Wainui to Whitemans via Waiorongomai

The scratches from last week are healing nicely but the unfinished business is dwelling on the mind somewhat. The Rimutaka range between Papatahi and Waiorongomai remains stubbornly on the 'to do' list.

It doesn't help that it is a kind of tricky area to get to without having to commute through familiar territory. However, after a bit of thought I come up with a plan that will knock off three areas I've been itching to get to. Crudely speaking, I want to find an interesting route from Wainuiomata to Papatahi, follow the ridge north to Waiorongomai hut, head up into the Waiorongomai Saddle and to Orongorongo, then north along the range to drop down to Whitemans Valley.

The weather has been a bit wet and rain is forecast so I'm aiming to cross the largest river en-route at a bridge and avoid others.

What:    Nav trip
Where:  Rimutaka Range
Why:     Fill in three missing pieces
When:   18 February 2017
Who:     Solo
Map:     Map

Saturday - Wainuiomata to Waiorongomai

 



 

Wainuiomata is dark and quiet at 6am as I study the map board in the park at the end of Hine Street. My torchlight reveals a somewhat different lay out of tracks to my map but I quickly hatch a plan - head up a spur just short of Jonah Lomu track, follow it up to 492 then 644 and the Whakanui track. Somewhere along the way I should meet an unmarked track that I struggled down in the dark in November. 

 

There's no indication of a turnoff from the public track but once into the regrowth there seems to be a bit of a path of least resistance. Something called the Sledge Track is marked on the topo map but it must be sometime since it was used. After about an hour it's light and I've joined a track with markings that I'm pretty sure is the route up from Nikau Creek. And a little under an hour from there I'm at the main track.

I hadn't entirely meant to come down this track last time and in daylight I see why - the main track takes a left turn and the Nikau track goes straight ahead. In the dark I had missed the markers and had walked past a stoat trap and onto the wrong track which has quite a strong ground trail at that point.

Whakanui track goes left - step around the trap for Nikau Track 

It's a claggy day and the forecast is for a bit of dampness but not too bad. On Whakanui East track the going is quicker as it drops to a saddle then climbs to point 800 arriving about 8.40.  There's some pretty clear notices around here about the water catchment so I carefully avoid these and take a vaguely described route that follows one of a number of possible spurs eventually arriving at the Orongorongo river near the marked bridge about an hour later. 

  The river is a translucent brown and significantly up.

Orongorongo River - a bit up and coloured

After another bit of vagueness it's 1020 and I start up a spur for 434. It's steepish but not too bad apart from a bit of Kiekie. The spur flattens after about half an hour then gently climbs again before turning east of south east along a narrow neck to climb steeply up to 769. It looks pretty daunting on the map but in the end it wasn't such a bad scramble.

View south - probably into Boulder Creek

A little under 2 hours after leaving the bottom I'm pleased to be rolling over the shoulder onto the flat ridge top near 890.  I take a bearing for the track but in retrospect should have headed a little further onto the ridge as I end up sidling along and through a bit of scrub and windfall.

My route is north from here so heading south to the Papatahi Track is a bit unnecessary and it's 6-700m out of my way (and back). However, it would be sort of irritating to know that there was that little bit of ridge that I didn't traverse. 25 minutes later I hit the track and follow it up to the top of the ridge.

Papatahi Track near the ridge line

It's 12:50  and almost 7 hours in when I leave the track and start working my way north. The route starts in open, mossy beach with a bit of a ground trail but pretty soon there are tree falls and clearings where tracks seem to vanish. I follow the compass and generally get along alright although it is slow going. There are a few tricky bits where ground trails lead off in the wrong direction and with no visibility I'm completely relying on the compass and retaining a healthy suspicion of my sense of direction.

There is a tricky bit on the wide flat ridge top leading to 860. In the clag I mistake an area of tree fall for the edge of the ridge and waste time skirting around it and veering left. I sort myself out, head through the fall zone and am soon worming through tight high scrub near 860.

My technique, if it could be described as such, is to keep towards the east of the ridge. It probably makes little difference - no matter what line I follow it eventually ends up struggling through scrub and climbing over fallen trees.

