Malcolm Gunn

Return to the Tararuas

Posted by Malcolm Gunn on 4 July 2010 | 4 Comments

It has been a while since I had a full weekend in the Tararua Ranges - something like 18 years!  That's not to say I've not ventured in there, it's just that my more recent (if two decades can be called 'recent') forays into the leatherwood have been day trips rather than overnight excursions.  Old-time teaching colleague from Tawa College days Rex Bartholomew and I decided at his recent celebration of, as he puts it completing his 60th circumnavigation of the Sun, that it was time we headed back in to our old stamping ground.  There being no time like the present, we scuttled off at the first available weekend to see if it is as cold, wet and muddy as we remember it.  With a daunting weather forecast promising a foul Sunday, we headed into Otaki Forks on a frosty Friday night and settled in to Parawai Lodge.  Road-end huts have a universal lack of charm, and Parawai is no exception.  It is an interface between a mobile urban population and a wild place.  You can basically drive there and play out macho roles against the background of the hills without actually climbing a hill.  Parawai is then filthy, graffitied and a poor relation of its more remote counterparts, but it was home for the night,

Saturday morning saw a frost under seige from an early nor'wester that had clouds scudding across the sky.  Mist hung low in the Waitewaewae valley and the Sun struggled to get through the cloud as we climbed Misery to the bush edge.  With the only goal for the day being Field Hut, we had the full day to wander and take photos at leisure - what a treat!  The overcast conditions were perfect for forest photography.

Later as we sat outside the hut, evening cloud rolled in from the west leaving and by nightfall we were in thick fog. 

One of the joys of winter tramping is getting lots of sleep - a solid 12 hours of zzzs had us bright eyed and bushy tailed by morning.  First up was a scuttle up the ridge behind the hut to catch the early light streaming down from above the Main Range. 

Another excursion after breakfast to Table Top in bright sunshine and no wind was a real bonus before the walk out. 

This time the sun streamed in through the trees, lighting up patches of filmy ferns and kidney ferns on tree trunks.

By time we returned to Otaki Forks, it was warm and calm - a great end to a great weekend out.

More photos here