Waitatapia

If you look east from Otaki forks, across the terraces towards the track into Waitewaewae hut, you will probably pay no attention to the scrubby and thoroughly unremarkable ridge behind. Waitatapia, at 862m, is not the highest but is the only named point on the ridge. It doesn't exactly tower over the landscape but it is an intriguing island - surrounded by the Otaki river, the Waitatapia stream and Plateau stream. It doesn't connect to any major ridge system so isn't really on the way to anywhere. But there is the odd trip report on the internet which indicates that people do sometimes visit.

This weekend the weather looks like it will make the proposition a little more challenging with snow forecast down to 300m. The plan is to commute over the ridge to Plateau and head on to explore a couple of other locations, but in the end I cut the trip back to a day.

What:   Day nav trip
Where: Waitatapia (Pt 862)
Why:    Just  happened to notice it
Who:    Solo
When:  29 July 2017
Map:     Link

The start is not particularly auspicious. I've pottered across the wide terrace and just got to the edge above the Otaki River swing bridge when I remember the compass is still in the car. A helpful DOC sign informs me that it's 1.4 km to the car park - making a 2.8 km wasted round trip during which I can curse my mental lassitude.

The air is still but cold and the clouds are low around the hills - not so low though that they hide the snow powdered bush around 4-500m.

Waitatapia Ridge

Across the Otaki river the track zigzags up to the opposite terrace and I immediately start looking on my right for a way into the bush. A trail of sorts heads around the slope above the Otaki River and I figure it is a good place to start - it looks like there might be better bush that way. I don't notice any marking and eventually leave it to follow a promising looking trail heading up. It's a steep scramble through bracken and soon degenerates into animal trails but there always seems to be a route through.

There are plenty of chances to look back across the flats and down to the tiny swing bridge. Where possible, I work further south along the slope and eventually end up in reasonably open bush with a high canopy - periodically breaking into clearings.

Otaki River flowing to meet the Waiotauru River at the forks
Waitatapia Stream joins from the right

After a large grassy clearing on a knob, a spur takes shape and there's a bit of a foot trail. There are one or two old green plastic tape markers but soon these are invisible as the snow gets thicker under the canopy.  Occasionally there is a gap to peer out through the snow clad bush.

Otaki forks but smaller

Looking up from the grassy knob

View down the Otaki River towards the coast

The wet foliage on the way up means my boots are well on the way to being water logged by the time I'm walking in snow.  Perfect for cold feet. Snow periodically drifts down through the trees but the wind is mercifully light.

It's roughly three hours from setting out when a metal post in the snow indicates the top of Waitatapia. It's slowish going but reasonably straight forward so far. The snow makes it a little interesting trying to follow trails but with the aid of a stick I'm managing to shed most of the snow off the surrounding foliage before it dumps on me.

Waitatapia

Waitatapia and cold feet

There's a few tricky moments trying to stick to the ridge as it curves into the saddle above Gorge Creek. However the clouds clear momentarily to show glimpses of a monochrome landscape and the foothills of the main range - enough to orient and keep on track.

Approaching pt 876 I manage to drift off the ridge but twig when it starts dropping steeply. Shortly after, the ridge veers gently right to another high point and I have to back track again when a compass check reveals I've overshot my spur down.  The snow is masking some of the signs you usually pick up.

It takes a little while for the spur to form but after a while it becomes well defined and the snow starts thinning. Large dark holes in the white blanket covering the ferns indicates that water is dripping from above.

The air warms and although the trail comes and goes it's an easy trip north and down towards the plateau. Soon, there is a familiar looking swamp and sure enough, an orange triangle soon after as my spur finally coincides with the Waitewaewae track.

It's a little before 2pm and later than I had been anticipating getting to this point so the next part of my plans are no longer a goer - the prospect of walking the track to Waitewaewae hut and back the next day doesn't appeal so I make the call to pull the plug and head back to the car.

Heading back out along the track is pleasant going, more so as I start to thaw and dry. The weather has improved and the sun breaks through - it's a completely different day.

