Turere stream daytrip

This is a trip from a couple of years back - in the times before I got sucked into working in the great COVID machine.  There are a few others on the drawing board from around that time that I haven't quite got around to tidying up .... 

Another weekend with just time for a day trip.  This time Mike is too slow to find an excuse and is roped in alongside Angela.  

Using the same old map as last time, the plan is to visit a waterfall on the Turere stream in the hills between Wainuiomata and the Orongorongo Valley.

The waterfall came to my attention by accident some time ago when trawling through TTC trip reports. Someone had identified that the waterfall was marked in the wrong place on the map (downstream) and had taken a trip to visit its correct location - it has been subsequently moved (on the map that is).

Our starting point is a track up a spur by Nikau Stream.  It's shown on the old map and I vaguely recall coming down it in the dark so have absolutely zero confidence of finding it again. 

What:    Navigation day trip
Where:  Turere Stream 
When:   30 August 2020
Who:     Mike, Angela and me

About 8.15 we leave the car at the end of Hine street and head across the field to Nikau Stream.  A pause at the map board where the team estimates how far up Nikau stream before we look for the old track hiving up the side of the gully - about 12 minutes is the consensus assuming a leisurely 2 km/hr.

The regen bush in the gully is cool, manuka is being topped out with the exception of some big old specimens.  

After (fairly close to) 12 minutes a faint path looks like it heads left, closer inspection reveals an old mossy cairn and piece of faded tape.  We follow to where it ducks across the stream and starts scrambling upwards.  It looks familiar - but when I came through here in the opposite direction it was pitch black after a long day.

The track takes us up to the spur where a good foot trail with markers heads on up. About 400m past pt 492, just before the spur steepens, the old map shows a sidle track heading south around the hill side.  We can see a foot trail so follow it.

It's rough but a good wee bench for a short stretch - until we hit the first tree fall. After that it's pretty variable - in and out of gullies, quite a few large treefalls and our time estimates blow out. The odd marker and section of benching confirms we are in the right vicinity. Eventually we reach a spot where we can duck a short way up to the crest of the ridge and the modern track.  Not a recommended diversion. 

Angela notices a sticky damp spot on her trousers which, on closer inspection proves to be blood not sap. A closer look reveals blood on hands and other places but no obvious source. A quick down trou determines that the blood is from a tidy hole in her leg, probably from bush lawyer.  

We should be near an intersection with one of the routes to our ridge so head in the most obvious direction to find it (right).  It doesn't turn up so we return and continue up to where we know our ridge track starts (looking at Angela's Strava log later we must have stopped metres from the intersection).

At the top we join the Whakanui track (west) and head south along a long flat topped ridge through pretty goblin forest. 

After a while the newer sidle track joins from our right - and our first and only other tramper for the day potters into sight from down ridge.  He's spent the night by the river and is heading out again.  

This section of ridge is flat and long so we are keeping an eye on the clock to estimate when we will need to start looking for a point to drop west to the stream valley below.  We're close when the track breaks into an area of dead trees and regrowth - it allows the sun in and gives us views across to the opposite ridge.  It also allows a stiff cool breeze in but it is the perfect spot for lunch.

After lunch, and Mike stepping up to the Jelly bean challenge (in a blind taste he guessed the colour of most correctly), we take bearings off a couple of bumps on the opposite ridge.  Much to everyone's surprise the bearings meet at one point on our ridge, giving us an accurate fix.  

It's surprising how seldom this technique is useful as it relies on: a break in the canopy, no clag, identifiable point(s) roughly parallel to the feature you're on, those points being not so far away that they're on a different map or you can't draw an accurate line from them on the map.

Happy that we know where we are, we potter down trail, and back into forest. The ridge top broadens for a bit before we reach a junction of sorts where markings indicate a route down an obvious spur above our target waterfall - we want to arrive below the falls so continue on the track.

The map shows the track going over some knobs on the ridge but these are not really apparent.  We know we're about in the right place so strike west and scramble down a steep face through messy bush. It gets a bit hairy at the bottom navigating a bit of a loose face but we get to the stream edge in the end.

