Ascent of Manakau and Te ao Whekere

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Ascent of Manakau and Te ao Whekere Phil Kendon Fridayover.. Another day, another dollar. The usual frantic last minute packing finally sorted, we headed for the packed Interislander terminal. The ferry, too, was heaving but a thoroughly sociable three hours were spent catching up with people we hadn't seen for a while. Two hours down the road from Picton, up the Hapuku River, we hit the roadend. No wind, clear skies anticipation began to mount. even o'clock next morning witnessed Andrew cajoling us out of our evercosy sleeping bags without a brew, much to the disgruntlement of Harry who, like Gary and me, had become used to the continuous flow of tea the previous weekend at Tapi. Wagons rolled at 8.00 am and we soon found ourselves in a bit of ag gorge, backed all the time by the enticing snow-capped bumps behind. An anxious and highly vocal pair of falcons showed us they'd got balls by dive bombing each and every one of us as we passed through their territory. Andrew was actually hit by one, the rest of us ducking and merely being brushed by a sudden "whoosh" Checking the route Harry Smith of air past our left ears. We took lunch at the river before leaving it for what Another group (what? yes to our amazement) had turned out to be a steady grunt, first up to a saddle, then gone through half an hour earlier So we "used" their up (and up and up) a rocky spur leading us high, on to- tracks to getl back up to the ridge. Still no views. A pack wards the main Seaward Kaikoura Range. A satisfying dump was a welcome idea and swift progress was made grunt it was indeed, as spectacular views back out to the back south, now along the main ridge, to the summit of Kaikoura Peninsula, along the ridge north and south, and Manakau. Occasional views were quickly swallowed of course back out over the Pacific, greeted us. by the pea soup, at times containing bits and pieces of hail and snow. John, naturally, was to blame for this Shortly after reaching the first snow patches, our ever- unexpectedly blurry weather. reliable mountain man, Harry, pointed us off left into a basin well off the ridge and sheltered from what had After a quick trot back to our packs, and lunch, things become a reasonablyi icy blast. With running water and began to pick up. We headed north towards our next a comfortable, flattish area of snow, we were set up for main goal, Te ao Whekere, thel left-hand peak off fthe two the night. Ann's single hoop Macpac tent suddenly main peaks you can see from the ferry. ("Tapi", to the seemed al little on the thin side for the situation, the pole right is the larger, however.) flexing alarmingly in the breeze. One fine meal later (thanks to Andrew's well-behaved Whisperlite, but no The afternoon session began to open up beautifully. John thanks to, John's dodgy effort) we retired to the prospect shortly released his normally iron grip on the weather; of a nippy night. the sun shone, the clouds lifted and our ridge, winding back and forth in front of us, looked most enticing. 8.30 am Sunday and we were off again, after a poor night for most, except Charlie, wedged between Keith and It reminded me of the "Grey Corries' I I north of Ben Gary. It was a bit of a late start really for an alpine day, Nevis, in Scotland. The whole thing was just bliss, an but as it happened, we needn't have worried. As we had uplifting afternoon's work; the kind that reminds you packed up, an ominous pool of fog had both ascended why you bother going into the mountains in the first and descended around our tents, lowering spirits a bit. place. Better was to follow, however. Tramping and Mountaineering 1997

On the summit of Te ao Whekere Harry Smith We reached a windswept basin between two peaks at We were on the summit by 7.30 am; this time the con- 4.30 pm, the only realistic spot to camp for the night. Te ditions were clear as a bell allowing excellent views in ao Whekere, still shrouded in cloud, would wait for a all directions. The North Island appeared to be clouddawn ascent tomorrow. We picked the most sheltered covered, but across the Clarence Valley, Tapuae-oside of the basin we could find and pitched camp. Ann Uenuku, Mt. Alarm and Mitre Peak all stood proud; to andl I opted for the scree after our chilling experience the the south-west, the distant peaks of the Nelson Lakes Naprevious night; the others preferred the flatter surface of tional Park and Lewis Pass area were clearly visible, and the snow. Chocolate mousse and pineapple provided an to the south, Manakau, with our ridge stretching south exquisite starter, followed by a delicatel blackbean-based towards it. To the east, the abrupt rise of these moungourmet main course, and topped with vast quantities tains from the sea allowed a vast panorama out over the of fcheesecake and genuine, well-travelled strawberries. Pacific, with a clear change in the colour of the water (Thanks Andrew.) where the Continental Shelf drops away. Awesome stuff. For Ann it brought a mixture of emotions, standing on A post-nosh stroll across our basin provided breathtak- that summit: how Clare would have relished this moing views across to the Inland Kaikouras, a cloud-filled ment too! Clarence River, and south-west to endless white summits. This is an amazing place - a feast to the eye of any Aswift descent, decamp, and descent again into the Puhi mountaineer. All day today we'dl been overlooking thick Puhi River took us smartly back to civilisation, not forcloud over the Pacific to the east too, as the weak south- getting the stream-bash to add a bit of spice to the day's erly front which had passed over us staked its claim on work. (Well, you can't have a Fit trip without a bash the Kaikoura coast. For now, though, the wind had somewhere in it...) We were soon back in the van and dropped, stars began to appear above us, and even John off to Picton and another flat, calm, sunny crossing was putting his money on a fine day to follow. home. Labour Day, 5 am, and a much superior night's sleep for Once again the South Island revealed its unrivalled Ann and me, at least. Charlie and Keith were not to be splendour and beauty this weekend. Iti is a paradise that, shifted but the rest of us "upped and offed" before dawn having been in the country for 10 months now, I am beto get the estimated 1% hour ascent of Te ao Whekere ginning to take for granted. That does not mean, howin the bag. Soon a magical vista began to unfold: sun- ever, thati it is any less special with each visit - what an rise, always a winner, out over the Pacific and rose-tinted outstanding asset to have on your doorstep! peaks to the west, north and south. Last night's low cloud had all but vanished, leaving a glassy calm sea to The team: Andrew McLellan, John "Rain Man - Thompthe east. Apart from a bit of loose scree in places, our son, Gary Scott, Charlie "Office Boy" Batho, route Peggy was straightforward, following the ridge, part Christianson, Daniel Meares, Harry Smith, Keith snow, part rock as we had got used to the day before. Morrison, Ann Kempster, Phil Kendon. Tramping and Mountaineering 1997