Another Story of Rain in Sunshine

Machine-read text (unproofread)

Read from the scans by software, so it contains mistakes. Typing it up properly would help blind readers: use Suggest an edit.

Another Story of Rain in Sunshine Struan Little noldt tramping friend was con- camped late one Friday night in a pic- swamp it is, if you're into swamps. demned to live in the North nic area. The pitter patter ofs something One thing I can't stand is a pseudo- Island. He gnashed his teeth suspiciously like rain on the tent swamp that only sends you in up to and packed his tattered tramping boots seemed ominous, but was sure that boot height. A real-bloke swamp sends into a cardboard box and sputtered by dawn the sun would be less liquid. you in up to your knees and leaves you northward in his beaten upjalopy, gazwith dribbles of mud slithering down ing at the Southern Alps for the last Dawn was fine and we arose early. your leg. Much view from the Pouakai time. With a tear inl his eye, he crossed There was still mist swirling around Range and I could see 20 feet. Five The Ditch and disembarked in Well- the mountain, but my faith in the Met hours' drive to be in the Tararuas. Afington. felt sorry for him and decided Service remained undaunted. I am a ter pushing our way through driving to show him that there was an out- weather optimist. Our route took us sleet, we made the hut and our pits. doors in the north. It wouldn't be the across a river where for the first time broad Fiordland tops, boulder-choked Isaw the response ofl DOC to the Cave We had an interesting evening in the Westland rivers, or braided Arthur's Creek disaster. To prevent a future ca- hut, with entertainment provided by Pass streams. It twould be the Tararuas. lamity, they had just removed the 3- the other residents. Two bogans from wire bridge across the river, forcing New Plymouth arrived to recover from I recommended to him the WT&MC. us to ford it instead. I wondered to a vodka frenzy the night before. A fam- My experience, however, tells me that myself if this was really an advance: ily made it up the hill with much acrinot every day is perfectly fine in the the fact that I was more likely to die mony. The parents sniped at one an- Tararuas. My experience tells me that drowning than plummeting off a 3- other, and the wife pointedly played not any day is fine. In fact, scientific wirel bridge. Of course, my watery end 500 with only us and an unemployed evidence shows that for two days out would not be DOC's fault. Limitless dairyfarmer. The daughter was in the of every three, storm conditions rage possibilities: remove all the huts avoid- bunkroom, being propositioned by on the Tararua tops. So I decided to ing a possible fatal fire; eliminate two junior bogans, whose advances ease him into this maelstrom and en- tracks in case of a broken leg on a tree terminated when one passed out after sure that the weather would be good. root; scrap information services in finishing a bottle of Jim Beam. We This means a private trip where you case of negligent information. Of learned one important fact: Inglewood can cancel it up to the minute you go. course, theyh haven'tquite reached the is the bogan capital of Taranaki. obvious solution: privatise all the na- Thursday night lam packed and ready tional parks and then all the accidents I could prolong the story by alleging to go. The weather looks dodgy, but would be private problems. Or alter- that the next day was fine, that wel had we have the luxury of those dramatic natively, give all the parks away as views of the snow-covered mountain, peaks in our backyard, SO we elect to Treatys settlements and let the Waitangi and gazed down on the sparkling Port go drinking on Friday night and make Commission sort it all out. of Taranaki. won't prolong anything, a 6am Saturday start. lam awake well however. We walked in cloud and before 6am. The windows are bowing These thoughts raced through my snow, following marker poles until we in and out as the wind tries to force mind as dragged my unfit body up reached the bush. We then descended entry. The rain is smashing against the the Kokowai track that was doing its in gutters of snow-melt and sloshed walls in sheets, driven SO hard hori- best to eliminate itself. Soon, we were our way through Kaiauai Hut to the zontally that none hits the ground. I into the snow and progress became road and our patient car. grab the phone, delay the trip until more laboured. I looked forward to midday and return to bed to nurse a breaking out of thel bush for a dramatic As we drove back down the mountain, hangover. Midday comes and I arise view. Well, the view was dramatic: we suddenly dropped below cloud again, mainly to dig a channel in the rain. It was head down and bum up level and had the most wondrous backyard to prevent the next door until we reached Holly Hut for lunch. sight. We could see the entire North neighbour's house from flooding. That Wehadr resigned lourselves to pit-bash- Island and much of the South unfoldis the end of one trip to the Tararuas. ing for the remainder of the day. The ing in front of fus. There was not a cloud most recent occupant of the hut had in the sky from the Kaimanawas in the Time passes and I am optimistic to try been a distraught tourist who hadj just north to the Kaikouras and Mt Arthur again. But I am sick of the non-sight lost her mate in a flooded stream five in the south. Worst, we could see evofthe Tararuas. The forecasti is fine for minutes from the hut. I wondered if eryinch of the Tararuas. It had been a the whole country SO we try again. This this had been a victim of a Cave Creek- perfectly fine weekend everywhere, time our target is Mt Egmont. This inspired bridge removal programme. except the northern side of Mt Egmont. mountain is located somewhere near Ibroke down and cried and thati is why Mt Taranaki. When you find a hundred Ac combination of gloom and a pause lam never more seen in the cheery dairy COWS to the hectare, you are in the rain led us out of the hut. Be- throngs of the WT&MC. And my there. We elected to head to thel North sides, I wanted to walk in the friend? He now sells gardening books. Egmont side of the mountain and Ahukawakawa Swamp. And a lovely End of story. C TRAMPING & MOUNTAINEERING 1996