Angela negotiates the last few meters ...

... with moral support

Regrouping, we head up the respectably sized Turere Stream.  A few bends later we reach the base of the falls - it's not the most picturesque spot but the water cascades over a bit of a drop into a greenish pool.

Men with sticks

We want to continue up valley but there's no climbing the water fall or up the sides near it - we retreat to the first side stream (true left) and find a cairn opposite it.  Sure enough there is a steep scramble up the true right onto a spur which we follow up to drop over the other side, just upstream of the waterfall. 

Waterfalls are nowhere near as interesting from the top so there's not much point hanging around here.  Shortly upstream there's an impressive and recent erosion scar on the true right - the different ages of surrounding bush indicating it's not the first in this spot. 

The stream is a good size and wide enough that it's a pretty straight forward ramble most of the time, barring the odd log jamb.  There's also a few cascades - I climb around these in the interests of dry feet while Mike and Angela elect for the safer but wetter direct approach (mid-rift for Mike and chest high for Angela) .

About 3.30 we figure we could head up stream for a little longer but note that the spurs on the true right for the next kilometre all reach the ridge at the same point - i.e. we may as well head up now.

We clamber onto the chosen spur.  There's little sign of a trail for a start but after a while we start seeing the odd piece of old old tape then a faint foot trail.  This gets stronger as we climb with marking at strong side spurs. Towards the top there are traps, tunnels and we're obvious in an actively managed area.

Soon enough we pop out on to the McKerrow track.  Wainuiomata is already losing the late afternoon sun - hills fade to the horizon and although we can pick out the South Island, the air is so hazy we can't even see any details on the Hutt hills.

Mike pauses to check face book and we potter along the wide albeit a bit muddy track.  

Ignoring the route down to the Boys Brigade camp (and possibly access to Sunny Grove) we follow the main, and very large, benched track that drops us all the way back to the car right on the edge of dark.

Another good day in the local hills.  From subsequent visits I've found that Turere Stream changes noticeably as logs move and shingle backs up behind the jambs.  And the TTC website notes that there are lots more wee waterfalls in the surrounding creeks - so there's plenty more scope for exploring.

  

 

Mt Matthews to Papatahi Crossing

Another rainy forecast so another weekend that a trip to the tops around Mitre Peak is not a goer. It's starting to feel like I'm running out of plan Bs. The Orongorongo River is normally not too bad after rain so I work out a trip that takes in a chunk of new track, as well as a bit of a bash through tiger country.

What:    Mix of on-track and nav.
Where:  Orongorongos: Mt Matthews and Papatahi
Why:     Check out some tracks and fill in a gap on the Rimutaka Range
Who:     Solo
When:   5 November 2016
Map:     Map

At 6.40am the cheerfully named Sunny Grove in Wainuiomata is predictably quiet. I leave the car at the curb hoping that no-one decides that it is either a derelict for towing, or sets fire to it as a jolly Guy Fawkes prank. 

The route I've planned is a 500m climb following the Whakanui Track over the ridges from the back of Wainuiomata to the Orongorongo River, climb 800m to Mt Matthews then navigate the jagged ridge line north to Papatahi, descend to the Orongorongo River again to bash up to the East Whakanui Track to cross back across the ridges to Wainuiomata. I'm carrying a bivy tent and supplies for a night out on the way.

A discrete DoC sign board indicates the way to the Whakanui Track and I'm soon out of suburbia and climbing through bush. 40 minutes later, breaks in the cover give views across hills patched with sun and cloud shadows towards the Hutt. 

North west over Wainuiomata 

Kiwi country

Near the top, signs put up by a local trust provide a friendly reminder about the programme that has reintroduced kiwi to these hills. You can only hope that the locals are careful about their dogs, because Sunny Grove is less than 45 minutes away.