Just an aside about this - 'climbing over fallen trees' may sound sort of innocuous - but imagine that they have been piled up by a crazed loon on a bulldozer and left to rot amidst tight scrub. You can easily find yourself perched on a slippery trunk 10 feet in the air facing the prospect of plummeting into a patch of bush lawyer.

After sidling around 815 I take a bearing to find the correct spur down but manage to veer off and start down a spur towards a tributary of the Manganui River. Fortunately I work out what's happening after only losing 50m height.

Heading towards 720 there is quite a strong ground trail and evidence that at some point (a long time ago) someone even trimmed a bit of scrub. This a a decision point. I plan to drop into Oreore Stream but there are a number of options. I note where the bush edge is marked on the map and decide to follow the spur to the saddle before 480. It's about 6.40 - just under 6 hours from Papatahi Track and a bit over 12 hours from setting out.

Near 720 - not much view today

My route departs from the ground trail and pretty soon there is absolutely no indication that anyone has been this way before. I struggle through dense scrub and low bush but  make progress and eventually am looking into the narrow slot saddle - left to the Orongorongo River catchment and right to the Waiorongomai. I drop in and head right.

It's not too bad travel at first. A few steepish scrambles but pretty soon there is a trickle and I can top up.

Pool in the upper Oreore - possibly not normally present

Travel down stream is slow. There are frequent rotten tree falls and scrubby branches blocking the way. At one point I find myself climbing through large fallen pines clogging the stream - sure enough on the hillside above are tall pines. There are also patches of buddlia. This place is seriously weed infested.

I try not to watch the clock as daylight wanes and the stream torture continues. There's little to mark progress as the valley runs straight between undistinguished sides and it's impossible to tell which side streams are marked on the map. With all the rain during the day the stream is up but not large enough to be a worry.

Eventually the ground to the right of the stream flattens and there are options to find easier routes - not that there seems to be any. Arriving back at the stream after one such diversion it's double the size. This is good news indeed as it means I've reached a major confluence and the hut is less that half a Km away, although in the pitch black I figure I will take the more straight forward but slightly longer route of following the stream down to the river and around to the hut.  Let's not dwell on the fact that in the end with the parsimonious marking I manage to circle completely around the hut before eventually homing in. Mercifully it is empty.

It's just after 9pm - 15 hours on the go. I've been in a stream for the last two hours and rained on intermittently all day - everything apart from the inside of my pack is saturated. It's not cold though so I don't bother lighting a fire and just hang things up after wringing the worst of the water out.

Someone has put a bit of corrugated iron in the fire place to protect it from the rain dripping down the chimney but it is awash and the floor around the fire place soaking so it's lucky I'm not after a bit of heat. The ping of drips on the iron are a rhythmic accompaniment to getting a dehy dinner together.

Sunday - Waiorongomai to Whitemans Valley

It's not raining in the morning but still cloudy and dim under the trees as I head out about 6.50. The plan is to climb the spur towards Waiorongomai Saddle then up to Orongorongo then further north. I don't fancy wading in the river for a start so I take a bearing from the hut and strike out through the trees. I soon hit the buddlia and scrub around the stream and swear my way west to the base of the spur.

At the confluence I pick a spot and sure enough there are a few bits of ground trail that come and go through the messy lower slopes before reaching more open beech and some solid trails heading up. It's steep but pretty good going. The valley to my right is drowned in clag but the sounds of streams and waterfalls drift up. There is a apparently a large water fall and at one point there looks like a ground trail heading down across rocky outcrops and the sound of crashing water - I have no idea whether you can see the water fall from the spur but it would be good to be up  here on a clear day.

I'm not racing up but trying to keep a steady pace and minding my business when a section of track in front of me suddenly scrambles to its feet and bounds away. A large billy goat with horn tips about a meter across stops about 7m away and we look at each other for a few moments trying to work out who is more surprised. Had I been a hunter his long pause would probably have proved fatal.