Looking up Waitatapia Stream, Waitatapia Ridge on right,
plateau behind the notch on the horizon

Waitatapia - a different proposition without the snow

It's uneventful and seeing as there is plenty of day light left I decide to drop in on Parawai hut. It's less than 300m off the main track and only minutes from the carpark, but I have never quite got around to dropping in.  There's a large family group having a BBQ with the fire going so I stay long enough to note that it is in surprisingly good nick for being so close to a road end.

Parawai Hut

Postscript

Although it was a somewhat truncated trip, I was pretty tired the next day. It shows how being cold and wet can take it out of you.  I would have made Waitewaewae hut easily and out the next day, but the extra day just lost all appeal when there was no longer time to head on to some more interesting territory.  Happy to have got up Waitatapia and there were some interesting perspectives on the Otaki flats on the way up - all up though, it is one of those spots that you feel that having been there once there is no particular rush to do it again.

Ruahines Trapping - Oroua River

Killing stoats - a sure fire recipe for an enjoyable weekend.

The tramping club runs trapping lines in the Ruahines as part of the Whio protection programme - I'd always been meaning to go along on a trip or two but keep missing the trip schedule. This time there's space in the van heading north with a trapping trip and an easy trip sharing transport.

It starts with the usual Friday afternoon rendezvous at platform 9 and the inevitable 10 minute late punter holding everyone up. Still, the traffic up the coast is pretty good and, with dinner in Levin under our belts, we are soon in the rural hinterland north and east of Fielding. 

After Apiti we head east to the hills and start seeing broken branches in the headlights. Trees on the road banks have been flattened by the snow in the previous week. A few clumps of snow remain.

It's dark and wet when we arrive at Janet and Graeme's bach near the road end and decamp to their floor. They are members of the Palmerston North Tramping Club and Janet seems to do a fair proportion of the organisation behind the Ruahine Whio Protectors. There's a bit of uncertainty about what we are in for tomorrow - DOC has spent a couple of days clearing fallen branches on the 45 minutes of track to Alice Nash Memorial hut so it is anyone's bet what the next four hours up to Irongate hut will be like.  

We hatch a plan for the morning and hit our pits after a cuppa tea and a natter.  Bruce the dog is in heaven as he potters around sequentially snuggling up next to the comatose bodies. Outside it's wet and windy - the occasional sortie may, if you're lucky, give a glimpse through shredded mist of lights on the plain below. Probably Apiti.

It's a short walk in the morning to the Alice Nash hut on a well cleared track with plenty of snow about.  Overcast and trying to rain but not too bad.

Illona gives us a run down on how to check and re-bait a trap - surprisingly easy - and the five of us divide into a trap checker and a track clearer team. I'm starting on the clearing and have my saw so rip into the fallen branches.

We have three saws but one soon becomes dead weight when a critical nut is lost on the track - still, one person just clearing branches is useful.

It's slow and hard work but we make reasonable progress and soon decide that it is a goer to carry through to the hut before dark, but unlikely that we will have time to pickup any traps past the hut.

At some point we regroup for lunch and swap roles. We regroup again at Tunupo creek which is sufficiently up to require a linked up crossing. After that, Gareth and I have our technique sorted and rip ahead with the traps - the down side is that we have to find our own way through the tree falls - mostly no problem but the river flats towards Irongate have a lot of damage to navigate. The snow is a foot deep in places.

The track clearers give up as dark approaches and head straight for the hut arriving about half an hour later.  The snow is deep amidst the trees and around the hut.

The hut fire pretty much defeats us - there's not much in the way of dry wood and even when it gets going it soon goes out without constant attention. I give it away in favour of Sharron who announces she has some firelighters - she manages to get something going after awhile but it makes little more difference than the 5 bodies in the small space.

Dinner is a good solid tramping club recipe - filling and followed by fruit cake. A lot flasher than I'm used to. Illona collects the trap stats for entering on the website later - all up 16 rats and no mustelids. We're in bed with lights out by 8.30pm with a plan hatched for a first light start. No-one is game to find out where the loo is in the cold.

After breakfast Ilona heads out with Gareth for a rapid return to Alice hut and hopefully enroll a few of the easy trip in clearing more traps. Paul, Sharron and I tidy the hut and turn to clearing the track on the way back - starting with the buried track down to the hut.

