Saturday 9 January 2021

Leader: Yingjun Shelton (aka June)

15 of us did the loop anticlockwise and ascended some of the steepest parts of the track. It took us 7 hours. It was a fine day with not much wind. We had fantastic views on top looking over the Southern Crossing of the Tararua Range.

We started and ended with a few river crossings - water level was not too high (below the knee), nice and refreshing on a summer day like this. The track was in good condition in general, with a fair bit of mud in places.

We had a couple of short breaks while waiting for others to catch up, pre-lunch stop at the top, and lunch stop at Kapakapanui Hut. We made a quick visit to the Thornhill Hut which sadly is partially destroyed (broken windows and door). However we spotted two pieces of (possible) antiques in the hut – a Chinese ancient oil lamp and a metal plate with traditional Chinese writing on them (we left them as we found them).

All trip members did very well looking after each other, and had lots of laughs. A special thank you to Tony Q for helping with organizing and guiding; David W for offering helping hands where needed (as always); Owen C and Chris K for being the “Tail end Charlie” looking after the newbies; Peter D for the entertainment.

To sum up: A great trip with great company on a great day with great fun!

Those on the trip were:

Tony Quayle, David Williams, Peter Davis, Owen Cox, Chris Keating, Rob Dey, Niahm Dunne, Nisa Promchot, Jing Zhou, Carol Rolton, Penny Currier, Julie James, Sue Pate, Yingjun Shelton, Sally Webb

Currently there is no photo album for this trip.