Otaki forks - 668

I thought I had explored the Otaki forks area as much as I ever would. That was until I noticed that on a previous trip up Rae Ridge to Dennan I missed a spot just off the ridgeline. It's ripe for a short day trip. And for taking the remaining tally down to 12.

I'm expecting fairly easy travel as there are lots of old logging trails buried in the bush around here - and Rae Ridge is a reasonably well known route. The only tricky bit might be the foot of the spur at the Waiotauru Forks - some of the faces are a bit steep around there.



The general vicinity




It's a hot sunny afternoon (1.50pm) as I leave the car and trot down to the river. It's at average flow so easily forded before a short jog across the flats on a reasonable foot trail to Sheridan Creek.

This time I will not make the mistake of following the markers up Sheridan Creek and bashing onto the spur - I cross the creek and find a clear trail with occasional ribbons leading onto the foot of the spur.

The humid air near the ground fills the lungs with the heavy smell of hot bracken. It's warm going until the scrub gives way to forest.

From spur - across Sheridan Creek and flats towards Otaki Forks

It's mostly good trails upwards although there's quite a bit of wind fall. Old tape markers of various colours are sporadically visible but it's pretty easy to lose the trail on the frequent wide sections of the ridge.

I'm scouting for the route when a patch of orange catches my eye - I make my way over and am surprised to see two hunters having a cuppa under a large tree.

This is only the second time ever that I have seen someone off a marked track (the other time was on the way up to Waitewaewae behind Manakau). We have a good chat and work out where each is going (them heading down after scouting up another spur) and ascertain that we both have some familiarity with the area. They are well spoken and relaxed that I've probably spooked anything they might have seen further down the spur (I hadn't heard anything).

I leave them to it and head on up to 668 with an unplanned diversion onto a side spur on the way. Although it's nice to have light footwear, the trail running shoes aren't really cutting it - they are too slippery on the hard stuff and provide no ability to edge into soft ground for purchase.

I hardly need the altimeter to confirm when to turn southwest leaving the ridge to head along a flat top towards 668.

There's a little bit of ground trail and on 668 the odd marker - I need the compass though to find the spur down. Once on it there is soon an old logging trial which comes and goes a bit but takes me mostly straight down. 

Pt 668

These are funny old relics - they are quite steep and the bush is only slowly reclaiming them. I assume because the soil was all scraped off. Animals and water have followed them in places and sometimes a marker indicates people have been through.

Old logging trail - believe it or not

The old trails have a habit of heading off in unexpected directions - a favourite trick being to dive steeply off the side of the spur and finish in a dead end. I assume these were side routes to rip the logs out of the gullies.

Towards the bottom the trail I'm following sidles left off the spur and angles down and into the Eastern Waiotauru (Snowy) River valley (i.e. heads east). I'm not sure how far up the valley it angles but I can't see a bench on the other side (there's one that you follow down to the river after crossing on the swing bridge).

Rather than follow trails that seem to want to drop down to the eastern branch river I find a bench that sidles back around the hill onto a large terrace near the forks. It's quite obvious on the map - almost circular so I wonder if there will be an old mill site - I don't see anything but only cover a fraction of it. 

I wander across the terrace heading in the general direction of down valley - not worrying too much about trails. There's a bit of a sharp drop off the foot of a spur and down to a lower terrace. From there I follow old trails and terraces before they run out. The marked track is somewhere on the other side but I'm not that keen on thrashing up through the lower slopes to find it, so continue on down the river bed. 

The slippery rocks in the frequent river crossings demand a bit of care in running shoes and eventually I reach a corner with a pool I'm not about to wade. A short mucky scramble up a steep bank through supplejack sees me on a spur and, in short order, the track.

Waiotauru River

After this it's plain sailing. I'm trotting across the grass flat with the old boiler when I see a couple of figures ahead - sure enough it's the hunters from earlier.  They've dropped down the spur and crossed the river to return down the track to the carpark.

We are walking back to the car park chatting a bit more about the local ridges and spurs when one asks if I'd done a blog - turns out they found some of my old posts when they were researching the area.

They have recently taken up hunting and have been coming in here - it's good to see the effort they're putting in and the enjoyment they're getting out. I'll have to remember that there are good examples of the breed next time I get grumpy at seeing hunters' rubbish on river terraces.

