The main aims of the exercise are to explore Oriwa ridge, visit the Mid-Otaki 'hut' (a two bed shelter installed by DOC for bio-diversity work), cross the headwaters of the Park River (exhibiting some of the clearest signs of glaciation you will see in the Tararuas), traverse Carkeek Ridge, pop through the Waiohine River headwaters on the way to Dorset Ridge then Dorset Creek, cross the Broken Axe Pinnacles and pick up various spot heights on the way.
As with all cunning plans, parts turned out to be overly optimistic and some flexibility on the fly was required. The first hiccup was the weather forecast - midsummer in the Tararuas was apparently going to involve hail and wind chill ratings of below -10 deg C on the tops. The first order of business on Christmas night was therefore to swap-out the pith helmet and safari clothing for more suitable attire.
In the end there were firm ticks next to pretty much all the goals of the trip - the exception was a possible diversion to the Waiohine River and back up to Angle Knob which will keep for another day. About 29 new spot-heights visited which is a large dent in the list.
What: Tararua crossing - navigation trip and spot-heighting
When: 26-29 December 2017
Where: Manakau Road to Holdsworth
Why: Navigation, new territory, hut and spot-height bagging, burn off xmas calorie overload
Who: Solo
Map:
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| Not exactly the shortest route |
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| Day one - to the wee triangle |
It's a wee bit of a struggle to get out of bed early on boxing day. The support crew is nothing if not obliging and rustles up some coffee to keep us awake on the drive up the coast. She also keeps threatening to slip extra food into my pack convinced that I will starve to a withered husk despite the gargantuan quantities of Christmas fodder consumed in the previous 24 hours.
With a five day trip plan I've just managed to stuff everything into my medium pack so the only addition possible is some slices of the sister-in-law's fruit cake (destined to be squashed beyond recognition).
The weather is gloomy but holding as we bid farewell at the Manakau Road end about 6.44 on a threatening morning. The wander up the road and scramble across the slip are well familiar now. I take a slightly more sedate pace up the spur to Waitewaewae in deference to the days ahead.
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| Five day pack looks about the same size as a weekender! |
At 0900 on Waitewaewae it's cool and trying to rain so there's no tarrying. I've been through here a few times now but this is the first time in reverse. This time I don't divert to the plane crash site (11am). There's a minor hiccup when a lapse in attention sees a premature diversion down the wrong spur but this is soon rectified. It starts to drizzle and keeps it up until early afternoon.
At pt 918 I'm leaving the main ridge and heading into new territory. This is where the adventure begins. Rather than the usual route east to Oriwa I follow a spur down to the south to pick up spot-height 815. Some maps show a road route through the saddle here but I can find no evidence of it so it is either completely overgrown or was only ever a paper road.
Back in the saddle below 815 it's a mucky scramble down to the stream then a steep climb to pt 985 on the Oriwa Ridge. The ridge is famous for tree fall from the 1936 storm making it time consuming and laborious. I find it not too bad. It's undulating and long, but mostly straight forward until after pt 937 where navigation gets tricky and it's easy to wander onto a side spur. There's a bit of a ground trail that comes and goes but a couple of remedial scrambles across gullies is required to keep on route.
The ridge is also home to Notoriwa - I'd seen the name before but not really thought about it's origins - I idly wondered about it as I pottered along - assuming it came about from people travelling north over the innumerable bumps towards the high point Oriwa ... the conversation probably went something like:
"Is this Oriwa?"
"No"
"Is this Oriwa?"
"No!"
"Is this Oriwa?"
"No!! this is not Oriwa!!"
"Notoriwa?"
"Yeah, why not."
Google confirms that this is in-fact pretty close to the truth. Butcher, who proposed the name, noted that "I have the strongest objection to bastard Maori, I agree that some other name will have to be found for the knob." Clearly he wasn't successful in doing so.
Towards the tail end of the ridge I realise that I will be spending the night under the fly - Mid-Otaki hut is way out of range for today. At least the weather has cleared a bit.
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| Otaki River from tail end of Oriwa Ridge |
On the valley floor the river is up on previous weeks and a little turbid but passable. I end up crossing and scrambling up a stream to find the old route up valley I followed a few weeks back. The blue triangles run out pretty quickly but I manage to follow the faint trail until the approaching twilight dictates it's time to find a spot to camp.
This is the first use of my new DD Hammocks fly - it's light-weight and an odd size (plenty long enough but only 1.5m wide). It takes a while to sort out and in the end was pitched pretty badly, but the threatened rain doesn't eventuate and the southerly blasts over the tree tops far above so I'm comfortable.
