MTC members Nigel, Tony, Sandra & Hugo switched the usual Sunday tramp to a Saturday, to get better weather. And it was definately worth it! We left the Putara road end at 10am, heading along the track beside the Mangatainoka Stream. The track wasn't too wet and boggy, and we made good time to the swing-bridge for a late morning tea. Hugo raced on ahead for the hill climb, the remaining 3 catching up with him at the sign junction. We then took the Roaring Stag track, stopping after approximately 30 minutes to start our off-track section heading west to the lake. After a bit of sidling, a bit of scrambling down a dry creek bed, we found a nice spur and followed this to Ruapae stream - finding the log bridge in view. We used the bridge as our start point to head further west to the lake, although didn't find any tape or markers to help us. After a slight detour onto a terrace, we headed more SW to a lovely area of crown fern and a view of the lake in the trees. Using a path to find a lunch spot, we got to the waters edge. The trip in took 4 hours. The noise of the frogs was very loud! After lunch and some photos we headed back through the trees to the log bridge and up the hill to rejoin the main track. We met quite a few trampers heading to Roaring Stag hut for the night. We got back to the road end in 3.5 hours, just as the drizzle was increasing.