Whakanui Track follows the ridge between Whakanui Creek and Turere Stream. It is pleasant going on the ridge top, with the clag lurking and the rain holding off. This part of the range is somewhat nondescript. It lurks shyly between the harbour edge hills and the more dramatic main Rimutaka Range, with its highest point a modest 800m. But the bush is regenerating nicely, trapping programmes are making inroads on the predators, and if you're around at the right time of day the call of kiwi once again echo through the low valleys. On a clear day, it can also reward with rare snippets of views across the harbour and the Wellington hills.

At 497 the Track leaves the ridge and drops down a spur to the river. I imagine the rest of the ridge down to the Turere Lodge is completely navigable and probably used for trapping.  Just before the valley floor, a gap shows Mt Matthews with its distinctive erosion scars and a puff of cloud on top.

Mt Matthews with its head in the clouds -
my route along the ridge to the left

About 2:10 after setting out I'm at the bottom and contemplating how to cross the Orongorongo River with dry feet. The flow is pretty modest so I opt for the one-boot-hop. This involves selecting a suitable stretch of river and, after removing one boot, hoping daintily across resting boot-clad foot on handy rocks whilst the naked foot takes it's chances in the cold water. It works in that I have dry boots for the climb up Mt Matthews, but I don't recommend it.

This is the first time I've seen water flowing at the mouth of the Matthews Stream - normally the water has drained into the shingle fan well up the gully. Still, it has that slightly odd characteristic of getting bigger as you follow it up.

No-one seems to have been up this way yet this morning and I potter on up enjoying the quiet and the bush, and frequent pauses for breath. 3:15 from Wainui and the clearing above South Saddle is a welcome stop. The weather is turning out pretty much perfect - no wind and overcast.

South Saddle, Welly in the distance and McKerrow behind the hat.

20 minutes later there's time for a pause for yet another forlorn attempt to capture the gnarled, muffled softness of goblin forest.

Beech forest, Mt Matthews

10 minutes later the balcony gives the first view of the Wairarapa and a glimpse of the ridge north. But there's a better view of what comes next a bit further along.

View from the balcony 

There's a route through there somewhere ... north towards Papatahi

Just over 4 hours after leaving the car I've navigated the slips on the back of Mt Matthews to be rewarded by that stunning vista across Palliser Bay.

Lake Onoke, Palliser Bay and the Aorangi Range beyond (more about those hills next week)

Now things get interesting. I have no idea what the ridge will be like - the map promises it will be dramatic and the vegetation indicates it will be tough. From what I've seen so far it looks like it will be both. There's a sign at the top pointing to north saddle and I scramble into the scrub to see what the route down is like.

The route drops 200m off Mt Matthews into a saddle, and someone has thoughtfully marked the way with wee orange triangles and cut away the more annoying branches. It makes it somewhat easier but it is still steep and treacherous: a lot of the branches are rotten and the ground is pretty loose in places. I'm quite comfortable but I hope no-one follows the markers that isn't up to this type of travel.

On the way down I note an orange tent in a clearing on point 616 and wonder idly if there are hunters about. The markers drop me into the first wee saddle and a view down one of the eroded gullies towards the coast.

Typical south coast eroding gully -
headwaters of Corner Creek

There's a small bushy knob to negotiate in the saddle, and as I make way up a series of nearby rifle shots boom and echo around the steep gullies. I quickly work out that they are coming from the other side of the knob, so I'm not in the direct line of fire, but it's a little unnerving.

Letting out some loud whistles and checking that my orange cap is at its brightest angle I edge around the knob and cautiously check out the other side. The shots have stopped but I can't see anyone - not surprising - that's the general idea when hunting. However, a low whistle confirms that I've been seen so I make good pace to get along the ridge and out of the area, stopping for a couple of snaps on the way of course.

From the knob looking at the next section of ridge

The other side of the knob reveals another saddle with a sharply eroding top and some tricky little scrambles. One option is to straddle the knife edge and wriggle inelegantly along, but an orange marker indicates that some of the apparently crumbly face is a bit more stable than it appears.