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| Day two - the short day (campsite just off screen, bottom left) |
In the morning I follow, lose and find the old path until it deposits me on a low terrace and disappears completely. It's easy going following the river and crossing terraces, the only tricky thing is keeping an eye out to pick where to leave the river to pick up a couple of spot-heights (452 and 480). Both turn out to be relatively straight-forward but as the valley tightens, care needs to be taken not to get caught on a terrace with a high bank above the river.
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| Morning in the forest |
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| Random slip and flats (looking down river) |
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| Old fire place on one of the terraces |
I thumb my way up the map to the bend with a large marked slip on the true right, north of Kelleher Creek. On approach though, it turns out that the river has carved a new course across the large terrace (the online map is also out of date) - this causes a little disassociation, but is quickly worked through. The new course has a massive log dam to negotiate.
On the far side, four deer and three goats are grazing the flats and take a while to notice my approach. Soon after, Mid-Otaki hut is basking on an immaculately grazed lawn in the hot sun.
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| Halfway through the log jamb - tiny, tiny deer in the background |
It's a tidy wee hut with two beds and double opening doors. A picnic table outside is a good spot for a pause to study the map and have a midday snack. It's been a great wander up the river - easy going and beautiful bush.
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| Mid-Otaki Hut |
I've worked out a complicated route to link spot heights on three consecutive spurs to ultimately arrive at Dracophyllum Knob (and hut) on the main range.
595 requires a steep scramble up from the river to a flat top then a down-slope bash to an unnamed creek and a pause for camembert, fruit bread and a squash of very nice christmas cake. The rain briefly washes through.
580 is a mucky scramble to a small saddle then a short climb to the knob. A light shower passes through but is not entirely sure it wants to stop. The wind is whipping through overhead.
The short drop from 580 to Puketoro stream marks the start of the proper climb. There is surprisingly little ground trail. The rain holds off and the temperature stays high. It's a familiar uphill grind with trails coming and going. There are some interesting clearings and flat spots around 958 then a final climb to the hut. It's hot and sunny when I arrive at the top around 4pm.
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| South down main range from Dracophyllum |
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| East to Carkeek Ridge - high point is probably Carkeek |
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| North East - Pukematawai on horizon |
I'm a little worried that the two bedder will be full of Te Araroa walkers but hopeful that my early arrival will secure me a bed. There is one chap there who is getting ready to leave - I make encouraging noises about Nichols hut not being so far away - he needs no convincing as there are a bunch of his mates already there and shots off with the parting remark that there may be three more following him. He has come up from the Outdoor Pursuits centre this morning so has put in a solid day already - I find out later that his knick name is 'Rocket' - very apt.
With a stake safely claimed on the top bunk I while away the afternoon drying soggy gear in the sun and sending a few texts. The log book is about 90% TA walkers.
A couple of TA walkers turn up later in the afternoon - he introduces himself as Prancer and she says I can call her Natalie but her 'trail name' is Toothpaste. It seems that the TA walkers are trying to create a tradition of knick names although are finding that Kiwis are not so quick to take to the idea.
As the shadows lengthen the strong southerly sees the temperature drop rapidly and we're all a bit chilled when we finally climb into bed. Three bodies in the small hut make it reasonably cosy though. Fortunately, the third possible companion must have stayed at Te Matawai hut as it would have been a bit of a stretch to fit him in.
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| Day three (or most of it) |
Thursday morning is wet and windy. The clag around the hills is high and there are glimpses of a dusting of snow on the highest peaks. I'm up and out first at 0800, heading north towards Butcher's Knob. The aim this morning is to drop into the Park River and climb the opposite side to Carkeek. The upper Park is a lovely glacial U but the route I am looking at is further down where it starts to turn gorgish.
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| Snow on Pukematawai, cloud on Carkeek |
A short way up the range there are two knobs just south of Butcher's Knob and on the northern of these there is an inexplicable cairn by the track as it sidles below the knob. I take this as a sign that there is a route down a steep spur into the valley. This turns out to be mostly true.
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| The glaciated form of the upper Park Valley |
I can't see a foot trail but the spur is negotiable until near the bottom where it steepens and a fair amount of trial and error is required to find a way down through some impressive bluffs - not for the faint-hearted. I would suggest veering left towards the bottom of the spur.
