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.

The idea was that old golf carts from the USA could have their wheels converted to fit on the defunct rail line from Stratford to Taumarunui. I must say I was rather taken by the idea, with all those bridges and tunnels. Anyhow he had also seen his share of the world and as we chatted away we were soon at the road end at 11:00. He wanted a picture of me (“last seen alive”) and then I asked for how the track goes – the first 100 m are barely a trace, but after that the first hour was along a well-formed farming road. I was off.

Slide Show

The only thing about my pack that was giving worry was that the steel frame was no longer under tension (perhaps due to the heavy packing?), but the shoulder straps appear to be holding. Along the farming route I seemed to be chasing a herd of cows and their offspring until we reached something that looked like a proper meadow where the path heads north. There was one swing bridge which seems to have been superseded by a more conventional one, and then the farm track leaves to the left and the Trains Track becomes more and more adventurous, although the track can always be followed despite a certain lack of orange triangles. In any case, the track goes high above the river, offering nice vantage points along the way.

Just before 1:00 I stopped for lunch of muesli bars and water, and was then soon at the first of two remaining swing bridges, and as I had read the map during the lunch break I knew that the second one would be about ⅓ of the remaining path for today. I then reached the second bridge after half an hour and could see that I would be at the hut just after 2:30. I was also able to follow the changes in track direction and see where the main tributary Omaru Stream enters the river, and shortly after that the Terereohaupa Falls, the swing bridge to tomorrow’s route, and the hut itself.

The only question that I had was whether I might continue to the next hut, but I had set a time limit for extending today’s walk for arriving at the hut before 2:30, and that was about the time I passed the waterfalls. Tahupo Hut is signed @ five hours as is the road end, but I had only taken 3½.

Interactive Map

Today I had a bit of time to search for everything I first needed, and then to go back down the track for a photo session at the falls. I now have option set #2 for landscape timelapses of 500 pictures, but that was generally too much time to wait. Not sure if it will actually count the continuous shots correctly. In any case there also needs to be an option set #3 for sunset/sunrise with long exposures/high ISO, and infinite shots. Sunset tonight won’t just cut it, but perhaps some stars.

The hut here is quite neat. Last visitors were a couple of days ago, and then two weeks before that. Looks like Dave might be right with having the Matemateaonga to myself (and the rest of this track as well). Hut was (and is) very warm and I have tried to cool it down a little (not so much success) and let out a few flies (apparently more success). Not many sandflies here, but wasps galore.

Dinner was rice, beef instant noodles and the new peas which were added with 200 mL of water to the rice which had boiled for five minutes and that was brought back to boil & kept hot for eight minutes, after which 100 mL of water was added together with the instant noodles. Worked out fine. (Plenty of swordgrass seeds, thistle seeds and other botanicals had to be removed from the clothing today.)