Around 6pm I'm back at the car, we chat for a bit longer then it's the long drive home.


All up a short and successful trip. There's plenty more day trips like this you could do in the area with the old trails giving something to explore. And after all's done - only 12 spots to go.

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.

Kime, Hector and Otaki Gorge Slip

A trip up to Kime Hut is not exactly new territory but this weekend provided some new experiences.

What:  Otaki forks to Kime and Mt Hector
Who:    Scott (leader), Rachel, Vignesh and me
When:  Sat 18 and Sun 19 June
Why:    Meet-Up group trip
Map of slip: Link

Scott puts a tramp up on Meet-Up early in the week and I decide to check it out. I have been in the habit of avoiding group tramps but this is a chance to get out with some of the leaders from the Meet-Up group and to check out the slip on the Otaki Gorge Road. An unanticipated advantage of a group trip becomes apparent after the trip when Rachel posts her photos - they are far better than I have managed on my phone and she graciously agrees to let me display them here (only the photos around the slip are mine).

The weather forecast is rubbish for the Sunday so the plan shifts towards the end of the week to a trip up to Kime then return to Field for the night.  It should be pretty easy going although there is a small matter of an odd extra 4 Km and 300 metres climb to get past the slip.

After a few delays and a stop for coffee it's about 10am when we leave the car on a grey day at the car park on Shields Flat. It's about a kilometre short of the slip. Diggers and bulldozers are operating on a vast hill of spoil but the slip itself is out of sight. A group of four (two chaps and two women) has arrived just ahead of us and head along the road to see if they can get across the slip. They are soon back after being told in no uncertain terms that they're not crossing.




The slip isn't visible but the pile of spoil is just 
to the left of centre 

The bypass starts up the gully to the left of the caravan

The bypass is well marked from the carpark, crossing a paddock then heading steeply up an old forestry track under pines. It climbs fairly steeply and there's little to see through the trees although machines can be heard working below. It's sort of pleasant when the track levels to stroll along with soft pine needles underfoot.

The track soon rounds a spur and enters a gully that has been clear felled and replanted. After a total of about 300m climbing it turns left into a more recently upgraded 4WD track and immediately starts descending. The road soon reaches a wide space with a couple of vehicles parked and the marked route heads off into the bush to follow a winding track down a spur, at one point steep enough for someone to have attached a very long rope through the trees.

Vignesh emerges out of the gully

Vignesh and Scott negotiating the descent

At the bottom there's a left turn (you would have thought right) on to an old but very well cut 4WD track which finally deposits us onto the Otaki Forks Road again - about a Km past the slip which is out of sight around the hill.

There's a further kilometer to the bridge over the Waiotauru River and the start of the tramp proper.

We're pretty slow up the hill so it's a late lunch at Field where the group from the carpark has settled in and a few others are sleeping or milling around. I discover that my topo map has Field hut in the wrong place - a bit odd given the hut has been around for quite a long time. There is a flash new toilet though - the old one has been pushed on it's side and I assume will be removed some day.

Field Hut

As the weather forecast has improved we are going to head on up to Kime for the night with maybe a jaunt up to Mt Hector. It's still cold though and probably a bit windy up the hill so I crack out the coat.  The tops start pretty much straight after Field hut and there is nothing to see in the clag. Even less to see once my glasses fog up (mental note to get the contacts out for the next trip). The wind is not strong which is lucky as it's pretty cold and there's a fair amount of moisture in the air.

Clag on Judd Ridge - the track is not all so over engineered

We are making very slow progress so the day starts drawing in as we are still heading up the ridge. It's a pretty straight forward route though so there are no concerns.

At one point we suddenly notice that the tussock has taken on a golden light - it's a bit weird as there is no change in the cloud but we figure that somewhere behind us the sun is setting. It quickly fades and it's just about dark when we arrive at Kime around 6pm.

There's one chap in residence who we think has come up from Tutuwai Hut via Bull Mound - good travel given the short daylight hours. Scott is keen to head on up to Hector as it is a strategic point in a strategy game that he is involved in. I figure that there is an outside chance of a break in the cloud and a view of city lights on the horizon, besides, I haven't really done enough for the day so I add some more layers and we head out under lights.

