Trip report by Anne Dudley
Trip dated: Friday 22 - Monday 25 October 2004
We
awoke to a fine day at the Renfrew Road end, east of Mangaweka, looking up
into the lightly snow covered Ruahines.
After a yummy shared breakfast we headed off up to climb Maungahuia Peak in
the
Whanahuia Range. The DOC office had informed us that the track to Rangiwahia
Hut was impassable due to a large slip, so we used Dead Man’s track. It
had
recently been cleared, had a good gradient and was poled above the bush line,
so it was excellent. On top of that the weather was fine and the views just
got
better the higher we climbed.
After a brew part way up and early lunch in a sheltered hollow in the tussock,
we enjoyed magnificent views from the summit of Mangahuia. Snow- plastered
Mitre Peak in the Northern Tararuas, the whole Oroua River valley, Te Hekenga
peak, the whole Ngamoko Range and Ruapehu.
A few minutes further on, Dianna and Ken left us to head down to Rangiwahia
hut. The rest of the party continued north along the tops and then followed
the
poled route east and down into the Oroua river and Triangle hut. We passed fine
stands of mountain cedar on the way.
A few of us slept in tents, the others in the beautifully maintained 6 bunk
hut, which had a good supply of dry wood.
It rained during the night and the stream was up a few centimetres in the
morning, so we left as early as possible for the downriver section towards
Irongates hut. This took us over 5 hours and some crossings were quite deep
but
generally the river is reasonable travel. We were thrilled to see one blue duck
(and one deer). At Irongates hut we had a late lunch and enjoyed a restful
afternoon playing cards as the rain became more steady and the river rose a
bit
more. The 7-10 bunk hut was again very comfortable, with an excellent stove
and
dry wood supply which we easily replenished in the morning. There are a lot
of
dead trees around, perhaps a legacy of the gigantic storm in February.
By morning the river was discoloured and we chose to follow the all weather
track down the true left bank to Heritage Lodge. We had some concern about
possible difficulty crossing the Tunupo Stream about half way out, but as the
rain faded away and the sun shone, we relaxed. Crossing it was no problem. We
met Ken and Dianna near the lodge and enjoyed lunch together in perfect
conditions before heading out and home. Thanks for the great company everyone!
PARTY:
Ken and Dianna Parris
Fons and Judy Niewendyk
Bill Fletcher
Sarah Hart
Sharon Osman
Joan Davis
Kjell Bruu
Paul Millar
Sarah Kelly
Mike Clark