Possumers Hut - Kapakapanui

As an end in itself, hut bagging is not usually my thing.  However, it's as good as an excuse as any to go somewhere and Janine will sometimes rope me in when the objective is off track.  Today it's an old possumer's hut off the side of the Kapakapanui Circuit Track.

  

What:   Hut bagging - Possumer's Hut
Where: Kapakapanui - behind Waikanae
When:  28 March 2021
Who:    Janine and Angela

Website

The hut baggers website has the location and details so I'm not expecting this to be a difficult navigation exercise.  They list it as "Thornhill Possumer's Hut" noting it is the second on the site - the previous called Kohlers Hut.

I don't know where the name 'Thornhill' comes from, but the search prompts me to try to find the significance of Kapakapanui.  The first website that comes up is the local school seeking feedback on a proposal to change their name from a shortened and meaningless 'Kapanui' to the correct form.  They note that:

"The name Kapakapanui came from a waka (canoe) which travelled to Kapiti in the 1800s.  Along with other waka, these name[s] were used to symbolise mana whenua or land occupation."

I won't prolong the trip description here - I've passed through this area a few times, the first trip write-up is in 2013 has a halfway useful description of the Circuit.  

It's a slow climb to the wee knob at 852 which signals that the turn-off to the hut is a bit over 100m higher.  Janine has her GPS, but I'm interested to see if the access point is obvious through more traditional means of navigation.  I find what I think is the likely spot and wait for Janine to confirm.  There's a distinctive bent branch on the track and a faint foot trail turning off to run downhill.  A short way down the hut comes into view.    

It's seen better days - the roof has a disintegrating tarp over it, there's no glass in the window and the inside is a bit ... slimy.  However, the hutbagger website indicates that by May someone has done a bit of reno including perspex in the window and plywood repairs to the floor.  Someone fairly determined I think, as it would be quite a proposition wrestling even a small sheet of ply up that track.      

And that's pretty much it really.  We complete the circuit with the cloud ceiling high enough that we have reasonable views from the top. 

The hut itself is such a short way off the track it's worth popping in for a look as a point of minor interest on the circuit.  For the truly avid bagger, further around the circuit near the Kapakapanui Hut the hutbagger website notes that Henderson's Shelter was located but subsequently removed.  It was in the saddle between pt 890 and the Pukeatua Track - I found some bits of iron and other debris when passing through which I suspect were the remains.

A happy hutbagger

Pukeatua day trip

The Wellington Arts Festival only comes once in two years, so it would be curmudgeonly in the extreme to begrudge a Saturday night of culture when I could be tramping. Consequently, the plan for this weekend has revolved around fitting in a couple of day walks with attendance at the Barbershop Chronicles scheduled for Saturday night.

The choice of Saturday walk may have been influenced by the presence of the last three unvisited spot-heights in the south western corner of the park. In the end a bit of a knee twinge curtails activities on Sunday - so it's a somewhat truncated trip report this time.

What:     Day nav trip
Where:   Pukeatua - behind Waikanae
Who:      Solo
When:    3 March 2018
Map:

I leave the express way and head for the Akatarawa Hill Road to turn left at Reikorangi. The road end is empty when I arrive but a gentleman turns up shortly and we get chatting. He's organising a walk for a senior group along the Mangaone walkway which follows up the Waikanae River and pops out in the hills behind Otaki. Apparently some of the members don't like getting their feet wet so he's checking some logs he dropped over a stream a week back weren't washed away in cyclone Gita.

The Pukeatua track is part of the Te Araroa trail popping along a ridge from Otaki Forks. At 0830 I start along an old forestry track which turns into single track before pt 422. One (presumably) TA walker comes through a little before 422 - he must have got up reasonably early to get here from the Forks.

At the saddle just after 422 I pick a spot and drop east towards the stream. It rapidly turns into a tangle of supplejack but is not too steep.

The way down

Near the bottom I come across what looks like an apparently healthy supplejack vine growing out of a decidedly not supplejack tree. Weird.

 The other side is a little clearer and after following animal trails that avoid the worst of the supplejack, I find a bit of a foot pad on the top of the spur - it's 9.40 and there's even the odd piece of old tape.