We discover that the night before we had been wandering on and off the track because of the amount of branches down. This time we pretty much clear the track with the exception of some big trees that defeat our small hand saws.  We deal to a number of falls that we had just bypassed yesterday and by the time we get to Alice Nash around 12 - the whole route is navigable with just a few areas where large falls have to be bypassed.

Approaching Alice Nash hut a glint catches my eye and there's the nut that fell of the saw yesterday. Unbelievable.

At Alice hut the fire is going and a couple from the other trip are there, the rest having headed out to do some trap clearing. We get a hot cuppa and a muffin while we find out that they drove to the nearby glow worm cave which had a veritable galaxy on display - otherwise they seem to be having a very relaxed weekend. Soon the others are back having cleared a few more traps, we tidy up and head out.

It's worth mentioning that Alice Nash memorial hut is run by the local deer stalkers and is in immaculate condition. It takes cash or DOC tickets and it appears that the hut is checked pretty regularly.

Back at the van wet gear is stowed and we head off for a snack in Fielding and a long drive home - in daylight which is pleasant.

Post script

Although the conditions meant we checked fewer traps than planned, it did feel in the end that a reasonable contribution was made with the track well cleared apart from a few major falls and 70 traps re-baited. Being sociable had its moments - the food is definitely better and there's a lot to be said for division of labour. The pace was somewhat slower than I'm used to but that's not such a bad thing and it meant more energy for cuttin' and haulin'. Being a captive audience for other people's driving had it's moments.

Waitewaewae headwaters

The trip plan is a little audacious - explore as much of the Waitewaewae river headwaters as possible in a weekend. The design is efficient whilst leaving some scope for future exploration (i.e. the east branch which looks a bit daunting).

The Waitewaewae is one of those rivers whose story is subsumed by a larger river. Most people never get near it as there are no tracks or huts marked. On the map the whole system looks like a rose - the flower consisting of three tributaries: Prout Stream in the middle with the East and West Waitewaewae Rivers curling around on each side and delineating two spurs between. These join to flow south down the stem - about 5km to be swallowed by the Otaki river.

I've pottered across the top of the catchment on a couple of previous occasions but it's time to get off the tops and have a good poke around.  And it went mostly to plan, the bit that didn't was accommodated within the contingency plan and provided a useful reminder about confirmation bias.

What:    Weekend tramping trip in western Tararuas
Why:     Navigation and hut bagging
Where:  Waitewaewae headwaters
Who:     Solo
When:   8 and 9 July 2017
Map:

It's pitch black at the second gate at the Manakau Road end - a couple of pig hunters are collaring their dogs by torchlight. They set off ahead while I fluff around with a recalcitrant head light. At 7am the light is necessary as I stroll along the road, over the slip and to the, now isolated, road end.

Road end clearing

I continue straight past the redundant bollards. A short way along an old sign marks the turnoff to cross the river and climb the spur to Mt Thompson (where I came down a couple of weeks back - but turned down river and missed the crossing in the evening light).  

The track drops to the stream bed just before the Panatewaewae forks. Crossing with dry feet is easy followed by a few meters up to a clearing at the foot of my target spur. A track heads off up the true right of the Waikawa stream valley but I quickly find an unmarked route heading directly up. There's an obvious trail.

The pig hunters are polite when I catch up but, I imagine, not best pleased that a tramper might disturb the game. They are heading for another spur though so hopefully not too much loss.

After a bit over an hour on the go I reach pt 708 and veer SSE to keep climbing - this is clearly an old route with one of the markers embedded deep into its tree.

The climb is steady but not steep - I'm enjoying the exercise and the prospect of the unknown territory ahead when suddenly I'm conscious that my sense of my surroundings has altered. There is sometimes a breath that you take when you start on a trip - by the time you've exhaled, your awareness has shifted from driving and work, to a wider landscape and the sounds and smells of the bush. It's not always noticeable but it's pleasant to be conscious of the change.

Just past a turn to the ridge to Thompson, I'm on Waitewaewae, still not much to see but at 0900 it's a good start to the day. 15 minutes more pt 969 gives some views and marks the turnoff to the convoluted ridge into the headwaters that I'm after.

