28-31 December 2021

Leader: Paula Richardson

There were 6 of us and we spent 4 days in the Tararua Range. We had rain, wind and sunshine, lots of ups and downs, whatever was headed our way, we just kept going…

We covered around 60km and reached the highest point of 1330 m over the Tararua Peaks.

Day 1 (28/12/21): Otaki Forks – Field Hut – Kime Hut

We set off from Otaki Forks. The new slip caused by the recent storm on the Otaki Gorge Road meant an extra 3km walk for us before we got on the track.

It started raining about half way to Field Hut. We arrived at the hut around midday, and had a long lunch there. We were hoping the rain would settle down a bit, but unfortunately it didn’t. So we carried on: it was about 4pm by the time we got to Kime Hut. There was only one other person in the hut, so we lots of space to ourselves.

In Kime Hut, there are some interesting photographs and historical stories about the Hut, and very useful information on hypothermia Dos and Don’ts.

Day 2 (29/12/21): Kime Hut – Maungahuka Hut

It was probably the hardest day of all. The original plan was to reach at Anderson’s Hut, but the weather conditions slowed us down, and getting over the never-ending hills on Mt Mclntosh was a mission. Just when we thought we were on the top, in the distance there was yet another hill.

Taraura Peaks was the most thrilling part of the track. The amount of concentration required to pass the peaks, from the metal chains to the steel ladder, was phenomenal. It was 2:30 pm when we got to Maungahuka Hut and everyone was tired and saturated, so we decided to call it a day, which meant the next day would be long one.

Day 3 (30/12/21): Maungakuka Hut – Anderson’s Hut – Waitewaewae Hut

We knew it was going to be a long day for us, so we set off at 7 am - a bit earlier than usual. It was a bit misty and windy in the morning. At least it wasn’t raining, otherwise some of us would have run out of dry clothing. We hadn’t had a view so far, but we did spot a ray of sunshine in the far distance every now and then, and that was enough to put a smile on our faces and keep us going.

By midday, we were at the bushline, the sun was out, we could see blue sky and white clouds. We stopped at Anderson’s Hut early afternoon for lunch.

It was 9pm when we arrived at Waitewaewae Hut after a 14 hour day on the track! We were expecting to see the “annoyed” reaction from the people in the hut but luckily there was only one person in the hut and he was fast asleep. I think we woke him up with all the cooking noises. He sure had his revenge next morning making noises while everyone else was still asleep. We called it evens.

Day 4 (31/12/21): Waitewaewae Hut – Otaki Forks – Home Sweet Home

Our last day started with a very refreshing river crossing, then we walked on the main track for about 8 hours before arriving back at where we had started 3 days previously. We came across a few obstacles along the track, like big fallen trees. DOC seems to enjoy keeping the tracks spicy for us.

That was it, four days in the Tararua Range. We complained, cursed, joked, laughed, admired, but more importantly we enjoyed spending time in the mountains to end the year 2021.

Those on the trip were:

Graeme Richardson, Marian Cox, Owen Cox, Paula Richardson, Rob Dey, Yingjun Shelton