Girls Only

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.

GIRLS ONLY When Julian Pemberton heard what No sign of the others. Four boys we we going to do, he immediately started met said they hadn't passed anyone going to try and persuade us not to go. We the other way, so we trotted round to told him we were quite competent and the tarn off Atkinson and collapsed and Paul handed us a compass (which we said that only mad dogs and Englishmen didn't have to use) and said he was look- go out in the midday sun. Apparently ing forward to an extra day in the hills, these boys said something rather nasty and it would be twice as good as they about us to the others, but they wouldn't would know where to look for us. We tell us what it was. They arrived in dribs promised Julian that if we had to drop and drabs and as they had stopped to off the ridge we would go left into the have lunch at Alpha they didn't linger Waiotauru, and screaming goodbye and and wandered off again. We packed up telling ourselves to relax, we settled and followed. down in the back seat of the taxi, only Deciding against sleeping on top of to sit bolt upright when we remembered Hector because of the cloud starting to that we didn't have any matches. These roll in, we finally made Vossler at about we acquired while the driver was re- 6.30. Twenty Otaki College kids, so we fuelling in readiness for the trip into beat a hasty retreat to the top of the Cloustonville, which was reached at 9 mound overlooking the hut and watched o'clock. a most glorious sunset until about 8.00. By 12.00 on the dot we were in Renata We both agreed that we had never felt after spending some time getting changed more contented or pleased and if we had at the mill. We went up the creek and to give up tramping we wouldn't mind didn't get lost at all. There was nobody as we felt that we had achieved somein Renata and we froze, that's when we thing worthwhile. really missed the boys, they do keep the Steak and apples followed by bed and hut warm. Excitement plus cold stopped an hour of telling the little brats to shut us from sleeping very well, but we were up, which they did, finally, and sO to up bright and early, got a fire going, using sleep, only to be woken up twice. At three of our matches, and sat outside in 11.30 and again at 3.05 by some Varsity the sun eating our porridge and apricots bods. and looking at the snow on Hector, or At 4.30 all the little woke patches of it. and when asked why so boys early, they up, ex- The pull to Renata A was the plained that they all lived on farms and worst bit of the whole trip, we thought, were used to waking up at that time to and from there Elder looked absolutely milk the cows. miles and Aston was just beyond our Anyway they were all out of the hut reach. The view from Renata A was the by 8.00 and we went back to sleep for a best we had all day and it hadn't started few hours until various bods started to mist over then, not mist but a sort of wandering in and we decided it was time a heat haze. Ruapehu, Egmont, Tappy, to get out. and Somes Island. We had breakfast and lunch (brunch) Getting to Elder didn't take all that at Fields and then started the journey long and as a special surprise to us we down, and down and down. We finally discovered a culler's food drop on top got to Roaring Meg where the last remplus some materials for building a bivvv. nants of the Renata-Elder Ridge were Thirst beat down any thoughts of steal- washed off and we walked up to the car ing as we opened a tin of peas. We said park to wait for our transport. Hank to each other "I don't feel guilty one waltzed in with twin kids which provided bit". some auusement and when we let them Aston, ugh! Or that's what we thought go they wouldn't. as we looked at it from Elder. But as We don't remember much of the usually happens when you are expect- journey home, we were asleep, dreaming ing the worst, it wasn't all that bad and of more "girls only" trips. They are in no time we were on top, after drink- superior, for a while, but we realised ing out of various horrible things on that we do need the boys, if only for the way, including a footprint. We also things like matches and tin openers and saw two deer. sharp knives. -SHONA BAKER.