As we leave the calm in the dell around the hut, the wind steadily rises and the wind chill increases. We're just short of the top of Field Peak when Scott gets an attack of the cramps which are not about to go away - nothing for it but to head back to the hut.

Kime hut has a harsh rap as a cold hole. I suspect this is probably because the old hut was a cold hole and there were some issues with the building of the new hut so it hasn't managed to throw off the reputation. Let's face it - at 1400m next to a tarn and with a few traces of snow about - of course it's cold!  The temperature in the evening is just under 8 degrees dropping to a bit over 5 during the night. The hut is clean, spacious and light, certainly better than its predecessor.

Nostalgic diversion

Old Kime and building materials for new Kime

New Kime taking shape

You can't even tell where she stood now

Dinner for the evening is a fine chicken curry courtesy of Vignesh and his wife. I do my best not to burn it on my gas burner (not using my penny stove for a change). Scott also drags various treats out of his pack including Garage Project beer and pop-corn. Augmented by Rachel's marshmallows we have more than enough and turn in a little after 9.

It's a pretty quiet night. The other tenant gets up well before dawn and disappears. Then Scott is up and about to head up the hill - Rachel and I decide to join him so we kit up rapidly and head out.

Kime Hut almost sees the dawn

It's windy on the ridge but not wet and the cloud is breaking around the peaks providing tantalising glimpses of the sun and surrounding ridges and peaks.

Here comes the sun - just off the top of Field Peak

Coming off Field and eyeing up Hector

A minute or two later - Neill Ridge to the left

At the top of Hector Scott hunkers down over his cell phone behind a rock to do arcane things. This is Rachel's first trip up here and it's good that we get a few views across into the Wairarapa, glimpses of the Southern Crossing and Marchant Ridge and Cone come and go. Neill Ridge looks pretty uninviting in this wind with cloud shredding through the dips but it would be fun to head along and down.

Memorial at top of Hector

Gazing at the view 

Neill Ridge

We head back to Field for breakfast. Vignesh is ready to go so he and Scott head on down while Rachel and I have breakfast and tidy the hut. 10 minutes latter Scott pops back in to pick up the clothes he'd left behind.

Yep - there's a little bit of winter about ... just

Rachel sets a cracking pace and we are at Field hut not too long after the others and I've shed a few layers on the way. The other tenants are gone after neither filling in the log book nor replacing the firewood they used. Probably didn't pay their hut fees either.

We pause briefly then Vignesh launches off down the ridge at speed. We see an older couple on the way up but otherwise it is pleasant travel in damp bush and little wind; not too cold and the forecast rain never arrives.  It's a really good track through nice bush.

Trackside fungus

For the last 300 vertical meters the track breaks in and out of bush and we get a few views into surrounding valleys but nothing as far as the main range.

At the bottom we elect to pop along and check out the slip. It's an impressive sight - the road is covered in shattered rock, mud and shredded trees. The slip drops steeply to the river far below and is not safe to cross at the road level but workers have bulldozed terraces across further up. We grovel up through scrappy bush and supplejack beside the slip until we are above one of the terraces. The ground around the slip is fractured and loose but there's enough vegetation to provide hand and foot holds.

Heading up to the slip which is ahead and up to the right

The edge of the slip

Rachel, Scott and Vignesh

Scott ventures onto the slip - there doesn't appear to be any material likely to come down from above and the surface is stable enough, about 10m out he turns and bum slides down to the bulldozed track. Vignesh then Rachel follow suit and finally I essay a somewhat more elegant scree run down.

There have clearly been a few other people taking the same route however I wouldn't recommend it unless you assess the risks pretty carefully (condition of the slope, loose material that may come down from above, run-out below etc) and don't even think of it when the machines are operating.

We walk across the terrace and down through pines to a staging area with a lot of diggers then down to the road for the short walk back to the car. A couple of chaps are chatting next to a 4WD and we wonder if they are going to challenge us but they don't seem to be connected with the site works, we exchange a few words and head on our way.

We've made much better time than yesterday and it's good to get back to Wellington in daylight and without having to contend with the worst of the Coast traffic.

So all up, the weather wasn't flash but was better than expected. We got some glimpses of view from Hector and a number of us managed some firsts - for me a night in the new Kime and an up close look at the slip. Good fun.