There is no obvious track to start with but as the ridge forms, a trail of sorts comes and goes. It's generally pretty good going. There are a few clearings giving views north and east. It's irresistible to pause and identify the ridges and points from two weeks back in the near ground; and behind ... Oriwa, Waiopehu; and beyond again, the peaks of the main range dusted with snow.

Pt 955 in the near ground with ridge to Panatewaewae running left

A little further on windows open southwards; Judd ridge and Hector on the horizon with the characteristic jagged Tararua peaks to the left. Periodically a flock of whiteheads twitter in the low stunted trees - I chirp at one of them and it comes over and we cheerfully shout at each other for a bit. Occasionally a kereru blunders loudly off. There's little wind - a perfect tramping day.

Probably one of the Pt 1030's in near ground - southern and Tararua peaks behind

Main range on the horizon

By 11.25 I've followed my nose with no significant problems to pt 957. The ridge top is fairly flat here so the start of my spur NNE is not immediately obvious but with a bearing it soon starts shaping up. There is a bit of trail and occasional pest control markers, an old vegetation tag and some other Venetian markers with measurements on them. All quite old but clearly DOC has been in the area. 

The trip down the spur is pretty straight forward - it gets mucky at the bottom for the final drop into Prout Stream, about 40 minutes from the top. Travel upstream in the tight, dim and damp valley bottom is somewhat different.  However, Prout stream is pretty - mossy with a few minor water falls and pools but pretty navigable.

Prout Stream

I follow up the diminishing stream until it starts getting clogged with mossy logs then take a spur up to just short of pt 969 - the climb is pretty mucky and I'd have to say it's not until I'm on the ridge heading west towards the top of Waitewaewae that I actually know exactly where I am. At 2.25pm I'm on Waitewaewae ... again.

The spur isn't obvious immediately but before long I'm pottering along with sporadic views towards Kapiti Island. I expected the trail on this ridge to be more obvious but I'm not sure that it is really. There are the usual trails that could be animal or tramper so I keep an approximate line with the compass.

Daylight is waning as I get to the flatter sections below pt 650 - the key, I figure, is to head more east and not pop out on the edge of the gorge on the West Waitewaewae. I drop into the head of a wee stream and follow it down to the top of a cliff over Prout Stream and eventually find a place to scramble down. A little after 5 and it's pretty dim.

The game plan now is to head downstream to Island Forks (Prout and West YTYY), through the gorge and up East YTYY to Island Forks hut. Except in the dark I miss the West branch confluence and bowl through the gorge and past the East confluence.

In retrospect it probably took 25 minutes to get from where I dropped into Prout Stream (for the second time) to the East branch forks but confirmation bias ensured I shot past looking for something that wasn't there. I just assumed that I'd dropped into Prout Stream further up and had traveled slower than expected so just kept going.  Eventually the penny drops but by now I'm a fair chunk of the way to the Otaki confluence so figure it is best to keep going to YTYY hut.

Sure enough, about 7.30 a large river joins from the left and I know it's a short stint downstream to find a swing bridge and the track to the hut.

At 8.10pm I'm pleased to arrive and not too disappointed to see I have company. A father and son have a radio set up listening to the All Blacks draw with the Lions and another chap has already turned in. I eat dinner, and warm icy feet by the fire before also turning in.

Otaki river from the hut

In the morning the third hut guest turns out to be a chap I shared Elder hut with one night over a year ago. To his credit he makes the connection first. It's good to catch up.

I'm first away a bit after 0800 - the advantage of the extra distance last night is that I can nick up to the ridge behind the hut and follow it north to a spur I've had my eye on (it was one of the possible permutations for the weekend). I head along the track towards Otaki Forks leaving it about 10 minutes later when it climbs to it's highest point on the spur. The top of the spur has a long, wide top that is easy to get mislaid on with lots of very large, old logs scattered about. Once it starts climbing it's easier to follow but there's not really much of a trail.

At 0940 I'm on the ridge and turn north (after notifying home command of the plan change by text). I've come down this ridge before but it looks completely unfamiliar - no snow for a start. The trail is easy to lose and there's not much view until further north. I'm keen to keep moving as I don't want to be caught by darkness too far from the road end.