Looking back at the knob with Mt Matthews behind

The other side of the scramble puts me on the ridge above the 616 spur, and I come across three hunters and a dog relaxing on the track. They are the owners of the tent and the shots. We chat for a bit.  They've come up one of the streams from the south coast, pinged some deer yesterday, and were just potting at some goats when I came through. They're a little surprised at the distance I'm planning to cover and, as always, I'm amazed by the weight they are carrying. Discussing their route out, I'm surprised that they intend to follow the streams, whereas I would stick to the ridges.

I leave them to it and head on through North Saddle. The markers continue for a while but then dive west into the gully. Probably dropping into Matthews Stream. After this point there is little indication that people come this way although they surely must.

Looking south from North Saddle

It's a bit of a grovel up out of the saddle with little indication that anything over three foot tall travels through the bush hereabouts. A goat trots away in front, in confirmation of the theory. To make it even more enjoyable, two of my favourite plants are in plentiful supply: bush lawyer and ongaonga.

It's quite tricky travel now - there is a mix of forest and scrub and it is frequently difficult to work out exactly where the ridge runs.

Making some progress - Papatahi in the distance
Probably from around 830

Looking south, Orongorongo River on right

The mixed scrub and forest is draining travel, the animal trails are often over loose or boggy ground and there are frequent low and rotten branches. Coming up to 819, I manage to drift off to the left a bit and pop out on the edge of a fairly startling scarp. It's a bit of work to get back up to the ridge, only to drift on to a knob off to the right of the main ridge. Taking a direct line back to the ridge sees me struggling through chest high scrub, at one point plunging one hand into a healthy nettle bush.

It's hard work getting around and down to the saddle past 819, where to my relief there is a small stream trickling out of the hill. This is taking longer, and is hotter, than expected.

In amongst the bush it is sometimes quite tricky to work out which steep sided ridge or spur is the one to head for, so it takes a little while to get to the final saddle. After starting up the final steep spur the bush opens, and there are spectacular views south along the tortuous ridge. There's a choice of thrashing up through impenetrable low bush or edging along a steep drop. I elect for clutching handfuls of grass whilst navigating up along the precipitous edge. The ground is dry, and the grip pretty good, so it's a question of being careful rather than scared.

Looking south from further along ...

and looking down

It seems to take a long time, but is about half an hour to work up the 200m into mature forest, and along the flat topped Papatahi, to eventually and inevitably stumble onto the Papatahi Track.

Been a while since seeing one of these

The top is a minute from where I hit the track. It's 4.25, almost five and three quarters hours after leaving Mt Matthews: that ridge was indeed tough! The weather is changing, but I take the time for a celebratory tin of sardines, before turning to the 700m  descent. At least there are no branches, nettles and brush lawyer to push through.

Top of Papatahi - and there goes the weather

Half an hour later I've dropped down the last of the steep scrambles into a stream bed, and topped up with water, before following it down to North Boulder Creek, then the Orongorongo River, on the way down disturbing a family of goats. The billy keeps a weather eye on me whilst letting the others go ahead.

I've been this way once before with Mike in the opposite direction. The river has a different character to the wide shingle bed down the valley. Upstream is the warning sign about entering the drinking water catchment, and downstream is the domain of huts, tracks and people.

Orongorongo River - up stream

There's no where to cross the river with dry feet, so I do the one boot hop again. Rather than follow down to the mouth of the Whakanui Stream, I pick a likely looking spur which turns out to have an old route up to the East Whakanui Track (with occasional tin markers). It's slow going, so it is 6.45 by the time I finally emerge on the track, 200m or so short of 502.

The track is well trodden - mainly for pest control by the look of it (traps and blue triangle markers apart from one section where they have left orange for some reason). On another day it would be quite a pleasurable amble, but it's been a long day now so I plod along and up into cloud and gathering gloom.

I'm quite interested to see what's at the top. I had tried to hit this track on an earlier visit to the area but discovered by accident an old and very well made trail that deposited me way off course behind locked gates in the water catchment. I'm keen not to repeat the experience.

At the top of the evocatively named 'spot height 800'
With stoat trap

It's 7.45 before the track tops out and turns firmly left with, to the right, a sign warning about the water catchment. That's pretty clear then - no danger of wandering off in the wrong direction. It's nice to know that the climbing is all done, but the cloud is piling in from the west and a raincoat is in order, followed not too long later by a head torch.

