Bushcraft 2009

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

There were 17 of us in all, headed by Chief Guide Paul Jeffries and helpers Steve Austin, Hans and Mika. The weather forecast for the country was wet that weekend so we had to change plans a bit in the last minute. So what was meant to be a tramp at Smith’s Creek Shelter turned out to be a tramp at Camp Wainui Hut in the Rimutaka Forest Park. But apart from the change in venue, things went pretty much according to plan.

We all arrived early on the Saturday morning at the usual meeting place - platform 9, Wellington station all bright and eager to learn about river crossings and hypothermia but instead learnt that and a whole lot more and ended up having a fantastic time!

We arrived at the Grattan Bushline Hut at Camp Wainui and after the customary introductions over Mika’s yummy apple crumble (very thoughtful Mika) and coffee, we had our first lesson on map reading and using a compass. Then soon after a leisurely lunch, we wandered along the creek putting our new skills to the test in search of the waterfall.

After a bit of ‘lost and found’ we got to the magnificent waterfall where we stopped for a snack and chatted about navigation — being able to tell north from south by just looking at the moss growing on the bark of a tree and how that again tells the opposite story depending on whether we are tramping the northern or the southern hemisphere. We had a good mix of nationalities so things that work here in the southern hemisphere were questioned by people who have tramped in the northern hemisphere. All very interesting especially for someone new to the great outdoors. There were lots of nuggets of information from the seasoned trampers if you kept your ears open.

It had started to rain by this time so we headed back to the hut where Steve (who had stayed behind) had tidied up and was all set to get the billy on for a most welcome hot cuppa. Then we had a lesson on how to be practical and pack a light backpack. This was followed by a talk by Mika, a medical doctor, on hypothermia, first aid and good posture followed by a practical lesson on stretching before and after a tramp.

Then it was time to get our bits and bobs out for the communal meal. Its funny how each one brings as little as a tube of tomato paste and a capsicum or some pasta and an onion and after a bit of pealing and chopping, it is all brought together so nicely to make a delicious healthy communal meal, dessert n’ all! Quite a feat in meticulous planning and execution! And good fun of course.

It was beginning to get dark, but there was still time for some outdoor entertainment, so Fiona quickly trained Rebekka and Pavithra to do a ‘banana dance’ which turned out to be the evening’s entertainment for the troop who soon joined in (it was quite a catchy rhythm!). That was a good stretch and laugh before turning in. Then while it poured outside, the candles were lit; people got their hot drinks and huddled up for a nice malicious card game called ‘Mafia’. Thanks to Fiona and Pete all the ‘God Father’ movie dialogues were reenacted in all their glory and colourful charm. Lots of laughs while the choco bikies were passed around. And then it was time to crawl into our sleeping bags.

Sunday morning welcomed us with the lovely smell of hot coffee. Steve had fired up the billy and the eager mugs soon lined up. We had breakfast, packed up and loaded the van. Then Jenny did an informative ‘show and tell’ on 7-8 native leaves collected the previous day - their names, uses and a bit of history which was very interesting. Then we headed out to the Orongorongo walk car park for a 2 hour trek to the river.

After about a couple of hours’ walk, we reached the river bank and stopped for lunch. Soon we had an unexpected lesson on what NOT to do while on a tramp. A couple of young families with tiny kids, dogs and all appeared on the other bank of the river (obviously having camped out the previous night in the pouring rain) and attempted to cross. The river was about knee deep and flowing quite vigorously by mid day. We watched nervously as the 2 and 3 year olds with heavy backpacks, light coats and jandles crossed the river while the dad and his huge backpack ‘lead’ them. One of the dogs got swept away and nearly drowned but somehow made it to safety just in time while we all held our breath. Just then a white jandle was spotted rapidly sailing away down the river. But Steve, our hero for the day ran after it and retrieved the jandle for the eternally grateful kid - Steve was crowned Jandle King after his heroic act of bravery!! He was later awarded a chocolate lamington at the bakery on the way home.

On the banks of the river we learnt how to find a good location and put up a fly. We then learnt how to do a river crossing in groups of 4 holding onto each others backpack straps. Then we headed back to the van, loaded up and drove over the hill to Petone where we stopped for a coffee. The sun was out and we had lots to discuss about the bushcraft weekend. Soon after we found ourselves at Wellington station and then made our weary way home from there.

Allin all it was a very well organised, educational and thoroughly enjoyable tramp and highly recommended especially for new trampers.

Left: it wasn’t all hard work at Bushcraft

Thanks to Pavithra Devadatta for writing this report, and to Steve Austin for the photos.