Tantalising glimpses of ridges from yesterday

This ridge forms the true left of the Waitatapia stream in the valley below (west). At the top end there are a few clearings and it's easy to find yourself struggling through leatherwood rather than under a high canopy. Still - the clearings give great views west.

Tangata Maunga Ridge with Kapiti behind

Towards the top end of the ridge I find a trail on the east side which avoids the leatherwood. It get's pretty flat and a bit hard to tell where my target spur starts to diverge but someone has thoughtful laid some pink ribbons out and I follow them north east, through a clearing and down through open bush as the spur gradually forms. It's taken about three and a half hours to get from the hut to the turnoff to the spur.

The ribbons seem to be relatively new but are a bit sporadic so I keep an eye on the compass and manage to follow the somewhat messy spur down to the flat top near pt 650. From here it's steep and I can't really tell if I'm on a trail or not. Whatever - I'm chuffed to emerge at the top of a bank bang on the forks. An hour 20 from the top.

Waitewaewae Forks 

Island Forks hut is about three minutes up from the forks. It's a tidy little number - low door, bunks and bench. That's pretty much it. There's a loo in the bush behind and a picnic table and fire place out front. The five visits recorded in the hut book in the last year might explain the tidiness - not frequently visited.

Island Forks hut

After a bite to eat it's only 10 minutes before I'm heading out again and, in 15 minutes, through the gorge above YTYY forks - a much easier proposition in daylight.  A pool that was up to my midrift last night proves to have a shallow pass on the other side.

Not-really-an Island Forks

The rivers must be low as island forks island is connected to land. The reason I missed it in the dark becomes apparent - West YTYY feeds into a deep quiet pool which I must have just assumed was a backwater. I scramble around on the true right and head up into the next gorge.  

I head up the valley counting the side streams, painfully aware of the time but not wanting to rush on the lethally slippery rocks. The weather is  overcast with patches of sun - precious little of which reaches the valley bottom. Like Prout Stream there are scrambles up little water falls and some quite deep pools to sidle. A few large slips and log jambs are reminders of how active this landscape is.

At long last the stream rounds a bend and takes a bearing that I am waiting for - it's 3.40pm and time to look for a route up to a low saddle above the Waikawa catchment. A tree in the river bed has an old marker and there are more on the bank - there's not much trail and the markers run out but the slope is not too steep or high so before long I'm standing in the lowest point on the ridge between YTYY and Thompson.

West YTYY upper headwaters - a bit messy

There's a spur running down from near the saddle so I sidle around and take a bearing down. It's a little hard to follow at first but some very old ribbon soon appears, almost invisible but enough to keep me in the right direction.  I lose it toward the bottom and end up in supple jack but eventually bash down to a stream and start following it down.

There are occasional terraces which could have had old logging tracks on them and once I get to the Waikawa this is more common although there are still periods in the river. It's worth casting around for them as the pace is considerably faster than the stream bed.  There's an old sawmill site marked on the map - I find a large grass clearing with lumps on it but don't hang around to see if any of these are old machinery. The track is now reasonably well formed and each time it opens out I'm hoping it's the clearing where I headed up yesterday morning.

It is well dark under the canopy but light enough in the clearings so I keep plodding without a torch until I reach the original clearing. From here on it's more open and I'm on familiar territory again so I eschew the light to arrive at the car in the pitch black just before 6pm.

Post script

The Waitewaewae head waters caught my intention some time ago and I had heard about Island Forks hut, but didn't really have the confidence to take the trip on until now. A few previous trips near the area provided the necessary familiarity (and possible escape routes) and the weather indicated low flows and no rain - perfect for thrashing around in gorgish streams.

Missing the forks in the dark is a salient reminder that if you're relying on reaching somewhere and stuff your navigation up you could be in big trouble. In this case I knew the river route was navigable, had considered the possibility of travelling to YTYY hut, knew how far it was and where it was (although about 1cm off the bottom of my map) and was therefore quite happy not to turn back when I finally realised what was going on.

Despite the lesson (and discovering a wee gash on my forehead when I got home - apparently from head butting a log), it was a really pleasing trip - a little bit of unfinished business in the shape of East Waitewaewae river but I have to say it doesn't look entirely pleasant ... maybe I've seen enough of the reclusive Waitewaewae headwaters for now.