The track drops 200m into a saddle and is easy to follow. After climbing 100m I miss the Whakanui Track joining from the left, but manage to identify where the Nikau Creek Track drops off. I saw no signs and I note afterwards that, although marked on my map, it is not on the web topo map. I'm interested to follow this down, so as to complete the loop on a different track.

As I descend in the dark the sounds of Guy Fawkes and frightened dogs drift up from Wainuiomata and the massive booms rumble in the background from the Wellington display. The track is not as well traveled, and only sporadically marked, so there are quite a few points where a strategic retreat to the last identifiable marker or section of trail is necessary, in order to find the way forward. This is particularly problematic where there is the odd tree fall or a lot of leaf litter obliterating the foot pad. It is painstaking work but I'm not keen on trying to bush bash in this country in the pitch black.

It's the sort of situation where you pay attention and realise just how much you rely on visual clues and peripheral vision to maintain a sense of direction. The odd marker, glimpse of distant street lights, and the compass needle are the only things that can really be trusted.

It takes a long time to work down the spur. At last the sounds of water drift up from the creek and, after navigating a final tree fall, I'm crossing it to try and find a path on the other side. The track I find is wide and very well made. The last 10 minutes or so are much easier going on the flat without having to worry about branches in the face or dodgy footing. It spits me out in the car park at the end of Hine Road beside the Garden of Remembrance.

It's less than a kilometre under orange street lights to where the car waits. I am totally relieved to throw my pack into the unburnt car and head for home; near as dammit to 16 hours after setting out.

Post Script

This was a bit of a stretch for a day trip with a weekend pack. The Whakanui Tracks are both well worth doing and Mt Matthews is always a crowd-pleaser. The ridge from Matthews to Papatahi is not for the faint-hearted. Although initially marked, most of it doesn't seem to get much in the way of traffic and there are some quite steep, exposed and unstable sections. I ended up covered in bruises and scrapes from the tough scrub (legs particularly) along with numerous nettle stings and scratches to hands and face from bushlawyer.  Later in summer, water will be a concern, not to mention overheating. I probably shouldn't really have bashed up the spur to East Whakanui Track, as that part of the park doesn't really need people going off track too much. And, although taken carefully it was fine, I wouldn't recommend doing the stretch down to Nikau Creek for the first time in the dark.

A bit off track in the Orongorongos

The Remutaka range contains the populous highways and many huts of the mid Orongorongo valley, the bleak, eroded escarpments of the south coast, less traveled rugged ridges and deep cut streams running up to the rail trail and Remutaka hill in the north, and somewhere between, the rich protected forests of the water treatment catchment. Apart from the eastern parts towards Wainuiomata, there are relatively few marked tracks and plenty of scope to go off piste. 

What:    Solo navigation trip

Where:  Orongorongos

Why:     Practice navigation, explore some new ridges and travel the Whakanui track 

Map:     Link

The trip I have in mind this weekend is to skirt the edge of the water treatment catchment in the north, head down the ridge and over Orongorongo then drop and climb onto the Remutaka range to navigate to the Papatahi track then exit via the Whakanui track. Somewhat ambitious but there are a few plan Bs on the intention sheet that can be called up.

I had in mind that there was a track up through the bush from the back of Nae Nae somewhere to the 4WD track along the Eastern Hutt hills. The topo map shows one from Wilkie Crescent, so at 7.30am I leave the warm car and head between a couple of houses to what turns out to be a firebreak. 

The break climbs steadily and the valley floor opens behind with the sound of the suburbs waking up and a goods train drifting up. It turns out to be a firebreak that Eleanor and I explored on MTBs one summer in the late '80s when we checked out most of them along these hills. This break is particularly familiar, I spot the corner where I stopped and didn't get out of the toe clips fast enough; Eleanor only laughed a little bit as she fished me out of the blackberry patch. A bit further up is the steep section that, to her credit, Eleanor attempted to come down but ended up over the handlebars and a little dented.

