Labour Weekend Trip - Friday 20 October 2006 to Monday 23 October 2006 (4 days)

A to Z of Plans

Plan A: Beach walk around Spirits Bay/Cape Reinga, but the leader was told it was a flat, boring trip and to organise something more interesting.

Plan B: Waiotemarama, Waima, Waioku in two days but DOC says this trip is too long and hard - change start and lengthen time.

Plan C: Six Foot Track to Tutamoe via Waima and Waioku in three days, plus an easy/medium option of day walks from the bus. This was the published trip, being a through trip heading east and then south. Crisis on Friday night at 5pm: second driver and easy/med party leader pulled out. No-one now to drive Big Blue around to Tutamoe.

Plan D: Cancel trip? Not fair to rest of party.

Plan E: Driver, with escort, to park tandem bicycle at Tutamoe. Once out, cycle 60km round to pick up bus. Long way after big tramp. But wait...

But wait...

Plan F: Auckland Catholic Tramping Club has a trip in the area too. Emergency help call successful and they agree to drop us off at start. Tandem riders in particular very grateful.

ACTC bus left garage 30 minutes earlier than us. Superb instructions by navigator ensures our bus correctly heads north over the Harbour Bridge, instead of south, as usual. We have arranged to meet at Tutamoe and park up for the night.

ATC bus arrives at 11.30pm and drives further up the road looking for ACTC bus, continuing about 2km up a roughish farm road. Stop at a farm gate. No other bus. It is decided to park and look for the others next morning. Unnamed male (UNM) assists lady driver at this point. Big Blue ends up askew, in other words, stuck in the mud on a lean. Driver unimpressed with UNM and insists the whole party does a practice winch drill after midnight and in the mud. A great winching system and very successful but a rather late bed-time for all. Next morning, lady driver had the unenviable job of backing bus down the farm road. UNM finds difficult but possible turning point and with second use of winch (this time less mud and in daylight), marshals bus around for smooth drive out. UNM redeems himself with driver and rest of party.

Big Blue being winched & pushed. (Photo: Amy Chang)

Down the road, we find ACTC on the side of the road, having breakfast and wondering where we are. They took the ‘scenic’ route to Tutamoe. You can read between the lines on that one, too.

We pile into their beautiful, new, clean bus to be dropped off at Mountain Rd. One ATC passenger was rather bus sick and threatening to ‘unclean’ the nice new interior. Finally, the start of the track along regenerating farm-land and climbing the highest peak in Northland, Te Raupua (781m). Not a particularly impressive mountain. No views and a very boggy track. We tramped 7½ hours to campsite at Taita Bridle Path Junction. The suggested good water source turned out to be a series of muddy puddles. Two of the party find their gas attachment is incompatible with their canister and are unexpectedly nice to the rest of the party while they scrounge fuel.

We were underway 8.30am Sunday and tramped steadily through very boggy terrain with quite a few windfalls. This part of Northland is very, very wet. The Waima finally connected with the Waioku Coach Rd which is comparatively easy going. Honeymoon Farm has a good stream of clear water and we happily rid ourselves of the brown sludge of the previous day. The dilapidated hut at Honeymoon Farm (two rotten single bunks) stank of dead animal and could not be recommended as the ideal honeymoon location.

The road was very easy from this point and a splinter group of five actioned Plan G, which was to tramp straight through to the bus instead of a second night camping out in the wet. It was 22 kms in 9 hours for them, while the remaining three actioned Plan H, tenting for another night and out early Monday morning. A quick trip to Trounson Kauri Forest then an uneventful drive home (slow at Orewa) with all passengers ensuring driver knew to go south to Auckland.

Big Brown turned back into Big Blue once hosed off at the garage.

An enormous thanks to the Auckland Catholic Tramping Club for getting us to the start of our (wet, muddy) tramp.

Scribe: Carol Exton

With: Max, Donald, Margaret, Graeme, Simon, Philippa, Claudia. Ron and Amy (easy party) stayed in the bus and did day walks.