Anzac Escapades

This text was read by OCR from a scanned newsletter and has not been proofread yet, so expect odd characters and mistakes.

Anzac Weekend '86 gaw six friends on the bus to the Tongariro : National. Park, for some fun and laughter with a touch of tramping thrown in for- variety. We eventually decided by concensus to start fom the Chateau, and were deposited en masse at Whakapapa village somewhere around midnight, By the time we had put up our : tents and performed various essential bodily functions, we were able to get a good view of the eclipse before hitting the pit. Fiona, (alias Veronicà) gave us her predictions on the weather a front and: we. began the examination of the insides of the eyelids. with hopeful expectations.of.the next day's atmospheric conditions. We awoke Friday morning to a clear, calm day, the confidence in our Weather-girl restored. Masquerading as trampers, we set out at 8 am. for Mangetepopo Hut. Geoff (better known as Goff) kept : us entertained with his "flying" impressions along the way and we arrived at the Hut for morning tea. Continuing on. our way, progress was halted only for the occasional blister stop, p osed photo, and drink from a decidedly tinny-tasting stream.. The saddle was reached in time for lunch, and during the next 30 minutes we modified our trip plan to exclude the proposed climb up Mt. Ngauruhoe as the mountain swiftly became enshrouded by cloud. A stroll across South Crater saw several of the party competing with the sulphur smells in the area. Red Crater provided an interesting diversion,and we caught fleeting glimpses of Blue Lake through the clag on our way down past the Emerald Lakes. Following the track down through the lunar-type landscape, we watched with horror as Fiona threw herself at an unsuspecting Park Rànger and his wife; we found out with relief that they wereian fact her uncle and aunt. We were beginning to think that the altitiude wes really getting to her! After a jovial conversation we were once again blatting along the track, arriving at Oturere Hut to find the Medium trip already settled in. Pitching our tents some distance from the hut, we relaxed before dinner, admiring the view out to the Kaimanawas on the horizon. Geoff put us all to shame as he disappeared down to the Oturere Stream for a bath - we thought he was going to soak his bean sprouts! Dinner consisted of a delicious but potentially explosive curry and rice, and the usual crass tales before retiring. to our pits around 8 pm. The wind gusts erupting within the tents, provided stiff competition for the more natural force, buffeting the outsides of the tents. The wind and rain caused some concern in the early hours of Saturday morning when our tents began to resemble portable paddling pools!

One look at the weather on Saturday and the decision to "blob" for much of the day, was favourably and unanimously reached, We observed wit thout envy, the Medium party setting out in the wind and rain for Mangatepopo around 8 am, then settled ourselves down for some pit-bashing and storytelling. An attempt to lighten cur packs by devouring the edible contents left us resembling the way we felt - blobs. We decided that some form of activity could be appropriate since the time was approaching 2 pm. A stroli for just on an hour and a half brought us to Waiohonu Hut, where we delighted in giving the occupants a nasty shock by announcing that we had a party of 35 school kids with us. We laughed our way down to a choice campsite amongst the trees beside the Waiohonu Stream, relishing the thought of thé distressed trampers back at the hut, who were visualising A night of noisy ankiebiters destroying their (relative) peace and quiet. A bath in the stream followed by dinner and a session of tall tales before retiring, brought a lazy day to an end. ( 1 LIVING SIMPLY All the gear 3ou 'll need: from the mountains to the sea Phoonix Centre, Cabis Car Lane, Larnbton Quay Sunday dawned wet and cold. in contrast to aur Weather-girl's predictions. At breakfast Fiona and I observed our resident steel-guts (Geoff) engaging in self-torture and seemingly enjoying something that he referred to as "food". It put us off our breakfast just watching! JTTC E J & H Sleeping Bags - The shipment just landed is more than 25% cheaper than the last!! (owing to the NZ$ strength against the Aus$) These high quality Down Sleeping Bags are now EXCELLENT VALUE. ALP Sports Polypropylene thermai underwear back in stock 25% cheaper than other brands now in 4 styles and 3 colours. Sap 125 Lambton Quay Ph. 720 673

Packing was completed by 8:15 ant, and we began the wander out to the Chateau via the Waiohonu Track. The weather deteriorated 1 rapidly and the planned Tiki Tour to the Tama Lakes was abandoned in favour of dry clothes and lunch at Whakapapa Village, Anne "woman with a mission" Greenwood led us out at a cracking pace with short, occasional stops to count participants in the mist, and feed our faces. It was a successful,enjoyable weekend. Thanks team! Team Members: Fiona Neilson, Anne Greenwood, Geoff Crockford, Peter Noble, David Fowler, Claire Silcock (author). ARE YOU INTO CLIMBING? Then jump into the most popular plastic climbing boots in N.Z. d KOFLACKVIVA $129.95 There's no doubtin ng it's reputation as a wamm and comfortable boot for general mountaineering in New Zealand. MAINLY TRAMPING GRAND ARCADE, WILLISST, WELLINGTON Ph. 735353 MAIL ORDERSI WELCOME,