Tapokopoko - Orongonrongo Nav trip

What: Nav trip
Where: Ridge around Tapokpoko in the Orongorongos
When: Saturday night and Sunday 21-22 May 2016
Who: Solo
Why: Practice navigation in poor weather, explore new area (for me) in the Orongorongos

My last wet weather nav trip ended up in disappointingly good weather so this weekend, with a foul forecast and miserable week in Wellington, looks promising. The target is the Rimutaka Range south of Mt Matthews. There are a number of trip reports on the web that provide an idea of the terrain and it certainly looks like a more formidable test than last week (links to a few reports: trip 1, trip 2, trip 3).

It's 5.45 on a Saturday night and dark already as I leave the car at the entrance to the Catchpool road - the automatic gate locks at 6pm but I'm not sure I will be out on time, so better to walk the extra few km and know that I can get home afterwards. Provided the car doesn't get burnt down by some of the interesting nightlife that frequent the Wainuiomata Coast Road, of course.

There's another chap heading in without pack - he has ferried his car out and is on the way back in to pick up the rest of his party, who have made heavy weather over McKerrow - I don't seem him again so hope he got them out alright.

It's about 15 minutes to the car park and then another hour to Waerenga Hut. It's a mild evening with no rain but I'm conscious that there has been plenty of rain and the river gauge is on the way down from a significant spike. The regional council has some useful river gauges available - virtually real time on-line (link to Orongorongo river gauge).

Unsurprisingly there is no-one else on the track and I potter along with the river crossing very much top of mind. Descending to the river a grey shape swoops silently through my headlight providing a momentary distraction - probably a Morepork. At the bottom, the moon is peeping through clouds so there is a good bit of light about as I wander out on to the river bed to see what the crossing looks like. No worries - barely calf deep albeit somewhat wider than last time I'd been here.

Waerenga Hut is empty at 7pm so I lay out my kit on the verandah, sort gear for the morning, make a cuppa, then hit the sack.  There's a bit of rain during the night but the moon comes through now and then and the skies are clear by morning.

It's pitch black at 6am when the alarm goes. Porridge for breakfast, then pack up and stash unneeded kit for collection later. This leaves a lighter pack for lugging up hills and thrashing about in the scrub (with bivvy bag and sleeping bag I can sleep out if it comes to that).

Death by fungi - fungicide?

The head torch is necessary at 7am but there is soon enough light to follow up past a couple of huts and onto the spur. There's some marking and ground trail - quickly found and lost again. But it's pretty good going - straight up. I'm taking a pause with my hand on a punga when I notice that there is a weta on the trunk - it has been overtaken by a fungus, seemingly in mid stride with white fungal mass emerging from every joint in its armour. After a few attempts to capture it on the phone camera, the photo here is the best I can manage.

Periodically there are ancient markers to be seen, and someone has made an effort near the top to mark the way with blue tape, but I lose it as the spur levels out on to a broad, flat, and completely overgrown ridge at spot height 797. It's 8.30 and there's no view for the trees but it seems to be a nice day.

Another old rain-gauge(?)

It appears pretty much untracked but various animal trails are apparent and I come across the first of many remains of rain gauges [or leaf collectors?] rotting into the landscape.

I take a bearing and head in the direction of the ridge south. It's a real mix of trees, scrub and grass initially with the reward of a view east into Palliser Bay.

It's good going where there are trees but open spaces are covered in scrub and deep grass which is slow. I'm soon covered in nicks and scraps from the bush lawyer, hidden logs and the rough grass.

Palliser Bay - the beach by Lake Ferry on the left.

Off to the left of the ridge I find a deer superhighway - the ground is churned up with the number of hooves that have been through. It makes going a breeze, until they decide to head off somewhere else, or through dense undergrowth. Occasionally there are windows where you can pop up to the ridge and look west towards Wellington.  At one point I startle a large deer about 30m away - judging by the ground there are plenty more around here somewhere. When the bush clears it is frequently to give way to areas where large trees have fallen and the remaining trunks are dead. There's a bit of clambering required.

Wellington in the distance - Orongorongo River with Cattle Ridge behind below. 

Dead trees and root plates - slow going.

Emerging from the trees I find that the weather has clagged in and that's the last of the views for the day. Navigation has also just got a bit harder.

Half an hour later

I sidle around spot height 768 without noticing it and find frequent deep grassy clearings which are tough and slow going. Sometimes there is opportunity to drop off the east side of the ridge and travel through the taller trees on that side.  It gets colder and is raining by the time the top of Tapokopoko rolls around. It is distinctive, with an old DSIR sign marking their research area. There are also markings for the descent down Paua Ridge. It's 1020; a little under 2 hours from spot height 797 - slow going indeed.

Tapokopoko

The route south from Tapokopoko promises to be tricky and it is. The ridge top is broad and it's hard to judge distance and to keep a straight bearing. I manage to drop into both streams heading south off the ridge and waste a lot of time climbing out and getting back on track. Eventually I navigate to the grassy saddle at 700m but drop in a little low and have quite a struggle getting back to the ridge-line through the deep grass and tree trunks.

By the time I get to spot height 743 I'm soaked through, somewhat battered and cold. It's 12.45 and raining, so I abandon any thought of heading up to the Peak and back and follow some obvious markers onto the spur down to Peak Stream.  Things go well, although the ground trail is easy to lose and the markers sporadic. I manage to find some very old markers with no obvious ground trail around them but shortly after discover I am on the wrong side of an erosion gully (marked on the map). Oh well, I'm not about to climb around or across it so continue down then drop into the stream at the bottom, which soon drops into Peak Stream 200-300m above where I was supposed to emerge.

It's not getting any warmer so I make as good time as I can down the stream to join the four wheel drive track around 2.20 and head up valley to Waerenga Hut with a short detour when I should have stopped following the 4WD track which was heading to some private huts. The rain is intermittent but the river is lower than the previous day so it looks like I will get home tonight.

Back at the hut at 3.20 and the rain has set in again.

Cold and wet but back where I started this morning - Waerenga Hut

I pick up the kit stash and head off, arriving at the car park 45 minutes later and the car 15 minutes after that. A lone jogger is the only person I see on the track, giving me quite a start. To my relief the car hasn't been burnt down, so with the sleeping mat laid out to keep the worst of the wet clothes off the car seat it's a short trip over the hill and home.

I had pretty tired legs the next day and my knees look like I'd been fighting cats in the blender but all up - a good miserable trip that tested my nav skills and confirmed where they are wanting. About 7K on Saturday and 21K on Sunday