About half an hour later on the ridge a left turn sees me following the solid 4WD track. A short distance along is the top of the track I had meant to take: a walking track from Rata Street.

Kodak photo stop - top of Rata Street track looking towards harbour
The locals clearly can't abide unmolested information boards 

It's cloudy and soon a cold drizzle sets in, but not quite enough to stop and get the coat out.  The track plods up to eventually give a view down a damp Stokes Valley before joining the ECNZ road.

I'll skip a few details here, suffice to say that there is a very long 2m high perimeter fence along a fair chunk of the catchment. It has possum traps at regular intervals and is well maintained with a good quality 4WD track along it. There is also a lot of pine, scrub, farmland and private property.

A magnificent fence

On one side is the fence and the mist shrouded valleys of prehistoric forest in the water catchment. On the other side, there is the orderly green of life style blocks and pines in Whitemans Valley. Land cover outside the fence is mainly farmland but there is also pine, scrub and private property.

 

At a bit before 10am the top of Devine is anything but. The track potters up and into a patch of bush and it's possible that it just misses the top but there didn't seem to be much of any note. A bit further along at 631 the fence is still there and it's over a kilometer further before it runs out at an unnamed knob above the watershed between the headwaters of the Orongorongo and Narrow Neck Stream.

Last views of Whitemans Valley

Mt somewhat Devine

I have noble intentions of avoiding the water catchment, so take a compass bearing and duck into the bush to follow the watershed down and up to the next ridge. Provided I stay on the outside of the watershed line I'm not in the catchment.  The Regional Council is quite justifiably proud of the catchment. It has been managed to control pests and is probably the best example of bush as it once was in the Wellington region. It is also part of a complicated water supply network encompassing bores in the Hutt, the catchments of the Wainui, Orongorongo and Hutt rivers and a complex distribution network. They periodically do tours into the catchment and it's worth signing up for one.

There's a bit of a ground trail but I quickly lose it and just follow a bearing. The terrain to the north drops steeply in to Narrow Neck Stream - keep out of there and my line is fine.  It's not too steep and before too long I'm climbing the other side with a slight trace of a trail and occasional bits of pink tape.

Spot height 730 is where I join the ridge line in dense forest. It's about 11.45 and there's a bit of ground trail which is relatively easy to follow when the ridge is narrow but when it broadens it's pretty easy to wander off line and there's little in the way of visual cues to find it again.

A southeaster is blowing damp cold air across the ridge and there's nothing to see but mist through the occasional break in the trees. At one point I drift off the ridge in the wrong place and have to extricate myself from a gully, wasting a fair bit of time. It is amazing how quickly you lose your sense of direction so a fair chunk of the time I wander along with compass in hand.

It's damp and mossy and through out the trip there is a lot of tree fall which frequently makes any ground trail hard to follow. It could be wishful thinking but it certainly feels like the bush is less browsed than in the Tararuas. There are a lot of indications of pest control, including V notch planks nailed diagonally on to trees in a number of places  - I assume to peel possums or some such thing.

What with wandering off track and stopping to add layers it is almost 2pm when I get to Orongorongo (the high point). Basically, it's claggy with nothing to see. It's low mossy bush and scrub with no view. At a few points it's easiest to crawl to move about. If there was a view it would be westward across the Orongorongo headwaters to a low ridge then a drop into the Wainuiomata East Branch, a row of ridges then Wainuiomata, Lower Hutt and the Harbour.  Maybe the windmills above Wellington and the Kaikouras beyond to the left. Or today ... mist.

It's still the edge of the water catchment at this point. I head on towards spot height 820 and then 805 where in theory I should drop off to the east over 589 to follow the catchment edge.  However the ground trail is stronger ahead and given the cold and short daylight hours now available it's safer to follow the ridge. Wairongomai Saddle will have to keep for another day.

The trail comes and goes but I manage to keep on the fading ridge, dropping eventually through untracked undergrowth to exit right on the junction between the Orongorongo River and the unnamed stream from Wairongomai Saddle.

Looking up Orongorongo River, the unnamed stream on the right.