As the spur flattens at the top I bear right with the aim of finding a spur up to 589. I had thought to head through to the saddle itself but figured there wasn't going to be a lot to see. I don't see any particular indication of tracks but it's not too bad bashing up. The trees are quite low at the top so I can easily climb through and spot where the next section of the spur runs.

A strong ground trail runs most of the rest of the way up but I lose it short of 805 and end up bashing across the scrubby clearing and into tight low trees and scrub. After this however there is a reasonable ground trail and if you keep your eyes open it often by-passes some of the scrubby bits. In this fashion I potter happily along promising myself a bit of a break at Orongorongo.

Orongorongo

It's 10.30 and time for a bite. The 'peak' is thoroughly unremarkable and with the cloud there isn't even a prospect of a view. I still find it intriguing - it is not the highest spot on the ridge (by 4 meters) but it bears the name of the river which gives it some significance.

There's a very interesting spur running south east with a faint trail - I figure it would be a good option to come up from the hut although fairly steep at the bottom. Maybe another day.

The plan now is to head towards 791 (where I left this part of the range last week to cross to Bawbaw) and find a spur to follow down to Whitemans Valley.  I keep heading north along the ridge with generally few problems finding the route.

It's about 12.15 when I realise I must be just past 730. This is the point where I gained this ridge on a previous occasion having walked across from NaeNae. Since then I've done a bit more navigation and it's interesting to think back on how it was almost intimidating to reach this point and contemplate the completely unknown territory ahead.

Looking north to a clearing past 730 - they don't make names like that anymore   

The ground trail comes and goes as I drop to the saddle then start climbing up the ridge towards 791. It takes a while but eventually I know I'm on the long flattish part of the ridge. The only challenge now is to find the right spur down. The day has cleared so there are occasional views which help but doesn't stop me from making a rooky mistake.

My original plan had me passing 791 and taking a spur down to a ridge above Huia stream then dropping to the stream to exit to the road. On the day though I decide that the faster route would be a spur short of 791 to Narrow Neck Stream. Here's how it transpired...

Looking NNE down the length of Narrow Neck Stream

I was over relying on my altimeter which you can normally get away with but when you are on a long very shallowly climbing ridge it is a pretty crude way of finding a spur. I was too lazy to do what I should have done which was to head along to 791, calibrate, take a bearing and back track to the correct spur. So I ended up heading down what became a rapidly descending, untracked scramble to drop into a creek way earlier than intended (have I said before how creek travel is much slower than spurs?).

The creek descends steeply through a narrow rocky bed but mercifully no waterfalls. As I get lower some strong animal trails develop which speeds things up somewhat. Soon there are old logging tracks, stands of manky pine and what looks like stock tracks. It definitely has the feeling of being on the edge of farm land. Soon I'm stepping over a fence and pottering along on smooth grass.

Just before I hit the marked 4WD track down the gorge I wander across a paddock with a pervasive smell of rotten carcasses. Then I notice the bones scattered around and shortly after that a muddy patch delineated by boulders where some large pigs are mooching about. It looks like someone has figured that feeding old stock to the local pigs makes the hunting a bit easier.

The 4WD track is wide and well formed. It winds up and down above the stream and eventually crosses to deposit me by a series of gates to a house.  I'm a little nervous at this point as I would have liked to ask permission and I couldn't help but notice that one of the gates threatened to prosecute anyone with the temerity to trespass.

Oh well. I head up and knock on the door to apologise for my trespasses. They are somewhat bemused (you've come from where!?) but fine with it and I guess they figure there is bugger all to do about it now. Duty done I walk the final few meters of manicured gravel to the road through a light rain. All going well the support crew understood my directions from the top of the ridge and is waiting by the bridge - otherwise it's going to be a long walk (she did and she was).

At 4 pm it's taken a bit over 9 hours - but I reckon you could easily trim a few off that by taking a more direct route and not taking the wrong spur.

Post Script

The ridge north of Papatahi is nowhere near as bad as the bit between Papatahi and Matthews but it is a bit of a proposition.  It's pretty much like the rest of the range - the established beech forest is easy going but there are a lot of wind fall clearings with fallen trees and scrub that is hard to negotiate as well as areas of regenerating bush that is low and tight.