At this point the Park River is small and clear, the stones are lethally slippery though from the light morning rain. At the Thompson Stream forks there's a pool and the valley ahead starts changing from bush-clad gorge to scrubby glacial U. Time to regroup for the climb.
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| Thompson - Park forks |
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| Down stream - you don't want to come down some of those bluffs |
I'm hoping that this is an obvious route up to the peak but discover no real sign that anyone else has had the same thought. It's a steep climb through unrelenting scrub - nothing for it but to sweat and swear my way upwards.
The spur is like a hip jointed roof - the climb up the hip to the ridge line of the roof is scrubby and tough but once on the flat top the going is easy with a strong game trail. The spur then climbs steeply through more open vegetation to Carkeek (1435m). Wee patches of snow start appearing in the last 150m and the wind carries more. This is supposed to be mid summer!
It's cold on Carkeek so I take a bearing and head off - taking great care not to wander onto a spur in the murk. It soon becomes quite sharp and easy to follow with some impressive erosion towers and shutes plunging into the Waiohine 400m below to the east.
Although there is a bit of foot trail and the odd cairn, this certainly feels like one of the most isolated parts of the range. There's a lot of ridges and river systems between here and the coast in the west and the Wairarapa in the east. It's a reminder to be careful although not paranoid.
The ridge runs up and down but is easy to follow - Carkeek hut is just inside the bush line and is visible from quite a distance above but disappears as you approach until you are right on it. There's some ominous bits of mangled helicopter as you round a corner and suddenly there it is.
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| Carkeek Hut |
A standard six bunker it is light and cheerful. I head down to bag spot-height 1080 which is in beautiful goblin forest. The track down to Park/Waiohine forks appears well traveled and marked. It's about 1.30.
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| Pt 1080 |
Back at the hut, lunch of camembert and fruit bread satisfies the inner man. A map check confirms the next steps and reminds me that there is a spot-height hovering off the side of the ridge that I meant to pick up (1212) - fortunately it is on my way back to 1285 for the route down. It would have been a bit of a self inflicted disaster to miss it.
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| Looking west from pt 1212 - across the main range |
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| North east from pt 1212 - towards Carkeek |
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| The rest of day three |
The spur running SSE from 1285 provides good travel down and has some markers. There are no real problems although some fairly steep bits. At a little before 4pm the Waiohine River is clear and it is tempting to follow up to its headwaters but my route is up a spur from a side creek to Dorset ridge. This is apparently an old cullers route and I do see some old permolat markers but little ground trail. It is another steep climb but much easier than the one out of the Park. In places there's a lot of cutty grass under a relatively sparse and low canopy.
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| Spur up to Dorset |
The wind is cold and strong at the top so I take a bearing and head off for Dorset Ridge Hut - in retrospect I should have traveled further SW along the ridge as I ended up sidling through some roughish tussock country before finding a good foot trail down to the hut.
Peering through rain spattered glasses I try to see if there is smoke coming from the chimney and half hope there is (a warm hut) and there isn't (solitude). The latter is the case - I light a fire, spread through the hut and take stock.
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| Dorset Hut |
It's a six bunker but a closed in porch has provided a really useful extension. It provides a very comfortable night and some of my gear even gets relatively dry.
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| The start of day four |
In the morning I don't rush so it's almost 8am when I drop down the spur to Dorset Creek. The track is reasonably well marked and traveled but in some ways a little tricky - it could just be the misting rain but I find myself slipping and sliding a fair amount.
Dorset Creek a little under an hour later is beautiful - deep clear pools and carved rock. There are a few challenging little scrambles but overall it's good travel. At the selected confluence I scramble up to spot-height 830 (nothing to see here) then drop to the unnamed creek for a steep scramble to 1118. As expected there is no sign that anyone would bother to follow this route.
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| Dorset Creek |
At 1118 I join the quite well traveled route down to the Waiohine/Dorset forks - I'm intending to head down to point 912. Plan A had me continuing down to the river and back up to Shingle Slip Knob via 1145. I decide to pull the plug on this as I figure this will likely have me bivvying on the steep spur or the tops.
The route down to pt 912 is what you would expect from looking at the map. From there it's back up to McGregor Biv for a late lunch around 2.30. Both the tops and the valley floor are in clag so there isn't much to see but it's pleasant in the middle and not cold. The wind has dropped right away.
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| Bushline and cloud line looking down spur near McGregor Biv |
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| McGregor Biv |
The next goal is the Broken Axe Pinnacles. I have read about them and am aware that there is a snow poled sidle route around the steepest section. However, someone has put a spot-height on top of one of them so I see no choice but to go over the top all the way.
