Behind the scarred ramparts visible from across the Hawkes Bay plains, major river valleys run in parallel roughly north, forming more ridge and range systems before diverging or joining and heading west: the Kawhatau, Waikamaka and Maropea Rivers.
There's a few things in mind this weekend:
- The ridge west off Te Atuaoparapara
- A waterfall on a side stream off the Waikamaka River
- Wakelings Hut
- The long ridge running directly north from Te Atuaoparapara
Let's see if it goes a little more to plan than last weekend ...
What: Nav trip
Where: Te Atuaoparapara and Wakelings Hut
When: 29 Feb - 1 March
Who: Solo
Map
After the, now familiar, long drive it's 8.50 when I leave the car at the end of the road. This time I'm starting from the romantic sounding Swamp Track.
The track takes about 20 minutes to circle beside an ancient swamp that is in the process of reverting to forest before reaching the main track to Sunrise Hut. The remnant kahikatea are still present but beech is well on the way to ascendency. There's some good wee info boards describing what's going on.
Shortly up the main track I bump into an older couple who have been at Sunrise and visited Top Maropea Huts over the last couple of days. They had poked their noses up the hill this morning and she warns me seriously about the fierce wind on the tops.
Approaching the intersection to the Waipawa River there's an older (mid 50's?) chap with a younger Asian woman taking a breather on the way up. I wonder if it's a guide and punter but don't stop to find out after a brief hello. I've noticed advertising for guided trips in the area so wouldn't be surprised.
A little later a younger chap comes down with a sports bag and chilly bag - completely unsuited for tramping so I assume he's just done an overnighter. A little later a young couple come past - this place is busy!
Someone has left some untouched 'up and go's, and a couple of snacks by the track - it's fresh and I wonder if the young chap just couldn't be bothered carrying it down. I stash them in my pack intending to drop them at the hut where there's a chance they might get et.
It's warm enough and a bit muggy - as I climb I get closer to the cloud ceiling.
About 10.25 I round the final corner to see the hut. There's a chap in residence who is sitting by the fire. He's been in the area for the last few days and is intending to wait the day out in the hut - not sure why he thought a fire was needed though.
The hut is right at the cloud ceiling so I drag my coat out as well as topping up water and filling in the log book. It gets colder and blustery as soon as I start along the ridge behind the hut. By the time I get to Armstrong Saddle the wind is getting boisterous and by the junction to Top Maropea Hut the wind is strong and the rain is starting.
I'm soon saturated and stop to add another layer. The rain is not heavy but is being lashed along by a strong northwester.
The trail comes and goes on the way up out of the saddle and it's easy to wander off into a bit of scrub. Towards the top the wind and rain ease a bit but it's still pretty unpleasant. About 12.25 I'm close to the top of Te Atuapoarapara and hunker in the tussock for a break and to set a compass bearing for the ridge west off the top. It's taken about three and a half hours from the car including a goodish break at the hut so I'm comfortable about the amount of daylight to get to the hut - if not the amount of visibility for the the route off the slopes.
At the top I barely pause before veering right and following the compass down into the clag. The spur turns out to be pretty obvious with a reasonable animal trail. The map implies it could be a bit spiky but it's good until it flattens. The first spike is readily sidled on an animal trail on the left; up and over the next one, then towards the end of the level bit I sidle left but end up doing a bit of scrambling across the top of some steep crumbly bits. I suspect it would be pretty straight forward in good visibility. I watch the compass and make sure I follow the part of the spur that veers right (NW) and starts to drop steeply.
It gets a bit scrubby and I find and lose trails through scrub and low forest. Eventually the going improves as the ridge drops into better forest through a saddle then climbs to a wee knob. So far so good - nothing too dramatic or horrible.
The forest is a bit more open now - I've decided I want to follow the spur to the junction of the river and the stream off Te A on my right - it starts ok but after awhile the signs of a trail get weak and towards the bottom disappear entirely. Eventually I am scrambling down a steep, sharp spur and emerge on a steep face just above the river. It takes a bit of maneuvering to scramble down grabbing handfuls of vegetation before emerging at the river.
It's about 2.25 and this is the Waikamaka River. The day is still misty and damp. Looking back at the spur and the map I suspect it might have been easier to bear left down from the knob and come out at the next intersection up - but too late now. In summary, the ridge is viable from the top but the bottom bit I chose is a bit tricky and there is probably better options to finish by.