I didn't really like Oreore Stream very much. It is quite navigable with no appreciable drops but doing this trip again I would probably head through Waiorongomai saddle and down the spur - the scrub, pine, nettle and buddlia was just not that pleasant.

Climbing up  the spur towards Waiorongomai saddle was fine and I would be quite happy repeating this at some point. First though it would be good to take the more direct spur from the hut to Orongorongo. There's plenty of other options to check out in this area.

The route north along past Orongorongo is pretty good going - better than a lot of the rest of the ranges with the usual caveat about clearings etc.

The drops down into Whitemans Valley are probably best done after consulting with the relevant landowner if you can work out how to contact them. Failing that it's not too far to the Mt Climie road.

Mt Matthews to Papatahi Crossing

Another rainy forecast so another weekend that a trip to the tops around Mitre Peak is not a goer. It's starting to feel like I'm running out of plan Bs. The Orongorongo River is normally not too bad after rain so I work out a trip that takes in a chunk of new track, as well as a bit of a bash through tiger country.

What:    Mix of on-track and nav.
Where:  Orongorongos: Mt Matthews and Papatahi
Why:     Check out some tracks and fill in a gap on the Rimutaka Range
Who:     Solo
When:   5 November 2016
Map:     Map

At 6.40am the cheerfully named Sunny Grove in Wainuiomata is predictably quiet. I leave the car at the curb hoping that no-one decides that it is either a derelict for towing, or sets fire to it as a jolly Guy Fawkes prank. 

The route I've planned is a 500m climb following the Whakanui Track over the ridges from the back of Wainuiomata to the Orongorongo River, climb 800m to Mt Matthews then navigate the jagged ridge line north to Papatahi, descend to the Orongorongo River again to bash up to the East Whakanui Track to cross back across the ridges to Wainuiomata. I'm carrying a bivy tent and supplies for a night out on the way.

A discrete DoC sign board indicates the way to the Whakanui Track and I'm soon out of suburbia and climbing through bush. 40 minutes later, breaks in the cover give views across hills patched with sun and cloud shadows towards the Hutt. 

North west over Wainuiomata 

Kiwi country

Near the top, signs put up by a local trust provide a friendly reminder about the programme that has reintroduced kiwi to these hills. You can only hope that the locals are careful about their dogs, because Sunny Grove is less than 45 minutes away.

Whakanui Track follows the ridge between Whakanui Creek and Turere Stream. It is pleasant going on the ridge top, with the clag lurking and the rain holding off. This part of the range is somewhat nondescript. It lurks shyly between the harbour edge hills and the more dramatic main Rimutaka Range, with its highest point a modest 800m. But the bush is regenerating nicely, trapping programmes are making inroads on the predators, and if you're around at the right time of day the call of kiwi once again echo through the low valleys. On a clear day, it can also reward with rare snippets of views across the harbour and the Wellington hills.

At 497 the Track leaves the ridge and drops down a spur to the river. I imagine the rest of the ridge down to the Turere Lodge is completely navigable and probably used for trapping.  Just before the valley floor, a gap shows Mt Matthews with its distinctive erosion scars and a puff of cloud on top.

Mt Matthews with its head in the clouds -
my route along the ridge to the left

About 2:10 after setting out I'm at the bottom and contemplating how to cross the Orongorongo River with dry feet. The flow is pretty modest so I opt for the one-boot-hop. This involves selecting a suitable stretch of river and, after removing one boot, hoping daintily across resting boot-clad foot on handy rocks whilst the naked foot takes it's chances in the cold water. It works in that I have dry boots for the climb up Mt Matthews, but I don't recommend it.

This is the first time I've seen water flowing at the mouth of the Matthews Stream - normally the water has drained into the shingle fan well up the gully. Still, it has that slightly odd characteristic of getting bigger as you follow it up.

No-one seems to have been up this way yet this morning and I potter on up enjoying the quiet and the bush, and frequent pauses for breath. 3:15 from Wainui and the clearing above South Saddle is a welcome stop. The weather is turning out pretty much perfect - no wind and overcast.