Nice open bush on the spur

This leads up to the target - pt 535. The spur is a bit messy here and I'm having a bit of trouble with direction finding when I notice that my compass is a bit sluggish. I generally give it a bit of a wiggle when taking a bearing to check it is level and moving freely, this time the needle response is odd. I check my pockets and around my chest but can't find anything metallic and can't recall having a pacemaker fitted recently. It's still behaving a bit weirdly and on a second check I discover a plastic clip on my chest strap that used to belong with a previous water bladder - it has a strong wee magnet in it. I haven't used this day pack for a while and had completely forgotten it was there.

With navigational confidence (competence?) restored I find the way across a couple of bumps and to the climb back to the marked track. The ground trail is pretty good.

At 1050 I'm on the Pukeatua track again and, after a short break, head up towards the named high point - Pukeatua 812, meeting another TA walker on the way. There are a series of clearings around the top and views up to Kapakapanui with its head in the clouds and the side spurs to Judd Ridge - also disappearing into cloud. The Kapiti Coast is also visible. It's a little after 1120.

The name strikes me as a little odd - the hill of the gods (or a god?) - yet it isn't exactly commanding in the landscape. Kapakapanui to the SSW and the peaks of the southern crossing to the east look down on it.

Kapakapanui on left - target saddle low on right 

This is the furthest along the track for  today as I have previously visited the next spot height along. Heading back to where I rejoined the track my right knee starts playing up and continues to give me gyp for the rest of the day.

The next section is to follow a long saddle to the Kapakapanui track south of here. It is such an obvious link between two navigable ridges that it's no surprise to see old venetian markers visible from the track - you'd have to be blind to miss them. In fact, to make sure people don't wander off, DOC has put some large orange triangles to mark the Pukeatua track. At 1150 I'm good for time so reckon I can go a bit easy on my knee.

A subtle sign

The foot trail comes and goes but the ridge is narrow enough and it's clear people come through periodically. The climb out of the saddle gets a bit messy with undergrowth and lots of windfall. I'm also getting a bit whiny about my knee so slowing down somewhat.

Part way up I find some iron sheets and possibly timbers rotting into the forest floor - clearly there was something here a long time ago. Later, I find Henderson's Shelter marked on a 1979 map of the area - I assume I stumbled over its mouldering remains.

The saddle route joins the Kapakapanui track at 1240 and it's a short step down to the hut. It's tidy and I top up my water before taking a long lie down. The sun is hidden but it's warm and there's cell phone coverage. But not that great as I discover by chewing through half my battery life checking a few websites.

Kapakapanui track

Kapakapanui Hut

Blame it on the warmth or resting that gamy knee, either way it is a lot longer than I normally stop before mustering enough enthusiasm to overcome inertia, departing about 1315.

The map shows a bit of a flat section then a bump in the ridge where I am planning to take a spur back to the carpark. I keep my eyes peeled but in the end, as the photo shows, the subtle signs were there for the observant (1335).

Another subtle sign

A good ground trail heads firmly off down the spur with old markers in evidence. A few times it became a little indistinct with long gaps between markers but it was pretty easy. The old track drops to a low saddle with the sounds of the stream on the right drifting up, then climbs to an abrupt transition into pines.

Forward

And back

The old maps website shows no track down this spur in 1979, a marked track in 1989, a note that it is overgrown in 1999, a dotted route in 2009 and nothing now. Funny how things change.

I join a somewhat winding logging road which is mostly pretty easy to follow although I wander onto a side track at one point and end up sidling through second growth pine to find the main road again.

The sun is out now and it's hot. What with the trees and the winding road I'm not 100% sure how far I've traveled until a pylon comes into sight indicating the start of the descent to the carpark.

I know I'm outside the Forest Park now and am not sure who owns the land. However, there does not appear to be any current logging activity and I figure that the odd lone tramper limping out of the hills is not going to create risk or cause damage. There's one house high above the carpark but I keep away from their drive and follow the logging road down. At the bottom there is an old sign that says 'private' but as there is also access to houses it's not entirely clear what it is referring to.

