Bushcraft III

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BUSHCRAFT III We set out at 7.30 as usual with packs cloudy. However, on finishing lunch, dangling off the back of the bus and the someone pointed to a large grey object club songbook in our hands, for another bearing down upon us. It was a dirty bank weekend's tramping. This was the third of rain heading straight our way. Tripbushcraft weekend, a practical round- ping over everything and everyone, we up of the two previous instruction week- stuffed our packs just in time and with ends. parkas on, we headed off. Before arriving at Bannister hut, our Once at the top of Gentle Annie we bus experienced a little engine trouble, opened our next enevelope and found so we back-tracked to Upper Hutt and that we were to take a bearing of 210 lost about an hour in the process. Conse- deg. for a distance of 1200 yards. While quently we arrived at Bannister later Lyle and Bill were arguing as to where than usual and in the pouring rain. this would take us, Wayne and I sat Boy, was I glad the bus took us right down and had an argument about the to the door of the hut. Earlier we had Pythagaras' theorem. The bearing took been broken up into groups and I was us right to the Totara Flats turnoff signgrouped with Wayne Hobson, Lyle post, and on arrival we took off our Mason and Bill MacLeman, with Lyle packs and had a bite to eat. as our leader. Once in the hut we re- Shortly, Nick turned up, so we deceived our sealed orders-a great thick layed our departure by asking him if envelope with our first instructions he had ever been up Gentle Annie printed on the outside. We were to stay Creek? "No", he said "but I've been the night in the Bannister hut vicinity, down it." For the rest of that day we and after we had been convinced that just followed the track to Totara Flats the hut wasn't included in the vicinity hut. At last we reached the cage and (anyway it was already crowded), we upon entering the hut we found Paul slept out under the picnic shelter. We Green and several others waiting for us shared it with another group of four with a hot brew. That night we camped who had been told to go to Donnelly's out and after a standard stew and a bit Flats. It was a calm night apart from of a sing song around an open fire, we the rain and the cold, and to our great hit the sack. relief, Saturday morning dawned brightly. Sunday was a scorcher and instead of going up Totara Creek track, a couple By 8.30 we were dragged from our of us went up the creek itself, throwing pits and informed that we should be on off our packs and plunging into all the our way. Another party had gone up to good pools. Mountain House the previous night. On opening our next envelope we found Just before arriving at the saddle we that we had to go up Gentle Annie bumped into the only group unaccounted Creek. After 10 minutes on the Mountain for on the previous night, with none House track we realised we were going other than the renowned David Smith in the wrong direction. When travelling in it. His excuse was "Aw! Well ye see, in the right direction we found the ascent we got here and didn't know where to to Carrington Ridge getting gradually go, so we stayed here, ye see." harder. Once on top of the ridge it was From the saddle we had to bushbash noticed that the blue patches of sky our way to Carrington Ridge and on the were steadily becoming less and less way we mislaid I lb. of butter. "I think it until the weather finally broke into a is on an old tree stump with our names continual drizzle. scraped into it." Halfway up Gentle Annie we reached Once at Carrington it was easy going the forks so we took the northern one to Bannister, and on arrival we had a and soon arrived on a pinnacle which cold and short dip in the Atiwhakatu offered a really fantastic view of the Stream before the bus was due to arsurrounding area. After a bit of con- rive. sultation with maps and compasses we On the whole it turned out to a found we had taken the wrong fork in very enjoyable weekend and our thanks be the river so we decided to have lunch go to the organiser-Nick Jennings. now and walk later. By this time the rain had stopped but it was still partly Richard Fogel.