It's 5pm, getting dim and I'm pretty tired. Heading up onto the Remutaka Range is out of the question now so I find a flat spot well away from the stream (it's part of the Wellington water supply after all) and set up my bivvy tent. The amount of fallen branches in this forest means a bit of care in choosing a site clear of aerial hazards.

Settling in for a comfy night ...

It gets dark quickly and I have the head torch on to finish setting up for the night. The intermittent drizzle has cleared and the southeaster is absent from the bottom of this wee valley. The light fades to dark and the world shrinks to the cramped quarters of the tent and a dehy meal for two. My feet slowly thaw and not long after 6.30 there's nothing for it but to turn in with the sound of the stream and the river drowning out the sounds of the bush. I had thought I might be lucky enough to hear a kiwi, but if there were any about they didn't wake me up.

The tent doesn't seem to get too damp from condensation and I have a gloriously long sleep. Just before 7 it's still dark at the bottom of the valley amidst tall trees but by the time I've broken camp it's light enough to head off about 7.40.

The original plan to head up onto the Remutaka Range and bash along the ridge to the Papatahi track and a steep descent to the Orongorongo River is not the smartest move as I'm pretty tired from yesterday and a day on the tops in weather like yesterday wouldn't be the best. I suspect the Council would prefer I didn't wade down the river (although the standard of treatment at the water plant is very high and would easily cope with my boots being rinsed in the river).

I decide to activate one of my contingency plans - to exit up a spur to the water supply access road. I choose a likely spur on the map and head off - to my surprise the spur has markers; not much ground trail to start with and a lot of tree fall on the lower slopes but the markers are frequent enough to keep on line and travel becomes easier further up.

The bush is varied and beautiful with some superb giants. Despite tired legs after yesterday it's only about 45 minutes up to the road which is wide and solidly built.

Water works access road - middle of nowhere

To cut a long story short, I navigate a route out of the catchment which turns out to be well used by pest control operators with an impressive number of rat and stoat traps.

It could be imagination but it seems that there is a lot more dead fall and undergrowth than in the Tararuas which makes the going a bit treacherous in places. The southerly starts in again so I'm happy enough to get to the high point on the ridge a bit before 1030, a nondescript knob amidst the trees and the point at which the track descends before climbing again but into somewhat improved weather, even vouchsafing views towards Wellington.

On the ridge

The high point - is tha' it then?

Wainuiomata and beyond

The cloud to the east has lifted and there's a few clearings so some good views across Wainuiomata and out to Wellington are revealed.

Same view, a little further along

There is a track I expect to meet when I leave the catchment area, and indeed I come across a wide, well benched track but not where it is marked on the map. However, it means I can relax and lope along with out worrying about navigation, footing or being poked in the face. The track is clearly very old and doesn't look very well used so I wonder what it was built for, in between contemplating the second mistake I'd found on topo maps recently.

With half an eye on the altimeter I gradually realise that the track has not climbed where it should have. Odd. The compass confirms I am on a slightly different heading than expected. Odder. Still it's going down into the right valley so let's see where it goes.

There are plenty of traps along the way with eggs held in a cradle of nails - clearly irresistible to stoats. The track sidles then drops and finally zigzags down a narrow ridge. I'm hoping I wont be popping out in the water catchment. Just before the bottom there is a sign identifying this as the "Pack Track" then the track ends abruptly at a non-descript gravel patch at the end of a side road.

Bottom of the Pack Track - not much to see.

To cut a long story short - I have come out in the catchment and now have the potentially embarrassing task of exiting past various gates, signs and buildings. I don't meet anyone so no lengthy explanations are required.

The final thing is to organise a pick up. There's no cell cover until the Coast Road where I discover that home command is asleep on the job so it ends up being a long 11km of road walking.

So ... ticks in the box for Orongorongo, circumnavigation of a large part of the catchment, navigation practice, another night in the Macpac bush cocoon ... not so successful in terms of avoiding the catchment itself, knocking off the Remutaka ridge to Papatahi, the Whakanui track and hearing kiwi.

Plenty of unfinished business for another trip or two.