Into the Heart of the Tararuas

INTO THE HEART OF THE TARARUAS A club Medium Fit trip by PAUL CHRISTOFFEL A rete Forks Hut in the heart of the Tararuas is rarely visited. Not only is it isolated but the main track there, from Cow Creek Hut, seems to be universally reviled by almost everyone who has travelled it. The track, it is said, is endlessly up and down, poorly marked in places, and badly maintained. So when I put Arete Forks on the WTMC trip schedule for some reason there was little interest.

However, there are alternatives that avoid the track altogether, and it was these that I was keen to try. The plan was to head up to Table Ridge (not to be confused with Table Top above Field Hut), a major climb to 1,478 metres. From there a spur takes you down to Arete Forks. For the return trip travel down the Waingawa River is possible provided the river is low. As it hadn’t rained in Wellington in over a month a low river was likely. Half of this plan worked out well. After the ususal drive from Wellington our party of four headed up to Blue Range Hut from Kirirwhakapapa Easy travel on Table Ridge. In the background are Mitre (left) the highest peak in the Tararuas and Brockett (right). The Northern Crossing of the Tararuas follows the skyline.

(just north of Masterton) on a balmy Friday evening. We didn’t start walking until 8.30 pm, as most of Carterton seemed to be dining out or eating takeaways meaning a long wait for food. We got to the hut around 10.15 pm and were relieved to find that the water tank appeared well-stocked despite the drought, although we had carried lots of water just in case. The signage at Blue Range seemingly purloined from a disused hospital was entertaining. I especially enjoyed the ‘Engaged/Vacant’ reversable sign on the track to the loo.

As the Tararuas seemed to have acquired a Mediterranean climate over summer, Saturday morning began with breakfast at the outside table. The route from Blue Range to Cow Creek Hut is something of a slog although thankfully mainly downhill. Mariusz kept us entertained with accounts of tramping in Poland where hiking trails apparently abound. We had a lengthy morning tea at the hut spending ages working out all the bearings for the complex navigation that supposedly lay ahead. At 11 am we headed up the dreaded track to Arete Forks, but not for long. I had been reliably informed that not far in an old Forest Service track to Table Ridge could be found. Some tramping companions many years ago said that the track was still reasonably easy to follow despite never having been maintained by DOC. We kept a lookout for ties on the trees and signs of a ground trail that might give a hint of the Table Ridge track. After 30 minutes a prominent arrowed sign saying ‘Table Ridge’ provided the hint we were after. We headed up a well-worn track that had clearly been recently maintained. The occasional DOC orange triangle was supplemented by coloured ribbon. Only one tree-fall blocked the way. This was easy. DOC has obviously kept it secret that it has returned this track to its former glory.

Once we emerged from the bush, things got harder. The ground trails were weak, the cairns few and far between, and there was some challenging climbing up to an unnamed peak at 1,340 metres. Navagation would have been tricky in poor visibility but, given that the Tararuas had been bathed in sunshine for weeks, it was easy. We stopped for a leisurely lunch before the final climb and had some interesting discussions on topics such as driving on the left (‘that’s just wrong!’) and the virtues (or otherwise) of New Zealand bread.

From the peak it was an easyish stroll up to the the start of Table Ridge. At 1,478 metres the views were fantastic, and we lingered for a further 30 minutes. This unnamed peak gives you a vista of many of the highest peaks in the Tararuas. To the south are Mitre and Peggy’s Peak, Girdlestone, and the Three Kings. To the north and north-west are Arete and Bannister. In between the main peaks can be seen the Waiohine Pinnacles and Tarn Ridge—in fact a big chunk of the Northern Crossing was spread out before us. Redroofed Tarn Ridge Hut stood out in the distance, perhaps no more than 2 hours walk away via Table Ridge and Brocket—a route for a trip next year perhaps? The route down to Arete Forks looks straighforward on the map. However, on the ground it was obscured by the gentle slope of the tops, and there was no ground trail, so we set a compass bearing and followed that. We soon Table Ridge curves aroud to Brockett (skyline right of centre). Mitre on left. At rear centre (with cloud) are the Kings, and at far right background is Girdlestone and Tarn Ridge (part of the Northern Crossing). There is a large tarn on Table Ridge just ahead, but out of photo.

found a spur to follow, and came across the occasional cairn. Eventually the spur split into two forks, requiring a decision. The left spur seemed to head straight towards Arete Forks so it was this we chose. Further cairns confirmed our decision and we were soon approaching the bush line.

This provided the chance for a further break, and we snacked and chatted in the sun. Once in the bush signs of a ground trail largely disappeared. A weak trail sidled to the right so we followed it before dropping down. There had been a proper track here back in the old days, and we regularly came across Forest Service permolat markers or the occasional tin-lid marker and blaze. However, the trail was intemittent at best, and we bush-bashed much of the time before encountering more permolats. I took the lead while Sharon and Weimin shouted instructions from behind (‘head further right’, ‘there’s a spur to your left’). I was pretty confident that as long as we avoided descending to the upper Waingawa River to our left we would eventually hit the sidle track—which we did. From there it was five minutes to Arete Forks Hut, a tidy six-bunker.

