The Ruamahanga Gorge

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THE RUAMAHANGA GORGE were seen by the leaders and sudden- Although this trip occurred in the ly we were in our own private dark distant past and ended in super- tunnel. After a short period of semigorge travel, the first waterfall to be saturation, it is submitted for its re- marked on the map appeared before ference value. us. Although not very, high (about On Friday, January 22, 1960, a 20ft it caused a certain amount of powerful task force was landed at the amusement and embarrassment and Ohau pipe bridge. It established a took about half an hour of valuable bridgehead at Ohau hut after nego- time. Whiteside descended on the tiating some rather delicate altera- leader's head by an original route; tions to the track. In and around the and off we went again, laughing and hut accumulated a surplus of people joking. A short wet halt was made and the ground was littered with at Bannister Creek, about midday. It human debris. Our companions con- was raining, morale was deterioratsisted of CTC's, HVTC's some shoot- ing. Ofter quick negotiation of the ers and three strange ice-axe carriers rest of the first gorge, which was not who set off at 6.00 a.m. too difficult, an hour's happy stop was A lethal group assembled on the made between the Big fire, riverbank about 7.00 a.m. It consist- soup, brew and lighthearted gorges. merried of several young, keen, fit types, ment in a pleasant spot, began to one or two grizzled veterans, and the convince us that gorge trips were mighty Hall, who'd been brought into easy, but on entering the second the attack! gorge half an hour later, our illu- Just to remind our 'inner-tube car- sions were shattered. For two or three riers' who were on the trip, here is hours, this evil little succession of the list: B. Jefferies, N. Whiteside, erystal pools held our complete atten- K. Yip, D. Paterson, B. Hunt, D. tion. We shot delicately through de- Quirke, D.. Jeffs, N. Jennings, G. Hall lightful gaps with bullet force, or and D. Capper (leader). floated lazily through huge black Cutting out details, Arete, in misty tanks. All this would have been rather conditions, was reached about 2 p.m. pleasant if the water hadn't been by the usual route. The only point to about 21deg. C. Nick had his pack remember is that the Ohau had been stolen by a weta in mid-ocean. We drastically altered by a recent flash- couldn't help noticing at 5.30 p.m. flood and much easier to negotiate. that there was no more gorge, so The mist caused a slight deviation therefore camp was pitched at 6.30. of course, and Red Leader (much to The weather now was quite fine, G. Hall's disgust) entered the Ruama- morale rose steeply, the leader was hanga basin by a rather original confident, and with an excellent stew route. we were in heaven. It involved a few hundred feet of waterfall and a few acres of leather- Just for fun, Hughie' sent us a wood. By 4.30 p.m.. we were looking little more water to play with. During for a camp site. This was duly found the night most of us became waterat 5 p.m., a delightful little grass logged and the river grew to vast oasis in a desert of grey mist and proportions; morale dropped and we leatherwood. We wondered how our were confronted by a problem: How friends were going on at Bannister, to negotiate the bluffs on Castle high above us. Sunday dawned damp Ridge, a flooded river, flooded creeks and misty. Below us and invisible, and still make the truck at 4.30 p.m. wound the mighty rock ribbon of the After a nightmare of super-satura- Ruamahanga Gorge. Not a pleasant tion, we made it. This is an original prospect considering we were already way to spend an Anniversary weekin the first stages of advanced H.20. end; if you like water. it's ideal. We After laboured preparations, 9.30 concluded that the Ruamahanga's bad a.m. saw the commencement of a gorge is not nearly as bad as it's memorable day. No. 1 gorge team painted. The main trouble seems to erratically led by Hall's stand-in, suc- be getting up there and back. Times: cessfully negotiated more areas of Saturday 8 hours, Sunday 8 hours, leatherwood, a waterfall of vast first gorge 2 hours, second gorge 3 height, more leatherwood and some hours; exit time, 9 hours. ordinary river travel. Several deer D. CAPPER.