Labour Weekend Trip - Friday 25 October 2013 to Monday 28 October 2013 (4 days)

Terry negotiating the steep terrain.

Saturday: Saturday morning was a bit misty with promise of sunshine to come, which was a surprise after the rain and gales of Friday. It was to be a long day so we started off at 7:30. There were 9 in the group.Terry the leader was well prepared with topo maps, points marked up with a list of GPS co-ordinates, and track notes from a local tramper, all weather proofed in plastic laminate.

It was an easy walk to Te Waiti Hut in glorious sunshine with just enough river crossings to wet the socks. After a snack we set off in ernest, straight up the ridge to the west, climbing 350m before lunch. The track was in thick bush and fairly well marked with pink ribbons compliments of Dave White, a local legend who cut the track 3 years ago. Brent was in front most of the way, and adding Mike’s big tent didn’t slow him. Another 350m climb and we had made the helicopter pad with 360 views and one more push required for Lion Hill. The average gradient was 1:4 but it seemed like we were climbing a lot of 1:1. It was a tough 5hr climb for most of us but very rewarding to have made the top.

Heading down, a false ribbon lead us astray for a bit and we had to backtrack before we found the right way down. A steep 400m drop into the camp site at Lagoon Biv finished the day at 5:30, a 10hr tramp and an exhilarating effort on a beautiful day. The track down had been marked in reflector tape for those arriving after dark.

Mike outside Lagoon Biv.

Lagoon Biv was a small 2 bed hut obviously well cared for by the locals. We used the bench to cook out of the wind and Mike got himself a well earned mattress. We set camp in a wide flat grassed area and most turned in for an early night.

Sunday: Sunday was an easier day with an 8:30 start and a steep 300m climb back up to the saddle. It was a quick way to warm up in the morning. We followed along the ridge NW to pt.685 and dropped down West to the Tutaetoko Stream by 1:40. Half of the group voted to move on to shorten the next day but with Terry’s casting vote we stayed in a lovely shaded glade with more birdsong than I’ve heard for a while. Russell decided on a big camp fire by the stream helped by Tina’s firestarter. Drizzle had set in by 5:00 but we all stood in the rain around the fire until bed.

Brent and Ming

I was dreaming motorcycle gangs before I woke to listen to Tina chatting up a couple of locals who had driven up the river bed in the dark on 4WD quads. They were hoping to pot a deer in the morning but figured there would be none with us crashing around.

A dawn chorus woke me early Monday morning. It was fine again. We were due at the bus by 1:00. We allowed 2hrs for the 4k stretch in the river and 2hrs for the 8k stretch of 4WD track. We set off at 8:00 to allow a 1hr margin to pickup. While we were in the river we met two pig hunters in a ute with 5 dogs on the back. Each dog had a transmitter and the hand held GPS could track the 5 dogs and signal consistent barking. The river pace was right but managed the road bash at 6k/hr arriving at the pickup point at 11:20. We had lunch and as we were still too early we tramped the extra 5k back to the bus left at Te Waiti Stream ford finishing at 12:30.

Scribe: Dave Best

With: (From left) Russell Allen, Brent Rose, Vicky King, Ian Scoltock, Tina Jacques, Terry Chubb (Leader), Mike Champion, Ming Lo, and photo-taker Dave Best (inset).

Note: A GPS plot of the off-track section of this tramp has been attached.