Trip Reports

A Wednesday walk was had out to the coast, to Honeycomb Rock at Glenburn. A twisty road to drive out, then pleasant 2hr walk along the foreshore. The early cloud soon disappeared and we had a warm sunny day with little wind, not always possible on the coast. The wind/sand erosion of the rock is always interesting to see. The local seal population were few in numbers, mostly young ones, so they soon went to sea and left us in peace. After lunch we had a brisk walk back to the vehicle, collecting a few mushrooms on the way.

This club trip went in at Reef hill and up to deep creek. This is where Carol and Margret left us to continue up to Cleft creek and back to the Car.
Ben Steve and Jason continued up deep creek all the way up to the 11th creek on the true right and picked the ridge to Blue Range hut. All the way up we were smelling the nice aroma of the Orchid Autumnalis. A nice lazy lunch at the hut in the shade then down to the carpark where Carol picked us up.

On Wednesday 17th Ten club members went down to have some river upskilling at Te Ore Ore. A great night enjoyed by all.

On a nice hot Wednesday everning in January 20th some club members went out on an everning bike ride around the back roads of Masterton and along the Walkway at the northen end of town. Water stops were had at other members places along the way.

On 12th to 14th Feb four club members spent a very hot weekend traveling from Putara road end to Upper Plain via Dundas and tarn ridge huts.

 

Our Sunday trip  was shortened, (it was to be a hot 32*C in Masterton), to go along Pinnacle ridge then down to Atiwhakatu Hut, before heading out to the car park. The bush was showing signs of the heat as well. It was an enjoyable walk non the less, the air being unusually clear giving good views. The team was Paul, Iain, Nigel and Sam (Iain’s German Short haired Pointer), who never stopped running!

On Wednesday 20th Jan the club held its first evening event at Henley Lake. The event was a chance to use a GPS and to navigate to different points around the park. It was a nice warm evening for a stroll around the park and locating different objects. Everyone had an enjoyable time and I am sure they all learnt something along the way.

Six members drove over the hill to join a Wellington Regional Council guided walk around the reasonably newly established Baring Head section of the East Harbour Regional Park Last weekend..

As we walked around we learnt of the early history of Maori settlement, New Zealand Company settlers, wartime observation posts, lighthouses, the air monitoring station and communication tower, and failed development attempts, finishing off with a beach walk. An interesting day in a new area where the weather can be very changeable, on a hot day in the Wairarapa we luckily had a reasonably cool day with a light breeze.

The first club tramp for 2016 was to the western side of the Tararua’s to start at the back of Levin at Poads road.
Two club members Nigel and Jason left Masterton of a Very wet and windy Friday afternoon to travel to pick up Ben from Tokomaru on our way to Poads road. The rain stopped as we got to Levin on our way. On arrival at poads road the cloud was low on the hills and a NW wind was blowing but was dry and very warm. We tramped into the south Ohau river area till we reached the old Ohau shelter site and decided to camp here as the river was up a little. A lovely night camped beside the river looking at all the glow worms. Next morning we were up early with a cuppa in bed before eating breakfast and breaking camp. We headed up the Ohau River which was only just above normal flow by now till we reached the North and South branches. We were to head up the north branch to North Ohau hut. The river was now a lot smaller but also was a couple of deeper pools to wade through which was a little cool on an early morning.
Morning tea was had at North Ohau Hut before heading up a very steep ridge at the back of the hut to reach the southern end of the camel back ridge. Some small views were had between the trees out to the sea over Levin and to the main Range of the Tararuas. A nice lunch spot at the top with no wind was a great place to rest after such a steep uphill section.
After lunch we headed off south to Girdlestone Saddle where we meet the Te Matawai and Mangahao track junction with Darling Falls Route.
Here we headed back west down into the Ohau river head waters and around the darling falls sidle track which has had a huge storm knock out a large amount of the trees along the narrow ridge which takes a bit longer to get along now. Once back into the river it was off to South Ohau Hut which was a welcome sight after 10 hours on the go.
A good night’s sleep plus sleep in then saw us head down the south Ohau river to the river junctions where we then retraced our foot steps to the car park. A great weekend was had by all three and didn’t even need our rain coats this weekend. As we left we once again hit the rain at Levin and all our was back home on and off. Ohau was the place to be this weekend.

 

The last club trip for 2015 went to Blue Range Hut on Wednesday 30th December. Four members of the club had a leisurely start to head up the hill to walk off some of the Christmas cheer that we had all been eating. A good pace was set as we headed along the flats but slowed somewhat once we started the climb. The Kakareki were chirping around us and we did manage to get a glimpse of one of them. A short stop at the top to take in the views before heading down to the hut. Two other trampers arrived while we were out on the front lawn having lunch. The weather was great no wind and lots of sun and views. After lunch it was a return trip to the cars at the bottom of the hill.