Waitangi Weekend Trip - Thursday 6 February 2014 to Sunday 9 February 2014 (4 days)

Summary: We had a group of 14 staying at ATC SnowSports Lodge for an extended Waitangi Weekend Thursday through Sunday. There is such a great variety of tramps in the area that we were all able to do things each day for our varying levels of fitness and interest, and then always grateful to return to the marvellous comfort of the Lodge when we were finished our trips for the day. Ruapehu in summer, is such a fine place to be.

Thursday Afternoon: Stanton Memorial

The Stanton Memorial is a small bronze plaque bolted to the north side a large rock up the Whakapapaiti Valley from the round the mountain track. It is a memorial to Warwick Stanton - an 18 year old university student who died after his party became lost in bad weather on a descent from Mt Ruapehu in August 1931. The walk to Stanton memorial is usually done as a cross country navigation exercise either from the Lodge or from the carpark where the Round the Mountain track leaves the Bruce Road. The weather was fine and clear so that made the navigation a lot easier. Ruapehu scenery is both very dramatic with big bluffs and sharp rocky bits but also intriguing with lots of tiny mosses, flowers and alpine flora. It seems negligent to walk over these things but we did anyway, tippy toes. There are a few cairns that supposedly mark the route but these are fairly haphazard and not reliable. There are also some tricky bits tp manoeuvre in order to avoid bluffs. Heading in a south west direction avoiding bluffs, crossing a gorgy Whakapapaiti tributary, climbing the other side and over the ridge we looked down on an area that held several large boulders that all looked candidates for a memorial. The largest of these boulders turned out to be the one we were looking for.

On the northern side is the plaque. On a beautiful sunny Ruapehu day we were reminded of white outs, snow and loss. A pleasant place to spend a sunny afternoon but a bleak place to die. Contemplation over, we found our way down to a creek further to the west and followed this out to the RTM track. Like all off track travel in the Park, not entirely straight forward but it is rewarding with powerful views up the mountain and out to the north. We were back in the Lodge in 5 hours after setting off. A pleasant tramp on a sunny day.

Trampers: Tony, Willi, Chris, Steve

Thursday Afternoon: Other Trips

Whakapapa to Taranaki Falls and return, with some of the party extending this through to the Lower Tama Lake.

Friday Trips: A climb up Ruapehu from the Lodge following and beyond the ski tows. The day’s target of Dome Shelter was not achieved because of rapidly deteriorating visibility, but some of the party reached the edge of the ice covered Summit Plateau.

The remainder of the group had an enjoyable tramp around the Whakapapaiti circuit, with a side trip at the end to Silica Rapids and from there across to the Bruce Rd.

While Chris stayed at The Lodge and did a complete stocktake.

Weather: Forecast not improving ...yet...

Saturday: Hauhungatahi

From the Lodge, looking in a northwest direction (toward National Park township)  you can see Hauhungatahi, a mound shaped hill. Its summit is at 1521 metres, lower than the elevation of the Lodge, so a definite little sister to Ruapehu but significant in being one of the highest volcanos in NZ only topped by Taranaki, Ruapehu and Tongarairo/ Ngauruhoe and is about 900,000 years old so deserves some regard. We parked at the end of Erua road next to the railway line. It was damp with a cloudy drizzle for most of the day. Hauhungatahi is a wilderness area so we assumed that there would be no track so we were looking for a way up to the chosen ridge following some brief directions. We walked along the service road next to the railway which blocked our line of sight to the start of the track which we missed and led to 30 minutes of bush bashing. Bush lawyer, large wind falls, dense scrub as we sought out the ridge. It looked easier on the map.

Happily we stumbled onto quite a rough track, then a good track, mostly marked, fairly clear, slippery and a bit of a scramble in places but much preferred to the bush bashing and going in the right direction. The old growth bush changed quickly as we gained height from lowland temperate rimu and kaihikatea to sub alpine and then alpine flora. Quite a few birds about too. It was still drizzling but we now had a track to follow. After an hour or so we reached the bush line and were further excited to find that there were some old poles going off in the direction of the summit. The poles were a bit irregular but accompanied a well trodden track. This made navigation far less complicated as we strode over the open tops to the summit.

Unfortunately we could not see much as it would have been spectacular. Occasionally it cleared a little to provide a taste of what it could be on a better day. We did not linger on the top...we did not linger anywhere!

A Hauhungatahi trip is well worth it on a fine day. It took us less than 5 hours, Erua - summit - Erua, and now we know the best starting point. This is marked by two posts on the east side of the railway just before you get to the cut embankment going south - best not to miss it!

Trampers: Tony, Willi, Chris

Saturday: Other Trips

The spectacular group - a cloud encased Tongariro Crossing into bracing horizontal rain - so enjoyable that they skipped their lunch break. Gareth, Jim, Karen

The historical society - exploring the Old Coach Rd from near Ohakune through to Horopito. Hazel, Anja, Erik, Natasha, Steve

Closer to home - Silica Rapids area. Liana and Ian

Sunday Morning: For some it was a romp from Scoria Flat carpark past Whakapapaiti Hut and out to the Mangahuia campsite - for others a tramp up the Mangahuia valley and back, and for others a time to take in the gorgeous sunshine on the way home (although the top of Hauhungatahi persisted in being cloud covered today as well). Some great tramping - and plenty for next time

Scribe: Chris Burnett

With: Anja and Erik Hammega, Gareth Facer, Hazel and Tony Walton (leader), Ian Wallace, Jim Catney, Karen and Glenn Tasker, Liana Meredith, Natasha Hulston, Steve Bayliss, Willi Williams