winds through a number of gullies which could be dicey given traffic loads on SH 1.

It turns out to be an excellent section.  It's drizzling as Waioru disappears behind but the weather starts to steadily improve.  The wind pushes the bike along as the skies clear and the sun shines on the northern slopes of Ruapehu. From Waioru at 800m the road rises to 1000m, meanders up and down a bit before dropping from 820m to 520 at Rangipo. This all happens over 50km so is hardly dramatic.

Bar the occasional interesting side gust it's a fast trip through to Rangipo with views of Ruapehu eventually giving way to a distant vista of Lake Taupo.  And the shoulder is much better than I was expecting. Then it gets tough.

Turning left on to SH 46 it's directly into a firm wind for 35k and lots of gentle but unrelenting up hill.  Tongariro and Ngaruhoe are shrouded in cloud as the road passes Lake Rotoaire, rising to 740m then dipping to 660m at SH 47.

It takes a long time into the wind to undulate up to 910m, then the whakapapa road intersection (870m) and the last 310m climb over 7km to the lodge.  The wind finally provides some assistance again and the sun breaks through, but it is a slow finish.

Approximate times (when I took notice):
0845 Depart Lodge
1120 Waiouru
1300 Rangipo turn
1505 Lodge

Sunday

The following day looks about the same at first brush but news from up the hill is not promising on the skiing front.  Angela and I decide to head off by bike for Taihape whilst the skiers check out Turoa to see if they have a better class of white out. Someone starts frying bacon as I'm finishing my muesli and a second breakfast soon joins the first.

It starts drizzling soon after we start and intermittently rains through to Ohakune. We potter along exchanging comments of mild regret about our choice of breakfast.

The rain settles in in earnest half way to Waiouru.  There is mercifully little wind but the road is awash, we are soaked and the cold saps energy. Angela however makes a clean sweep of the carrot game spotting a pile in a field, not strictly by the road but good enough. All I can claim is a manky parsnip.

By Waiouru it's still cold and wet and doesn't look inclined to let up any time soon, the wind is also starting to strengthen.  I convince Angela to take shelter at the army museum cafe for hot chocolate and wait for Mike as I recall the stretch of SH 1 to Taihape is busy, very hilly and perhaps not best with low energy in these conditions.

This proves to be not such good advice on my part. The car is a bit delayed so she has plenty of time to get cold in her wet gear. Meanwhile I'm skipping down the hills in improving weather and make excellent time through to the brown sugar cafe. The hills are of course mainly down travelling south (800m at Waioru to 450m at Taihape over 30km). It's all so different in a car.

At 107 km it was a good stretch-out after Saturday's effort. The net drop makes for easy riding overall and although the weather could have been better at least it wasn't windy.  And Mike remembered to stop for éclairs.

I have a few hours to wait as the van has diverted to the Tokano hot pools, but the outdoor shop and cafe take care of that nicely.

So...

The plateau tour is a good ride for the bucket list. If you start and finish somewhere on the loop it's about 160km; from Whakapapa village add 12-14k.

It was pretty much undulating with no steep hills although some long, relentless rises depending on direction of travel. There are few settlements so plan your water stops. It is highly exposed so take the right gear and put some thought to your direction of travel given likely wind direction and strength through the day.  Road verges were generally pretty good and traffic well behaved.  Some of the roads can get busy though and there are a lot of big trucks. I would recommend going with a buddy or two for support and sharing the lead.

The trip to Taihape was if anything busier and would be a bit of a grind from south to north.

For future reference; a few spot heights:
F&B lodge 1180m
Intersection SH 48 and 47; 870
Intersection SH 47 and 4; 830
Intersction SH 4 and 49; 620
Ohakune; 600
Waiouru; 800
Desert road up to 1000
Top of downhill to Rangipo; 820
Rangipo; 520
Intersection SH 46 and 47; 660
Highest point along SH 47; 910
Taihape; 450