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| Junction and end of my spur (middle) |
The river bed is wet but the water is clear and the level seems to be unaffected. The valley sides are steep to precipitous. It's good going down the river and the weather starts to ease but I have to be careful about footing.
Just after 3 pm I reach the intersection to the waterfall side stream. It's pretty obvious.
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| Stream to waterfall |
It takes about half an hour walk up stream to reach the waterfall. The stream has a few sections where it is cutting through the bedrock rather than flowing over stones. There's also a fairly good sized slip a little below the waterfall that has dumped large boulders into the stream but it presents no problems.
The waterfall itself is pretty even at low flow, and the sun is now making a serious effort to break through. I don't stay long before returning to the main river.
Back at the river I have a short stop for a spot of late lunch (a bit after 4pm) before setting off down river for the hut.
Less than 15 minutes later I emerge off a terrace to hear whistling from a short way upstream. A couple of whio are cruising about on a pool - I wouldn't have seen them at all if he'd kept his beak shut.
The river bed is pretty much dry now and the travel is easy. I reach the next significant stream junction just after 5pm and a few minutes later pause to watch a large trout flick lazily away in a pool. Just a few minutes later at 5.10 I see a marker on a tree and just out of sight on an old terrace is the hut.
Although old with an open fire it has transparent roof sections and has been painted white so feels pretty fresh and light. There's a platform with four mattresses (you could fit more people easily). I hang gear about for as much drying as the late afternoon might provide and set up for an early dinner.
There's a bit of wind about the tops but down here is calm and it's a quiet night.
The morning is mild and although there is mist in the valley I get the feeling it could be a sunny day. After tidying the hut I set off a little after 7.30. I can hear a whio whistling somewhere on the river and there's fresh deer prints in the sand. A duck takes flight as I approach the water's edge (couldn't see if it was a whio).
It's a nice wee spot - I think not as pretty as Maropea Forks Hut but getting up there.
The marker across the river isn't immediately obvious but the track starts about where you would expect it to - approx. NNE from the hut. The climb starts straight away.
I plod up with a few wee birds commenting as I pass and eventually get a glimpse out that is not just into mist. Rongotea (1568) floats above the cloud in brilliant morning sun.
This is quite an old route judging by the age of some of the markers that are still doing service. It's a little after 8 am as the track eases onto the top of the ridge and starts heading north.
I can't see a foot trail heading south on the broad ridge top so just pick my way through cutty grass and bushlawyer while trying to avoid the hidden wind fall and stumps. I mutter about the propensity of beech to shed branches.
Where the ridge narrows there could be some ground trail and from the Wakelings log I know that this is a common route to take before dropping to the next valley and climbing to Top Maropea Hut. But for all that I don't see a lot of signs of people.
The morning sun is slanting across the ridge under the canopy and the undergrowth has just the lightest touch of dew so I'm not getting soaked which is nice. There's a couple of knobs before the ridge climbs gradually to a point (with a slip on the west face on the map). I think this is the launching off point to drop to the next valley so I'm expecting the ridge south from here to have less ground trail.
The bush so far has been reasonably benign - a few tight bits with close growing saplings and you have to keep your eyes peeled or you can end up in dense low beech.
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| Down Waikamaka Valley - volcanic plateau on horizon |
It gets a little hairier with more tight bush and some scrambles across the top of slip faces. At one point I end up gingerly edging up the loose surface on the marked slip face on the east of the ridge (just south of a saddle at 1320m). Shortly after this there's a wee dell on the ridge with an old metal trig like thing. I have a bit of a sit down and drink - it's about 9.45. After this I sidle the ridge top for a while then it opens up for good going under clear skies.
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| Back down the ridge |
Once I get high enough and can see over the Rongotea - Rangioteatua Ridge to the slopes of the Hikurangi Range I hunt for a sign of McKinnon Hut. Sure enough, there's a wee white dot right on the bushline.
A movement above catches my eye - a falcon is sitting on the ridge keeping an eye on me labouring up. I stop and watch - it's relaxed and occasionally tilts its head to see what I'm up to. I try to sidle around so as not to disturb it but as soon as I drop out of sight it heads off around the slope and disappears behind a spur. I climb back to the ridge to where it was sitting and admire the view.
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| The falcon's view |
Sometime later I see a feather on the ground and idly wonder if it belongs to a falcon when a couple of steps later there's a mummified animal (hare?). Perhaps related?
It's pretty good going up the ridge and there are some useful animal sidles in a few places (don't pick the ones where they are just wondering onto a face to feed).