I note that I'm parked next to an old boiler - a relic of logging technology and a reminder that the hills will bear the scars of today's forestry well after the trucks and pines have gone.

It's just before 3pm so everything has pretty much gone to plan. I silently thank the support crew who has slipped two bottles of ginger beer into my change bag, and head back over the entertaining Akatarawa hill road.  Next stop a bath then some barbershop.

Kapakapanui and waiotauru

After quite a few forays into the eastern Tararuas, the gaps between the explored areas are noticeably deminishing. With the exception of the Waiotauru valley.

The Waiotauru originates north east of the Akatarawa saddle and south west of Otaki forks (where it joins the Otaki River). The area was heavily milled and the scars remain in the bush. It's never had a great deal of appeal, with a reputation for 4WD damage and a really grotty hut.

It isn't until Saturday morning that I finally string together a plan - perhaps a sign of psychological avoidance?  The plan does however take in some other areas of real-estate.

What:    Weekend navigation trip
Where:  Around Kapakapanui, Waiotauru and Renata ridge
When:   19-20 August 2017
Why:      New territory - see if Wiotauru hut is as bad as reputed (it is)
Who:      Solo
Map:

It's 0900 as I reach the road end and park next to four people disgorging from their car.  Shortly after, another couple turn up. Both parties are doing the Kapakapanui loop but in opposite directions and the couple are staying the night in the hut.

Record shot of the wrong driveway

The day is fine with some clouds as first the large party then I set off.  I stop to chat as I pass them at a river crossing. They are not from NZ (narrows the options a bit) and are a little non-plussed by the idea of wandering of track and up an unmarked river.

My plan is to follow the Ngatiawa River towards its headwaters then follow a steep spur to near the top of Kapakapanui - it looks doable on the map.

The river is quite charming and changes character on the way up.  Sometimes wide and shingly, at others narrow rocky gorges and the occasional tumbling white water.  All quite navigable in normal flow, the occasional jamb of logs suggests a different prospect at other times.

With recent rain there are a few pretty waterfalls slashing down the steep valley sides. I look at a couple and think what you would do if you were following a wee stream and it came to such a drop.

However, on the valley bottom it is all good travel with a few scrambles up rocky bits.

Torrentous bit - the stick in the centre proved very useful

Junction with largest tributary (left)
Note the useful but no longer required stick 

It's been said before: navigating up rivers and down spurs is hardest. However, with an eye on the compass and counting side streams I'm pretty confident when I reach my junction just after 11. It's been a lovely trip up river but now comes the challenge.

The spur climbs steeply up with the crumbling lower slope covered in the usual assortment of unfriendly vegetation.  There seems to be a few goats about though so there are enough trails to pick a way upwards.

I find myself smiling at the prospect of the 800m climb and am immediately reminded of a dear friend that used to say: "you're a sick bastard!" But surely it isn't aberrant to relish the challenge early in the day when you've still got energy?

Once past the lower section the spur is easy to follow and the goats seemed to have cleared out a fair amount of the understory. I plod on up to pt 751- which takes about an hour and looks like every patch of bush with the exception of having a wee flat spot.  I take a photo to prove I was there and a couple of steps later find the tiniest gap for a view out to Kapiti Island. It's a really nice day out there.

Chillin' at 751

A glimpse of the day

At the top, the spur joins a muddy track with fresh foot prints heading both up and down. I figure two belong to the couple but I'm not sure about the others. It becomes clear at the top - the couple are relaxing at the trig and report seeing a party that over nighted at the hut. It's 12:50 and we chat as I take in the view - the weather is still holding although there is some cloud lurking.

East from Kapakapanui - top of southern crossing in cloud
Target spur for tomorrow in mid-ground

From Kapakapanui - usual route up in foreground

A little further along the tops I come across the other group reclining having wine and cheese which they kindly offer.  I linger for a bit then leave them to bomb down the featureless east face aiming for a certain spur.