South Saddle, Welly in the distance and McKerrow behind the hat.

20 minutes later there's time for a pause for yet another forlorn attempt to capture the gnarled, muffled softness of goblin forest.

Beech forest, Mt Matthews

10 minutes later the balcony gives the first view of the Wairarapa and a glimpse of the ridge north. But there's a better view of what comes next a bit further along.

View from the balcony 

There's a route through there somewhere ... north towards Papatahi

Just over 4 hours after leaving the car I've navigated the slips on the back of Mt Matthews to be rewarded by that stunning vista across Palliser Bay.

Lake Onoke, Palliser Bay and the Aorangi Range beyond (more about those hills next week)

Now things get interesting. I have no idea what the ridge will be like - the map promises it will be dramatic and the vegetation indicates it will be tough. From what I've seen so far it looks like it will be both. There's a sign at the top pointing to north saddle and I scramble into the scrub to see what the route down is like.

The route drops 200m off Mt Matthews into a saddle, and someone has thoughtfully marked the way with wee orange triangles and cut away the more annoying branches. It makes it somewhat easier but it is still steep and treacherous: a lot of the branches are rotten and the ground is pretty loose in places. I'm quite comfortable but I hope no-one follows the markers that isn't up to this type of travel.

On the way down I note an orange tent in a clearing on point 616 and wonder idly if there are hunters about. The markers drop me into the first wee saddle and a view down one of the eroded gullies towards the coast.

Typical south coast eroding gully -
headwaters of Corner Creek

There's a small bushy knob to negotiate in the saddle, and as I make way up a series of nearby rifle shots boom and echo around the steep gullies. I quickly work out that they are coming from the other side of the knob, so I'm not in the direct line of fire, but it's a little unnerving.

Letting out some loud whistles and checking that my orange cap is at its brightest angle I edge around the knob and cautiously check out the other side. The shots have stopped but I can't see anyone - not surprising - that's the general idea when hunting. However, a low whistle confirms that I've been seen so I make good pace to get along the ridge and out of the area, stopping for a couple of snaps on the way of course.

From the knob looking at the next section of ridge

The other side of the knob reveals another saddle with a sharply eroding top and some tricky little scrambles. One option is to straddle the knife edge and wriggle inelegantly along, but an orange marker indicates that some of the apparently crumbly face is a bit more stable than it appears.

Looking back at the knob with Mt Matthews behind

The other side of the scramble puts me on the ridge above the 616 spur, and I come across three hunters and a dog relaxing on the track. They are the owners of the tent and the shots. We chat for a bit.  They've come up one of the streams from the south coast, pinged some deer yesterday, and were just potting at some goats when I came through. They're a little surprised at the distance I'm planning to cover and, as always, I'm amazed by the weight they are carrying. Discussing their route out, I'm surprised that they intend to follow the streams, whereas I would stick to the ridges.

I leave them to it and head on through North Saddle. The markers continue for a while but then dive west into the gully. Probably dropping into Matthews Stream. After this point there is little indication that people come this way although they surely must.

Looking south from North Saddle

It's a bit of a grovel up out of the saddle with little indication that anything over three foot tall travels through the bush hereabouts. A goat trots away in front, in confirmation of the theory. To make it even more enjoyable, two of my favourite plants are in plentiful supply: bush lawyer and ongaonga.

It's quite tricky travel now - there is a mix of forest and scrub and it is frequently difficult to work out exactly where the ridge runs.

Making some progress - Papatahi in the distance
Probably from around 830

Looking south, Orongorongo River on right

The mixed scrub and forest is draining travel, the animal trails are often over loose or boggy ground and there are frequent low and rotten branches. Coming up to 819, I manage to drift off to the left a bit and pop out on the edge of a fairly startling scarp. It's a bit of work to get back up to the ridge, only to drift on to a knob off to the right of the main ridge. Taking a direct line back to the ridge sees me struggling through chest high scrub, at one point plunging one hand into a healthy nettle bush.

It's hard work getting around and down to the saddle past 819, where to my relief there is a small stream trickling out of the hill. This is taking longer, and is hotter, than expected.