I've had so many claggy days on the tops around here that it is a novelty to be able to see the full range of surrounding peaks, ridges and valleys. There's also some small pleasure in a growing feeling of familiarity - when you visit a place often enough you start to recognise the landmarks from different angles and this strengthens your sense of location in the landscape. It's sounds obvious but there is a huge difference between knowing you're at co-ordinates x,y and knowing that I'm at point x,y so, that must be Ridge B that I just about got blown off, and that's peak A with the low sidle, and if I look over my shoulder I might be able to see the hut in valley C.
So far, the impression I have of this ridge from previous glimpses from Hikurangi and the ridge north of Sunrise Hut is craggy with lots of slips. So far it has had a few slips but hasn't been really craggy but there's an interesting looking bit looming ahead.
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| North up ridge - getting a bit rockier |
It proves to be steepish with a fair amount of loose footing but with no wind and good visibility it's perfectly navigable.
Getting towards the top I essay a sidle that proves a waste of time taking me across a few loose chutes and tussock faces without gaining any advantage. I sweat back up to the ridge just short of the junction and can now see the top of Te Atuaoparapara properly for the first time.
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| North from near the top of the ridge |
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| Ridge to top of Te Atuaoparapara |
At 11.30 I join the ridge I came along in the clag yesterday. About 4-500m away is the top, below is the Waipawa River and on the other side (south) is Three Johns - my first real view of it. In the east the Hawkes Bay is wondering where the sun is.
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| Three Johns on left, Te Atuaoparapara on right |
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| Intended spur to Waipawa River |
About 15 minutes later I'm at the top of my target spur - this navigation thing is a doddle without clag! There's a wee cairn at the right spot which gives me hope that the spur might have a good trail. However, right now it's time for an early lunch.
There's a bit of a cool breeze so I hunker down and spread some soggy gear out to dry while I munch on wraps, camembert and hummus. A wee fat spider catches my attention as it sets lines of web between the waving blades in a clump of tussock.
It's almost 12.15 when I've had my fill and stashed the somewhat drier gear. The spur starts ok with a bit of foot trail but it tends to drop left off the spur - it might be that there are routes down one of the streams but they look pretty steep on the map so I'm not game to try.
It starts to get a bit scrubby and it becomes rapidly apparent that people aren't using this route with any frequency. The vegetation never really becomes easy - even after the scrub there tends to be a fairly messy understory and the shape of the spur is a bit tricky in a few spots. I'm expecting the slope to ease towards the bottom but it doesn't - I suspect I have drifted off line but after a steep clamber down I emerge pretty much bang on the junction between two streams.
It's taken about an hour 25 minutes from the ridge so not excessively long, but although it's not the trickiest descent I won't be queuing to do it again.
It's hot and bright in the debris fan around the stream; a few minutes of boulder hopping and I'm at the river. There's a reasonably well beaten trail down the true left so I can potter along at a reasonable speed. I exchange pleasantries with a family group of five who have come in for a day trip then head on down river.
Last time through this stretch was in fairly dim conditions - this time in daylight the river is prettier than expected as it meanders through some rocky bluffs.
I keep an eye out for the side stream that I should have passed when I climbed to Three Johns; it's a bit hidden in buddleia but is a reasonable size. It's probably only about 2-300m past the one I mistook it for, so I excuse myself a little.
At 2.35 I'm at the road end gate - about 7 hours after leaving Wakelings hut so I'd have to say that the ridge and spur route was reasonably efficient.
On the way out I pick up the chap from Sunrise Hut and drop him where his girl-friend is coming to pick him up. Then it's just the long drive home.
Postscript
Yeah - a bit more 'to script' than last weekend. One of the better tops trips I've had in the Ruahine Range.Swamp track - worth a look. Track to Sunrise = superhighway. Route to Te Atuaoparapara - easy to wander off the trail in a few bits, but pretty straightforward. Ridge west off Te A - top is quite navigable but be careful of any sidles you take, expect a bit of a battle with the veg around the bushline and be warned that some of the routes off the bottom end in little cliffs. Waikamaka River - nice wander. Waterfall - pretty enough to warrant an hour+ diversion. Wakelings Hut - nice spot. Ridge north of Te A - don't expect a strong trail below bushline, a bit of muckiness underfoot hidden in cutty grass, some dense stands of saplings and scrambles through tight low beech, a few erosion faces you might need to skirt, good going once you hit the tops with one bit that's a bit craggy and loose. Spur off Te Atuaoparapara - doable but a bit aggravating.
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