GoogleEarth Map – Page 2 – Returning to Te Ika-a-Māui

33. Waiaua Gorge – Kahui (AMC 3)

Wednesday, March 13: Storm with rain overnight, less rain @ around 7:00, until quite a rainy period from 11:00 – 15:00

Tramping: 6.4 km

Kahui Hut (Doc, $5)

The hut hadn’t really cooled down that much during the night, although the fire had soon been reduced to embers. I was up @ 7:00 and was packed ready to go soon after 8:15. It was going to be a rain-prepared day so I had the raincoat on, camera in the pack, GPS in a plastic bag, and I would have put the two bob watch in a plastic bag as well, but inserting it pushed two buttons at once which reset the time to the zero hour. This had to be rectified before continuing, so the camera had to be taken out again to find the time. Tripod was carried breastwise, the two crox were tied to the front strap extensions and the pack was put under wraps. Read more…

32. Lake Dive – Waiaua Gorge (AMC 2)

Tuesday, March 12: Clear skies overnight with mixed cloud returning during the day

Tramping: 9.3 km

Waiaua Gorge Hut (Doc, $15)

Venus was very low as the morning star, and the sunrise was almost photographable. When I had my stuff together I took off for the lake to take photos of the reflections of Fantham’s Peak. Quite a day for photos today – at least while I was walking – as the sun shone through a little.

Took the climb at a very measured pace (was still sweating) and was surprised to be at the turnoff after just an hour. A ten-minute break was necessary here before I took off around the mountain. Fairly easy to begin with, then the ravines became more and more daunting and difficult to cross. Got some good photos anyway. This took a good two hours, and the final part was around the base of some basaltic flutes, just like Madeira, but somewhat drier. The track, however, was shot to bits, and care was required. After a while I could see where the route went down a ridge and decided on lunch in the sun on the ridge at just after 12:00. Read more…

31. North Egmont – Lake Dive (AMC 1)

Monday, March 11: Lovely sunrise, followed by variable cloud

Tramping: 17.0 km

Lake Dive Hut (Doc, $15)

Day for a 6:00 start. I had knocked over a glass of water on the night stand reaching for the bed lamp and that corner of the room was a little wet. Apart from that breakfast proceeded apace and I even got to wash the dishes (although I left them on the rack to dry) and had the remaining stuff in the suitcase or the pack and was ready to go @ 6:45.

My shuttle was on time and agreed with me that clockwise was the way to go. He also suggested aiming for Lake Dive as the first stop. On the way up the mountain there is a second car park with a shuttle service. Apparently things are starting to get crowded here as well in the summer, particularly because overnight stays are also allowed in the upper car park at the Visitor Center. Shortly after 7:30 we were at the top. There was a man in hiviz with a radio obviously talking to the car park further down the mountain, because today might also be busy as it is Taranaki Day, a local holiday. Read more…

26. Pipiriki – Whanganui (Mail run)

Wednesday, March 6: Cloudy the whole day with a little sun shining though occasionally and a sprinkle or two of rain

Brennagh’s/Dave’s

Sleep was unusually fragmented – I managed to fall asleep fairly quickly (what a difference a bed makes) but awoke from about 12:30 for an hour and a half before sleeping through to 7:00.

The one guy with the very compact tent had it packed away in next to no time and was a Tasmanian on the Te Araroa (south to north) and was going via the road (in lieu of a jetboat) to National Park. Also spoke to a British couple with daughter at breakfast, who were also going kayaking together with the older American woman (jetboat up, kayak/canoe back). As for my breakfast the egg was the last thing over that I wanted to eat (muesli bars excluded for the time being) and there was enough coffee for one cup. The last remaining yoghurt in the fridge had been opened and had started to sprout a fungus so that had to be thrown away. Read more…

25. Ngapurua – Puketotara – Tieke Kainga (TMM 5) – Pipiriki (Jetboat)

Tuesday, March 5: Cloud and fog to begin with becoming hot & sunny

Tramping: 11.8 km

Whanganui River Adventures, Pipiriki Campground 2522 Pipiriki Raetihi Road, Pipiriki 4576 (shared cabin, $25)

Sleep was very interrupted last night; the camera switched itself off when the battery was low and I hauled it inside; even so it took a while to get to sleep.