In amongst the bush it is sometimes quite tricky to work out which steep sided ridge or spur is the one to head for, so it takes a little while to get to the final saddle. After starting up the final steep spur the bush opens, and there are spectacular views south along the tortuous ridge. There's a choice of thrashing up through impenetrable low bush or edging along a steep drop. I elect for clutching handfuls of grass whilst navigating up along the precipitous edge. The ground is dry, and the grip pretty good, so it's a question of being careful rather than scared.

Looking south from further along ...

and looking down

It seems to take a long time, but is about half an hour to work up the 200m into mature forest, and along the flat topped Papatahi, to eventually and inevitably stumble onto the Papatahi Track.

Been a while since seeing one of these

The top is a minute from where I hit the track. It's 4.25, almost five and three quarters hours after leaving Mt Matthews: that ridge was indeed tough! The weather is changing, but I take the time for a celebratory tin of sardines, before turning to the 700m  descent. At least there are no branches, nettles and brush lawyer to push through.

Top of Papatahi - and there goes the weather

Half an hour later I've dropped down the last of the steep scrambles into a stream bed, and topped up with water, before following it down to North Boulder Creek, then the Orongorongo River, on the way down disturbing a family of goats. The billy keeps a weather eye on me whilst letting the others go ahead.

I've been this way once before with Mike in the opposite direction. The river has a different character to the wide shingle bed down the valley. Upstream is the warning sign about entering the drinking water catchment, and downstream is the domain of huts, tracks and people.

Orongorongo River - up stream

There's no where to cross the river with dry feet, so I do the one boot hop again. Rather than follow down to the mouth of the Whakanui Stream, I pick a likely looking spur which turns out to have an old route up to the East Whakanui Track (with occasional tin markers). It's slow going, so it is 6.45 by the time I finally emerge on the track, 200m or so short of 502.

The track is well trodden - mainly for pest control by the look of it (traps and blue triangle markers apart from one section where they have left orange for some reason). On another day it would be quite a pleasurable amble, but it's been a long day now so I plod along and up into cloud and gathering gloom.

I'm quite interested to see what's at the top. I had tried to hit this track on an earlier visit to the area but discovered by accident an old and very well made trail that deposited me way off course behind locked gates in the water catchment. I'm keen not to repeat the experience.

At the top of the evocatively named 'spot height 800'
With stoat trap

It's 7.45 before the track tops out and turns firmly left with, to the right, a sign warning about the water catchment. That's pretty clear then - no danger of wandering off in the wrong direction. It's nice to know that the climbing is all done, but the cloud is piling in from the west and a raincoat is in order, followed not too long later by a head torch.

The track drops 200m into a saddle and is easy to follow. After climbing 100m I miss the Whakanui Track joining from the left, but manage to identify where the Nikau Creek Track drops off. I saw no signs and I note afterwards that, although marked on my map, it is not on the web topo map. I'm interested to follow this down, so as to complete the loop on a different track.

As I descend in the dark the sounds of Guy Fawkes and frightened dogs drift up from Wainuiomata and the massive booms rumble in the background from the Wellington display. The track is not as well traveled, and only sporadically marked, so there are quite a few points where a strategic retreat to the last identifiable marker or section of trail is necessary, in order to find the way forward. This is particularly problematic where there is the odd tree fall or a lot of leaf litter obliterating the foot pad. It is painstaking work but I'm not keen on trying to bush bash in this country in the pitch black.

It's the sort of situation where you pay attention and realise just how much you rely on visual clues and peripheral vision to maintain a sense of direction. The odd marker, glimpse of distant street lights, and the compass needle are the only things that can really be trusted.

It takes a long time to work down the spur. At last the sounds of water drift up from the creek and, after navigating a final tree fall, I'm crossing it to try and find a path on the other side. The track I find is wide and very well made. The last 10 minutes or so are much easier going on the flat without having to worry about branches in the face or dodgy footing. It spits me out in the car park at the end of Hine Road beside the Garden of Remembrance.

It's less than a kilometre under orange street lights to where the car waits. I am totally relieved to throw my pack into the unburnt car and head for home; near as dammit to 16 hours after setting out.