Despite the dry weather, somehow there was a large mud field just before the hut, resulting in muddy boots for the first time all day. The journey from Blue Range Hut had taken us 9 hours, but that included maybe 2 hours worth of breaks. It had been a great day. On arrival, the Waingawa River provided a refreshing opportunity to clean up and cool down. A hot drink and snacks were followed by a late dinner. Given the Tararuas recently acquired Mediterranean climate we cooked and dined outdoors on a ledge overlooking the upper river valley.

The bank below us had been carved out by floods and huge dead trees lay where the waters had deposited them. It was hard to imagine that this trickle of a river had done all that damage.

By 7.15 pm we were enjoying a hearty pasta meal in the balmy evening air with not a sandfly in sight. This was the life. It was getting dark as we headed inside for desert and a hot drink.

Scattered rain fell in the early hours of the morning and it was spitting as we headed off at 7.15 am. The light rain had no effect on the river level but as we soon discovered it made the riverside rocks very slippery. The rocks in the river were slippery too and the travel was slow. Although Mariusz at first seemed happy to head down the gorge his enthusiasm faded after a couple of unexpected dunkings.

I found several bush sidles which kept us out of the river and made for faster travel. But on the last of these things came unstuck. We followed an apparent trail which headed fairly high above the river before suddenly ending in a sheer drop. A short backtrack revealed no way down to the river so we were faced with retracing our steps. But instead we chose a third option—bushbashing 100 vertical metres up to the track.

As soon as we reached it, the track started to head down—then up—then down again—then up again—I think you get the idea. Nearly an hour and a half later we were at Cow Creek Hut, over 5 hours after leaving Arete Forks. I has seen on an internet blog that another WTMC group who tried the sidle track took only 3½ hours, which doesn’t seem too bad. Despite all the dire warnings that’s clearly the route to follow if the weather’s anything other than perfect.

Above: Starting down the spur from Table Ridge to Arete Forks. Bannister highest point on skyline ridge (with the cloud)

Right: Arete Forks Hut is difficult to get to and seldom visited

Although the weather was iffy at Arete Forks it hadn’t rained further east. In fact it was hot and sunny when we got to Cow Creek so we sat in the shade and made plans. We were way behind schedule and the Easy group would be waiting for us. Weimin and Sharon therefore suggested I go on ahead and let the Easies know that the rest of the party wasn’t far away. They headed off first, as Weimin wanted to stop and take photos and I followed five minutes later.

I had to search for track markers only minutes from the hut and soon caught up with Sharon, who had taken a wrong turn on the poorly marked track. There was no signed of Weimin. We decided he must have overtaken Sharon while she was off track.

I soon pulled away from Sharon on the long uphill slog and after an hour or so came across a group (including dog) who had been fishing near Cow Creek Hut. They were in no hurry and stopped to chat while I did some stretches and had a bite to eat. The tall outdoorsy looking bloke said he had done the Arete Forks track once and wasn’t impressed. Maybe the river isn’t so bad after all.

Not wanting to dally I headed off at a fast clip. Eventually at 3.20 pm I came to the Blue Range turnoff.

The Waingawa River flows from above Arete Forks Hut past Cow Creek Hut and Mitre Flats Hut and out to the Wairarapa. It is possible to travel up and down the whole length of the river in good conditions and often do so more easily than along the sidle tracks.

Almost there! Five minutes later I heard a call from behind and turned to see Sharon heading towards me. I was flabbergasted. I had been going pretty fast and my chat with the fishermen lasted 10 minutes max. How on earth had she caught me up?

We arrived at the road end at 4.30 pm, the exact time that Richard the Easy trip leader had picked in their ‘what time will the M/Fs get here’ sweepstake. He was therefore pretty chuffed until he realised the rest of our party was missing. The adjudicators decided that all our party needed to be there before a clear winner could be found. Richard was not happy.

If this was a movie a caption would now say ‘several hours earlier’, and the scene would cut to a shot of Weimin photographing Sharon as she crossed the swing bridge from Cow Creek. Weimin puts away his camera. ‘She turned left didn’t she?’ he thinks (I guess you’d need a voiceover for that). After crossing the bridge Weimin turns left to follow Sharon, heading up towards Cow Saddle for maybe 10 minutes before realising his mistake. He encounters Mariusz on his return and they proceded along the correct route from then on (ok, so it’s not exactly Die Hard—or even Vertical Limit).

I knew that Weimin and Mariusz had two GPS units and a map and compass between them, so I was pretty confident they would eventually turn up. However, after half an hour had passed I was getting a little worried and got a bit of ribbing from the others. I joked that Richard losing his map in the bush was a bad look for a trip leader. ‘Not as bad as losing two of your punters’, said Sharon with a grin.

Fortunately it was warm and sunny and Kiriwhakapapa is a lovely area so I didn’t feel quite so bad about keeping the Easies waiting. They were very nice about it anyway. The other two finally showed up at 5.30 pm so Catherine won the sweepstake. We didn’t get back to Wellington until 7.30 pm, and had a late dinner to round off a very satisfying weekend.

Punters: Weimin Ren, Mariusz Drozdowski, Sharon Brandford, and Paul Christoffel.