Kawekas Queen's Birthday Weekend

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Kawekas Queens Birthday Weekend Anne Greenwood Next morning we climbed back up Whetu and along the tops to where the track branches off to Makino Hut. It wasn't good weather for hanging round, as the wind was fairly strong and definitely cool. We therefore continued down to the bush line fairly promptly. The ridge was easy travel so we strolled along spotting sleeping possums. Murray MacRae claimed to have spotted 18, and one that Dale found was so tired it didn't even wake up when she stood on it. Following lunch at Makino Hut, we At 6.00 pm we left Platform 9, hotly dropped steeply to Te Puia Hut pursued by a Tararua Tramping Club definitely not good territory for minibus carrying one of our packs. knees. At the bottom we crossed the After this slightly embarrassing swingbridge and travelled about half situation had been sorted out, we an hour up the Mohaka to the hot pool - continued on at holiday weekend our campsite for the night. traffic pace, pausing only for some truly repulsive fish and chips in Geoff went for a couple of dips in the Otaki. It was a long evening as we freezing river for a bit of variety, didn't reach the road end till a while the rest of us more cautiously quarter to three on Saturday morning. just settled for the hot pool. It has Flies were pitched immediately with room for about six, so we went in rather less attention to detail than shifts (well, actually we went in usual. underclothes). Four hours later we were up again, Dinner was as usual a high point of forcing down muesli before a road walk the evening, although Peter J had to to join up with the track to Middle be restrained from contaminating it Hill Hut. We had an early lunch at with some obscure variety of lentils. the hut and continued up on the track Being a generous little soul, Claire to Ballards through gently falling decided to take the spare 'Mac' cheese snow, which started drifting down round to the ever present Tararuas. quite heavily as we climbed. However, They viewed it with mixed delight and it cleared as we went across the tops suspicion, but it all disappeared. It although it was fairly windy and was good solid stuff, too! (We just lighter members of the party were about sunk in the hot pool during the blown around a bit. We dropped about after dinner sitting.) 500 feet to Ballards Hut, arriving at about 3.00 pm. Claire livened the On Monday morning we strolled down to trip up by shredding her overtrousers Te Puia Hut. Obviously there are (and herself to some extent) on the still deer around as one was lying way down. just outside the hut. The sidle track down the river wandered up and Ballards was a bit small for the team, down but it was easy travel and we so we scouted round for fly sites of reached the carpark somewhat early for which there was a fairly poor seleclunch yet again. After a huge meal tion. The Tararuas medium trip we set off on the road walk - at least arrived soon afterwards. In fact most of us did. The Tararuas drove they followed us all weekend and had past us - with Dale! even acquired Megan (a temporary WTMC deserter) on their trip. As almost all the fly sites had gone, we rented out some accommodation and recommended the heli-pad as a potential site. It was a great trip - thanks to my After dinner (a culinary masterpiece fellow trip members listed below: created by Gerard and Fiona), the accommodation arrangements were re- Claire Silcock, Geoff Crockford, Fiona shuffled. Andrew nobly offered his Neilson, Graheme Hawthorne, Gerard bunk in exchange for a fly, and was Krishnan, Andrew Chisholm, Murray promptly replaced by both Claire and MacRae, Murray Middleton, Peter May, Dale. It was an early night as we Peter Jackson, Dale Parsons (Trip all had massive sleep deficits. Leader).