Looking east and down - my spur in foreground

It starts as astelia, grasses and low leatherwood, there's a tricky band of denser leatherwood but not too bad and with good visibility I have no trouble getting to the bushline as my spur starts to form - it would be a different matter in clag.  There's isn't much ground trail but the spur is not too bad to follow with a bit of compass assistance. 




Random bush on the way down
slightly better shot than I can normally get with cell phone under canopy

A lone piece of pink tape suddenly appears informing me that I have reached the intersection with a wee ridge - I follow it north to pt 601 then backtrack (with a bit of an overshoot) to follow it south down to the valley floor. A bit of rain starts dropping through the canopy.

On the way down I come across a feature of the area that will be with me for the rest of the weekend.  It seems that everywhere below about 500m is crisscrossed with old logging trails. They are covered in trees now but the vegetation is different and the shape can still mostly be discerned. They offer more even travel and generally solid footing, but invariably head off in the wrong direction.

Consequently I hit the river a bit further north than intended but it's short work to wade up valley, eventually crossing to join the marked track.  The weather is starting to close in around the tops.

Glimpse west towards Kapakapanui
From Waiotauru River

There is little in the way of track marking but a solid 4WD track is hard to miss. My map however differs from the ground with a bridge now gone and the track crossing the river further down river. I idly wonder what the crossing would be like with the river up.

A short while later I arrive at a disreputable excuse for a hut but there's still a little daylight so head further along to follow a spur up to pt 555 - this uses the time available (arriving about 5.10) but gives no views. On the way down one of the ubiquitous logging trails dumps me in a creek and disappears. It's getting dark so I find my way down either in the creek or on the adjacent spur just reaching the bottom without having recourse to lights.

6pm and back at the hut - it's still a dump and the inside lives up to expectations - shows what 4WD access does to a place.  There's shot gun holes in the walls, linings are gone, no mattresses, empty windows covered in tarpaulins, been set fire to at least once ... it appears that even the rats have left. And I couldn't find any long drop.

Someone has however left an air mattress and (after a little judicious use of meths) it seems it will stay inflated.  I cook dinner and climb into bed leaving soggy clothes to drip.

About 3pm I wake to blow the mattress up again and listen to heavy rain drumming on the roof.  The table is saturated and there's a lake on the floor - my sleeping platform is dry though and none of my gear is under the drips - so back to bed to wonder about the river crossing in the morning.

Leading candidate for the crappiest hut in the Tararuas

After breakfast I bid a completely unfond goodbye to the 'hut' and head out into the rain, looking for a good stick on the way to the river crossing.  It's about 7.15.  The river is up and fast but with a branch, an even bottom and taking a diagonal approach with a good run out it works out fine, although strong and up to midthigh.

Down river I cross a creek and find a spot to break off the track to climb a spur up through thick bush.  I'm soon following and leaving logging trails until I come across a really solid one that someone has gone to a great deal of effort to clear in recent memory.  It serves me well until it suddenly stops to revert to the old trail covered in saplings. This takes me to the ridgeline and a handful of tape markers.

This bit is easy - at the ridgeline I just have to turn right to follow along and up. So when my route starts dropping there's a brief head scratching moment. It appears that the logging trail curved across the spur to approach the top from the opposite direction and without view or sunlight I didn't notice the change in direction. Slightly chagrined I head on up past pt 687.

There are sporadic markers and lots of branches down so although there is some foot trail it is slow going. It's nice mossy forest apart from that horrible beech stuff that drops its limbs everywhere.  The rain comes and doesn't go.

Navigation is generally pretty easy - I know there will be a jink left to a steep climb - the drop into a narrow saddle is slightly unexpected and the climb out is certainly steepish.  Soon enough I pop out onto a broad, flat mossy, boggy plateau. Casual use of the compass is sufficient to find the spur up and the long slow climb to pt 925 and the Renata track. I'd estimated 11am and 11am it is.

The top! 
Water on the lens - not a heavenly aura

A southerly is sliding over the ridge - not strong but cold and wet enough to want to keep moving.  As the kilometers tick by I remember how long this ridge is and how much it meanders up and down. There's also plenty of branches down so all up I figure a stop at Renata hut is a must.

