A good weekend circuit, checking out the new Maropea Forks Hut
Maropea Forks 11-12 October
and the troops were keen
Up to Sunrise hut
Beam me up scotty
Sunrise
You could say it gets quite windy up at Sunrise
and you have to remember to securely lock the loo door
Luckily we had no wind, but it was misty as we headed to Armstrong Saddle
There were a few patches of snow here and there
Rex looking for deer
We arrived at Top Maropea hut
and ate lunch in the sun
The steep descent to the Maropea river
and down the river we went
Not a place for filling water bottles
The river was full of brown slippery rocks
We were lucky to see five Blue Ducks
Maropea Forks hut
A few of us set up tents by the river
We set off early the next morning
Off the river and up a side creek
We saw two more Blue Ducks
It was a lovely creek
We were heading to the tops ahead
Which meant climbing (sigh)
But it was well worth it for view like this
Up a little higher for lunch
and to fill the water bottles at Sparrowhawk Biv
The party split into two; some over the tops back to Sunrise, some down to the Makaroro river
The tops group had some more climbing to do
Hill number one done
Hill number two looms
Sorted
Ruapehu and Tongariro
Hill number three was the biggest of the day
and included some scrub bashing
Hill number three conquered
A bit of GPS work was needed in the mist
We got back to Armstrong Saddle in mist as we left it the day before
