Kaimananawas

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KAIMANANAWAS While in Auckland, a friend, John of the same character. The volume of Gregory, whom I had met a couple of water in the river is not great but the times in the South Island, suggested we length of the valley is almost 20 miles, go tramping in the Kaimanawas over taking about 8 hours to its head, which Anzac weekend. This appealed to me is only about 500 ft. above its mouth. as I had never been there before and We camped the night high up the it was a welcome relief from study. valley and as the following day dawned So Friday night John and I caught overcast with low cloud obscuring the the Wellington Express for Waiouru and tops, we decided to cross a low pass then by taxi for Access Road No. 15 about 100 ft. above the river on a broad off the Desert Road. Twenty minutes tussock plateau into the Waiotaka Valafter leaving the roadend we entered ley. The Waiotaka is a much narrower the mouth of the Tongariro River. The valley, similar to many in the Tararuas, contrast between the Desert Plateau and and it drops steadily in a series of steps the valley was very pronounced from through a number of easy gorges to sparse tussock to lush beech forest. emerge just north of Turangi. After minutes up the valley, the river Travelling was mostly by way of clear changes its name from the Tongariro shallow pools with some waterfalls. On to the Waikato and the Waipakihi. From three separate occasions we encountered the forks the valley swings northwards stags which gave away their positions running approximately parallel to the by bellowing and we managed to hold Desert Road with a Middle Range to the their attention for a while by roaring east and a range to the west. I was im- back at them. The degree of success of mediately struck by the beauty of the our imitations was evident when I spotsurroundings, the long, almost flat val- ted a spiker about 150 yards down the ley with the river meandering in a series river. Upon roaring at it, it immediately of shallow pools. Dense beech forest trotted up to within 20 yards from us rises from the valley floor, slowly at to investigate, and only discovered its first and then very steeply to the bush mistake when John tried to photograph line, then tussock higher to the flat, him. It also proved a point that deer almost rounded peaks of the Middle are colour blind as I was wearing a Range, extending to a height of more bright yellow parka at the time. It's than 5500 ft. Here and there major times like this when deer would have spurs off this range descend sharply little chance of escape if we had had a over spikey peaks and bluffs before rifle. reaching the valley. We camped part way down the gorge I was interested to note the effect of that night on a shingle ledge above the the Taupo-pumice showers that covered river. Later that evening we were disthe range a short while ago. The de- turbed slightly by a downpour which nuding process has stripped most of the meant a drainage channel through the material from higher up the range leav- tent was needed. The following morning ing a jumbled heap of interlocking spurs was clear but cool. Upon leaving the and mounds of bush covered pumice, gorge we headed up on to a ridge a few occasionally washed clear in vertical hundred feet above the river leading cliffs by the river. The action is not as directly on to an old logging road leadfast as it might appear, as the river bed ing to Hautu Prison Farm. We managed is not of volcanic material but of grey- to hail a passing tractor driven by an wacke which forms the main North inmate and two of his co-workers. They Island ranges. drove us to within a mile of the Turangi bridge and hence to the main road. Travelling up. the valley we were I consider the trip well worth the treated to occasional choruses of roar- effort, and pleasant easy country with ing stags bellowing to each other. In many alternative routes are its chief most respects the valley reminded me virtues. of the Travers Valley in Nelson, not quite as big or wide, but retaining much -Kelly Yip