The exertions are starting to take their toll and I'm glad to arrive around 1250 - no-one has been in for a couple of weeks apart from quite a few rats by the look of it. I get about donning another layer, eating a bumper slice, filling in the log book, struggling back into wet gear and realising that I am now looking for excuses to stay longer.

Renata hut looking better than it ever has

I pause at the next saddle where there is supposed to be an old track running off to the left - it's still marked on one of my maps.  Even knowing it's there I can't make it out although there is a ribbon on a tree. It makes me feel better about missing it last time.

Over the top of the knob the track drops suddenly onto a very well formed road.  The going has now become somewhat easier.  The rain has let up a bit but the cloud is still close about the hills. Off to the right there are some steep drops into the Ngatiawa headwaters

I'm pottering down when I here an engine - an old ute about 200m away is just completing a turn and disappears off down the road leaving me to follow in the lingering stench of exhaust. Closer to the spot I find that a massive erosion scarp has eaten into the road making it decidedly dodgy - hopefully this will put an end to the pests getting further along the road.

I hive off the road at a few spots to visit Kakanui (nothing to see) and a few other marked points (also nothing to see).   However the weather starts to clear in the west albeit the temperature doesn't rise.

Approaching the vicinity of my next turn the map and road are not completely seeing eye to eye and the altimeter is refusing to agree with either of them. This leads to some dithering around amidst an array of possibilities, a few false starts and what I thought was a false start but turned out not to be once I backtracked and got another line on my bearings. Lost is a bit too strong a word for it but suffice to say I should have gone with first instincts and saved over half an hour.

The area has a lot of signs of 4WDs and the sort of people that partake - litter everywhere, deep puddles, churned out tracks and parts of vehicles.  At one point someone has set up a shooting alley complete with tin cut out of a person - nice.

By now from having a slim margin I am now racing daylight and losing. I keep the pace up in order to get within a reasonable distance before headlight time.  The trail marked on my track peters out before it should and I'm left to piece together some of the old logging trails which inevitably deposit me on an evil slope - steep, and covered in supplejack, kiekie and lawyer. Oh, and by now dark.

It's a tough bash down with the sounds or rushing water drifting up giving the only sense of progress. I'm a bit apprehensive about coming out at the top of one of the cliffs I'd seen on the way up river yesterday morning. The final slide down over loose rock however drops me gently beside a stream - a big stream admittedly, but not the Ngatiawa River. And I've lost the end off my camel back with no prospect of getting it back this time.

Ah well - any stream around here will lead in only one direction so I don't bother with map and compass - there are a few trees down but not too bad travel. Until the first water fall - a bit tricky but soon sorted. Down stream another roar takes shape - the second water fall is a little trickier - I briefly wonder what it would be like if I have to climb back up it.

The throaty rumble of the third water fall is ominous in the dark - sure enough it drops into a deep pool with no prospect of down climbing - I have no idea how deep or shallow so although only a few meters high I'm not about to jump. Looking back up stream I'm in a gorge with no prospect of climbing out. There's a possible climb above on the left which with a bit of application turns into a dirty grovel using elbows and eyebrows - grasping clumps of anything and everything.

Safely past this obstacle I'm still holding my breath for a final and unnavigable drop. However, the stream becomes gentle and suddenly I stumble onto a grassy bank.  The river at last.

The Ngatiawa is up and has to be treated with respect but with the help of a stick I cross and recross down to the track and eventually the road end.  7.10pm and about 12 hours since Waiotauru hut - quite a day.  Having a car with a working heater is a wonderful thing and I actually manage to thaw out on the way over the Akatarawa hill.

Post script

A bit of a mixed bag. Ngatiawa and Kapakapanui were a high and a lot of new country was covered. I should have been more onto it with my map reading on Sunday afternoon and paid the price. It was a bit dicey coming down the steep valley side and then the stream in the dark - however if I'd got stuck I had a bivvy bag and things would have been easier in morning light.

Kapakapanui Loop

Author, Mike, Josh

A day trip to the brand new Kime hut was the plan. Regretfully we had to  scupper this due to a tardy building inspection. So a scheduled trip up Kapakapanui is brought forward by a few weekends.