But I was up pretty much on the dot of 7:00, and everything packed away quickly so that I could get on the go by 8:40. Tried capturing the kilometre posts and I knew I was doing about 4 km/h. The crash site of a Vampire jet plane which remained lost for many a year was passed. The Caves were well signed and I thought that a detour would be admissible, and saw and photographed one cave with stalactites. Track condition was variable, but there were a few more markers today. One big new slip even had danger signs on it and was taped off, but by this time no more kilometre posts could be found. Read more…

24. Omaru – Ngapurua (TMM 4)

Monday, March 4: Hot & sunny

Tramping: 20.4 km

Ngapurua Hut (Doc, $15)

Couldn’t seem to get much sleep last night, and the sleeping bag was always too warm – even after it got down to about 10° I was still outside the bag and only got in because it was beginning to feel a bit cold. Must have had a lot of heat to dump.

Accordingly I was up a little later @ 7:30, but soon had had breakfast and everything was packed away: The volume is slowly but surely decreasing. I was ready to go by 9:30 and set an aim of 11:30 to do the Mt Humphries summit. There was a further route signposted along the way but it is no longer on any map. Got to the turnoff just a little late, had a break of a single muesli bar and then pushed on to the next hut (Pouri) for a lunch break proper and was rewarded by a spectacular panorama of the central volcanoes which I shot as a fivefold ±⅓ bracketed pan with pol filter. The view of Ruapehu was astonishing. Then it was back on the track. Read more…

23. Puteore – Omaru (TMM 3)

Sunday, March 3: Fine & sunny

Tramping: 19.7 km

Omaru Hut (Doc, $15)

I was feeling better when I woke up @ 7:30, and was able to hold down a breakfast of two eggs, salami, crackers with butter, coffee, and packed up leisurely. The night had not been so cold because this was a modern hut with a door that not only closed but also sealed, and possibly some insulation as well. Before leaving at around 9:30 I checked to see where I had missed the path yesterday: The track (in reverse) goes down to the clearing where someone had tried incinerating a sleeping bag, and where I lost the path yesterday. I would only have had to look up.

Then it was onto the track. Today’s variation was a kind of donkey track along the contour lines and that went well until about the third westward section where the signs were lost for a while. I was not optimistic about proceeding, but eventually found a sign, and the track had surreptitiously changed mountain sides. A little further on I thought I had reached a larger clearing, but the going here was also tough. Came through again, but appear to have lost quite a bit of time finding the track. Read more…

22. Trains – Puteore (TMM 2)

Saturday, March 2: Sunny throughout, one or two low clouds

Tramping: 18.4 km

Puteore Hut (Doc, $10)

Around midnight I woke to what I thought were human voices. Didn’t think that the track was getting to me that quickly, not that I was dreaming. Got up to see what was up, and two young hunters, Lars and Jason had arrived and, seeing my boots hung up at the entrance, were having a drink before deciding on further action.

I ushered them into the hut, pushed all of my gear aside to make room for them, and they dumped their sleeping bags on the upper deck and asked whether they could bring their weapons in, unloaded, of course. With that out of the way, there was also a 24 pack of some RTD plonked on the table, the partaking of which I negated. They had started from the road end at around 7:00 and done most of the track in the dark, with Jason unable to use his headlamp because it had been switched on accidentally in their car and the batteries had run out. With those formalities out of the way we all retired to bed and slept. Read more…

21. Waitotara Road End – Trains Hut (TMM 1)

Friday, March 1: A bit cold to begin with but soon becoming warm & sunny

Tramping: 13.2 km

Trains Hut (Doc, $10)

Sleep was very intermittent last night and I was up way before 7:30. The proximity to the highway was not helpful. Anyhow I had plenty of time for breakfast (cereal, toast, coffee, and two cans of L&P in the fridge), took out some rubbish, packed my stuff together (hopefully a little better this time) and just after 9:15 went outside to await my chauffeur.

He – Dave – was there pretty much on the dot of 9:30. Among other things he had been a fire investigator with the voluntary fire brigade, which, of course, was right up my skeptical alley. And Howard had been right: He was the guy with the “golf carts on rails,” which I could make no sense of yesterday evening. Read more…

16. Mangaturuturu – Wanganui Corner (RMT 4) – Ohakune – Whanganui

Sunday, February 24: Rain overnight, snow on the mountain, clearing to partly cloudy, one hail and rainstorm, otherwise in Whanganui overcast & wet

Tramping: 3.2 km

Dave’s/Brennagh’s (airbnb, $81.3)

We all slept in past 7:00 this morning and I was in no hurry at all, so I let the others pack and leave towards Whakapapa. A bit of sun shone on the new snow on the mountain, and otherwise the day looked promising.

With the others out of the way, I tried to organise my pack a bit better, and when all was in, I swept out the hut. There are pictures on the walls documenting the hut’s construction in the late 50s, and since then one fairly open and bright annex has been added, as well as solar panels and LED lights for the evenings. Read more…