15-17 November 2024
Leader: Tony Quayle / Kylie Gilbert
It’s now nine years since the first small group of Parawais joined one of the Pukeokahu community fundraising walks. Since then they’ve become an annual event for the club - we’ve made some great friends there, recruited some new members, and enjoyed a series of interesting walks on properties that aren’t often accessible to the general public. This year’s walk added yet another dimension to our experiences with the Pukeokahu crew.
As usual, we gathered Friday evening for a lavish BBQ, a catch up with other regulars, and a briefing on the planned walk.
On Saturday morning we were piled into vans and 4WDs for the ride out through Mangaohane Station to where our trek would begin. Although few would’ve noticed or been aware of its history, the drive took us through an area known as Pokopoko where an early Māori farmer - Winiata Te Whaaro - lived with his whanau and grazed his sheep until being forcibly evicted in 1897 following lengthy and questionable land acquisition dealings.
The first part of the walk was across steep Mangaohane hill country pasture to the Aorangi Awarua Māori land block where we descended through native bush to our morning tea stop at the Rangitikei River Narrows. While we snacked, local kaumatua Richard Steedman recounted the story of how his ancestor Tamatea Pokai Whenua crossed the northern Ruahine country and named this spot Te Papa a Tarinuku - the food trough of Tarinuku - after the chief who welcomed him there.
From Te Papa a Tarinuku it’s a steep climb through podocarp forest towards the table-top summit of Aorangi (another significant landmark in local Māori tradition). Our route didn’t take us all the way to the top, instead taking an interesting sidle along the 1,000 metre contour past large limestone blocks and the swampy headwaters of small creeks to join the main River Valley Lodge to Aorangi track. A straightforward descent via the Aorangi Awarua Trust’s Bivvy Hut (already familiar to many Parawais) brought us to the cableway that crosses the Rangitikei at River Valley. Getting a group of 50 or so people two at a time across the cable took some time, but most of the Parawais were close to the front of the group and had plenty of time for a beer or two before collecting our gear and heading off to Pete and Jacqui Marshall’s farm for yet another amazing BBQ and overnight stay.
Sunday’s activity was a spot of caving on a neighbouring farm, about an hour’s walk from Jacqui and Pete’s. To say this cave exceeded expectations would be an understatement. It’s a gem, easily and safely explored, with some lovely limestone formations, culminating at a bright green (with duck weed) pool at the bottom of the tomo that’s the source of the stream that flows (waist deep at one point) through the cave. Photo opportunities galore. A delightful conclusion to another enjoyable Parawai weekend.
Those on the trip were:
Brandon Holman, David Williams, Elisabeth Hynes, Graeme Richardson, Jacqui Marshall, Kylie Gilbert, Lindsey Griffiths, Mark Robertson, Paula Richardson, Peter Davis, Rob Dey, Roger Gilbert, Tony Quayle, Yingjun Shelton