Editor's note: Refinding this blog nine years later, I've updated by removing shortening of the name Kapakapanui (which refers to a waka that came to the area in the 1800's and likely was a way of claiming mana whenua) and a few other tidy ups.  There's some good photos and a track description on the Our Coast website.  

Summary

Kapakapanui is a 1100m hill in the south western corner of the Tararuas. The loop trip takes us a reasonably relaxed 5 hours on a typical, well marked Tararua bush track rising briefly above the bushline. On the way up we stop for 20 minutes for lunch at the tidy 6 bunk hut but there is no mucking about at the top due to no view in the clag and drizzle. The track down is steeper and quite slippery in a number of places. We reach the cloud not far above 500m but are well sheltered under the bush. There is cell phone coverage for much of the trip apart from the lower slopes.

The Trip

There are a number of ways to get to Kapakapanui - today we are doing the loop from the Reikorangi Valley (Ngatiawa Rd). We elect to take the long way up via the hut reaching the top from the north and continuing on down the steeper more direct route to our starting point.

The road end is easy to find and although our map doesn't show the start of the track, it too is easy to find and follow.  There's a few crossings of the pretty Ngatiawa River; dry feet is not an option.

A short way up the valley a DOC sign marks the junction of the two sides of the loop. We turn left for a few more stream crossings before the track heads up ... and up.  If you want to go up the steep way first just note that the sign seems to point at a bank a metre or two away; the track does in fact go up it.  I've heard of people wandering up the stream and missing the turn.

The Junction

About a kilometre before the hut a track joins from the left (north), it is unmarked apart from a large give way road sign but apparently comes in from the Mangaone walkway.  

(Ed note: it only took five years to get around to checking this route out). 

We notice a few other road marking items and speculate that this may be a cross Government initiative by DOC in order to share costs.

You can find the turn off if you know how to read the signs...

It takes about 2 hours to get to the hut, by now we are in the cloud and it is cool but not cold. The 6 berth hut is NZDA built and is in good nick despite being so close to a road end. It's a good spot for lunch and at about 850m means most of the climbing is behind us.

Josh and me playing teapots; Kapakapanui hut

In colder times (photo on the hut wall)

About a kilometre after the hut the track reaches the bushline and a K after that, the trig. Today there's nothing to see but cloud so we pause only briefly before heading off to quickly bear right (west) and down the steep descent, ignoring the left turn that leads off to various interesting places (Maymorn Junction, Renata Ridge, Waiotauru track and eventually Otaki forks or Akatarawa Saddle).

The top and the view

Yep, Mike made it too

Sections of the track down are quite slippery and everyone goes for the odd tumble. Josh is the most determined though, sitting down on the track with sufficient force to drive his spine through his hat. Fortunately, the topic of conversation had been "the light weight first aid kit" so we know that if we couldn't fix it with 2m of duct tape and strips of someone else's shorts, then it would require activation of the PLB - in which case a triangular bandage would come in use for muffling his screams.

5 hours after setting out we are back at the car and ready for the second part of the tramp. It's about 15 minutes drive to our next road end located in a picturesque light industrial area in Paraparaumu. There is an organised group and a handful of others there already, one of which has a large, enthusiastic chocolate Lab. I'm not keen on dogs when out tramping but manage to contain my opprobrium.

Again, the route is easy to follow as there is a well beaten track to the Tuatara brewery tasting room. The place is simple and sparsely furnished, containing only what is needed to introduce
connoisseurs to beer and the contents of their wallets to the till. We each choose four of the 7 beers available and settle down with our tasting trays to compare notes.

This plus an antipasto platter and plates of nachos keeps us happily distracted for a couple of hours. The Lab periodically (every 5 minutes) forgets that she has met everyone already and comes and says hello again.

By now the Sunday afternoon traffic jam is building up on SH1 so we declare the tramping to be done and drop Josh outside his house, proudly clutching his Aotearoa Pale Ale T-shirt and head back home via the Akatarawa saddle.

All in all a highly successful WANG excursion with all milestones achieved.

Happy trampers.  Mike wearing his fabric of death cotton T-shirt