Snowy River

Machine-read text (unproofread)

Read from the scans by software, so it contains mistakes. Typing it up properly would help blind readers: use Suggest an edit.

SNOWY RIVER 16th-18th November Late on Friday night a large party a kid, perched precariously on a large of Tongue and Meats were deposited on boulder, but the deer we saw were much the road about two miles from Otaki more wary, still, however, providing per- Forks. After sorting out torches, bat- fect shots if we had had a rifle. teries, etc., we set off up the road at a brisk pace and soon arrived at the Around 4 o'clock, we stopped for a cottage, where we were set upon by rest and were soon joined by John hordes of evil man-eating sandflies. Patchett and several others from the main party, which had come down from Here the party split up, five of us the saddle before Hector and had been going on to Fields while the rest spent following us for some time. the night at the cottage. The slog up to Fields was most unenjoyable, stumb- A short way further down the river ling over tree roots and through mud Henk ran down an abandoned kid and puddles, while peering myopically into carried it slung round his neck to the the inky void ahead as torch batteries spot where we decided to camp, anticifailed. pating fresh goatison for breakfast on Sunday. although Margaret and Kate Eventually we reached the hut to find seemed to have other ideas. it already occupied by several Hutt Valley's, and settled in to be joined after As everyone arrived, tents were midnight by a crowd of Tararuas who pitched and various meals cooked and quickly disappeared upstairs and soon eaten, after which all gathered round the added to the general cacaphony of fire for a while before retiring to their snores. pits. The following day, our "United Sunday dawned bright and sunny, and Nations" group, comprising Belgian, the party was soon straggling down the Dutch and Swiss, all of whom spoke Waiotauru, leaving Henk's kid wander- German, and one solitary Kiwi, left ing bewilderedly round the camp site fairly early hoping that the others would after a last minute reprieve when it was catch us up somewhere in the Snowy. found that there wasn't much meat on Except for occasional patches of mist, him. He is probably still there, sufferthe weather was perfect on the way up ing from an acute inferiority complex. to Kime, and the sun beat down mercilessly out of a blue cloud flecked sky. We reached the cottage at 2.30 and there met the other Club party, which At Kime we stopped for a welcome had been up to the Waiotauru Forks. brew (Mit Zitronnen) before going on From there, some of us went down the to where we would drop down to the river to where the truck was to pick us Snowy. The original intention had been up, while the others followed down the to use the spur going off before Aston, road some time later. but after staggering up on to Hector, listening with approval to Alfred telling The walk down the gorge and a swim us how he climbed the Junfrau in a train in one of the larger pools made an enthe prospect of lunch and another brew joyable end to the trip, although moans by the stream far below lured us down of agony were occasionally heard as from the first beehive. We reached the someone experienced the exquisite torstream at about 12 o'clock sliding down ment of pulling a pack off sunburned a slip for the last 100 feet, and after shoulders or pushing through the lunch and an hours' salube we set off bracken fern as we climbed up to the downwards. road. The stream proved quite pleasant, Here we were joined by the remainder with no difficult pieces and quite a few of the two parties as well as several animals running around. At one stage ragged and starving Hutt Valley's who we got within two yards of a goat and bludged most of our remaining food and ate it voraciously; a disgusting yet Those on the trip were: Norm. somehow fascinating spectacle. A brew Clarkson (leader), Kate Brady, Margaret was put on, but repeated applications Webb, Norm. Whiteside, Bruce Jefferies, of water (although hot) did not seem to John Patchett, Eugene Sieler, Arthur help the primus and so we eventually van Resseghem, Alfred Menninga, piled brewless in the truck to be Nicky Parkinson, Geoff. Aitken, Henk transported back to Wellington after a Bertholet, Paul Green, Gary Lund, very enjoyable weekend in the hills. Alan Higgins, Kelly Yip, Murray -MURRAY HALL. Hail. *