Post Script

This was a bit of a stretch for a day trip with a weekend pack. The Whakanui Tracks are both well worth doing and Mt Matthews is always a crowd-pleaser. The ridge from Matthews to Papatahi is not for the faint-hearted. Although initially marked, most of it doesn't seem to get much in the way of traffic and there are some quite steep, exposed and unstable sections. I ended up covered in bruises and scrapes from the tough scrub (legs particularly) along with numerous nettle stings and scratches to hands and face from bushlawyer.  Later in summer, water will be a concern, not to mention overheating. I probably shouldn't really have bashed up the spur to East Whakanui Track, as that part of the park doesn't really need people going off track too much. And, although taken carefully it was fine, I wouldn't recommend doing the stretch down to Nikau Creek for the first time in the dark.

Papatahi Crossing: Catchpool to Wairarapa

Papatahi Crossing: Catchpool to Wairarapa

5-6 May 2012, Rimutaka Range
Andrew and Mike

I've always wondered about that lonely meandering track from the Orongorongo valley, that finishes in the unfashionable backwaters of the South-West Wairarapa.  Two of us took a look last month on the spur of the moment and find it well worthwhile.

The weather was cloudy (ceiling at about 800m) with light South-Easterlies both days. Scattered showers were predicted but none eventuated.

The trip starts as a Friday morning inkling. The forecast is settled and at least one of us has always intended, but never quite got around to knocking off this Rimutaka Range crossing.

We leave Catchpool at 10am on Saturday and it is easy going over the Orongorongo track and up the river to Papatahi Hut (about 3hrs). The hut is new and in fantastic condition but locked with bookings essential.

From here, you need some map reading skills as the track largely follows the river bank. About a kilometre upstream from the hut the track heads up North Boulder creek then into the first tributary (true left) before launching itself up a steep 500m ridge climb (some kindly soul has left a rope in one particularly gruesome spot). It eases for the last 100m before topping out at just over 900m.

The view expands as we climb until, just as we identify the Makara wind farm on the western horizon, we ascend into mist. The mossy condition of the forest shows that the clouds scrape along these hills a fair proportion of the time. A small clearing with a survey pin marks the top (about 3pm) and we just manage to squeeze a text off to our driver. We’re in cloud and it’s a bit chilly so we don’t stick around.

The track drops gently to about 700m then plummets to 300m, before easing us down to 200m. The descent is fairly tricky in places; the track is not always easy to find and it’s loose or slippery underfoot.

Wharepapa hut is on the other side of Wharepapa stream (true left) but sign posted: “Joe’s Hut.” At 5pm it’s already quite dim and we light candles as soon as the door shuts. The hut is well looked after and the log book indicates relatively light use with a lot of hunters.

The next morning we follow the track from the door of the hut (not quite what our map shows) about 140m up to a saddle which drops us into the Battery Stream catchment. The track from here is fairly rough in places and easily lost but we don’t have too much trouble working our way out into gently shelving beech forest which fades away for a last 2km walk along a farm drainage ditch to the road; about 3hrs after leaving the hut.

All up it took us about 10 hours; we aren’t super fit and weren’t pushing it, but I suspect a bigger party would be slower. Track conditions are variable and a little challenging in places. I thoroughly enjoyed this impromptu trip; tested some new gear and didn’t waste the weekend mowing the lawns; definitely one for the bucket list.

Driving instructions

West end: Catchpool stream off the Coast Road from Wainuiomata. Check the gate opening times.
East end: From Featherston, turn South onto the Western Lake Road (also the way to Cross Creek). Follow this for ages until you leave the lake behind, continue until you see the “East West Access Road” coming in from your left. About 2.5Km past this there is a barely visible pull off on the right with a faded DoC sign. There is a farm entrance labelled “Devon” about 200m earlier. If you go around a sharpish right bend and a bridge you have gone 500m too far.

Cellphone coverage

Mostly none. Some patchy cover at the top of Papatahi; intermittent coming down to the farm land and at Western Lake Road. I wouldn’t rely on it.