McGregor is one of the +1500m peaks in the Tararuas - I've been here before and in the absence of a view merely pause to text confirmation of continued existence to home command.
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| McGregor |
The pinnacles emerge, one by one from the clag and it's easy but careful work to follow along the spine. An unmissable DOC sign indicates the sidle route - there are pretty clear indications that people have been over the top though so I'm pretty comfortable following suit. It would probably be more scary on a clear day and it isn't really until the last wee scramble down to the ridge line that I feel that there is any real challenge (someone with a shorter wheelbase may have more trouble). It's about 4pm as I turn my back to head towards the Kings.
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| The first of the pinnacles |
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| And the next, and ... |
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| Looking back at the last - note bypass sign at base |
Just below South King I'm back on familiar turf for the 800m drop via the well named Baldy to the saddle below. Somewhere en route I figure that I can either put the hammer down and maybe get out tonight or will have to find a source of water and campout.
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| Last day |
Pinnacle ridge is very nicely tracked and marked so I can rocket along as best as aching legs allow. At 846 I'm back into new territory for the crossing from one ridge to the next via a saddle, however it is still well marked and travelled. At 862 I divert NNE to pick up a spot height at 800 - there is an old trail with little marking and a bit overgrown, but a mostly discernible foot trail that sidles to the east of the ridge.
The race with daylight is now on. The track makes a short climb through clearings to Pinnacle itself. On the way up I startle a couple of kereru stooging about on the ground - I can't see I've seen them doing this before.
At the top I stop to not look at the non-existent view and to call brother number one ascertaining that, yes he is available for a pick up and we reckon I'm about an hour out (all going well). There has also apparently been a SAR call out in the Holdsworth area - a group of three lost on a trip to Rocky Lookout - given the highway nature of the tracks you have to admire the determination that must have been involved to get mislaid.
The track down continues to be well formed and marked albeit somewhat slippery. It is a well used predator control route with a virtual museum of trap types.
The track eventually emerges at the top of a large slip near Donnelly Flats (about 8.30pm) then works its way down the true left. It's getting quite dim in the trees but I'm determined not to stop to hunt at a light. The track parallels the river sidling up and down and along terraces. Eventually it pops out right beside the main foot bridge over the Atiwhakatu.
A few minutes later - just before 9pm I'm at the carpark and meet bro number who one has kitted up and is just about to head out and miss me completely by heading up the main track to Donnelly Flat. Apparently the missing party managed to self extract with the help of the DOC ranger and were currently taking a member to hospital with a strained back.
I relax into the car seat and take an inventory - being out for four days has meant double the number of the usual minor injuries including a hole rubbed in one leg by the gaiters, a large bruise on the bum, a weepy eye from a stick poke and diverse other knicks and bruises. Nothing that a hot bath won't fix.
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| I thought that sit down was a bit hard |
Postscript
A lot of ticks in boxes this trip.- Oriwa ridge is enjoyable jaunt - long and a few challenges but nowhere near as tedious as expected.
- The wander up the Otaki river is pleasant culminating in Mid-Otaki hut.
- Now that I have a an idea about the eastern spurs onto the main range I would be pretty confident about tackling most of them (some of the headwater ones could be a bit scrubby though).
- Caution is warranted dropping into the Park Valley, the spurs are steep and can bluff out.
- Some challenging scrub on the spur I choose to get on to Carkeek Ridge - I think there is a more travelled route further down valley.
- Carkeek Ridge is isolated and has dramatic views. Would like to see it without the cloud. The hut looks like a good spot and has some of the mossiest goblin forest - sort of like a green bouncy castle. The spur to Waiohine is navigable and been used before.
- The spur up to Dorset is apparently an old route - not a lot of indications left but perfectly fine. The hut is aways off the ridge and is a perfectly fine retreat. The route down to Dorset Creek is marked and navigable. The Creek itself is right nice.
- Spurs below McGregor Biv have good marking on the main route to the Dorset/Waiohine forks. The other spurs not so much.
- Broken Axe Pinnacles - not as scary as I was expecting.
- Pinnacle Ridge was a delight, again. Pinnacle is a nice jaunt and route to the road end.
Gear - The Tararuas are always dishing up weather lessons. The forecast was accurate enough but snow in summer!? I decided to take a lighter rain jacket and this was fine. The DD Hammock's fly is light, small and useful but the width demands careful pitching.
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| The pack explodes in the sun |
