3-5 March 2023

Leader: Brandon Holman

Thirteen of us set off for Ruapehu on Friday night, arriving at various times at the Wellington Catholic Tramping Club lodge at the Whakapapa ski field.

Saturday dawned bright and sunny in spite of the forecast and we set off from the car park at 8:35 am, electing not to take the gondola for timing and pecuniary reasons. After about 80 minutes we reached the Knoll Ridge café at the top of the gondola, filled our water bottles and headed off for the top. We crossed over the first ski lift track and aimed loosely for Restful Ridge, and then headed directly uphill. After about 90 minutes or so we hit our first pocket of snow, and eventually reached the saddle between Dome Ridge and Glacier Knob. For those who have not been up there, it is pretty spectacular scenery from the point of view of big explosions and eruptions, looking out across Summit Plateau.

After a pause for photos, we continued on for another 20 minutes along Dome Ridge to reach Dome itself, and then stopped for lunch at about 12:45 pm. We were rewarded with clear views of Crater Lake, which showed signs of heat rising in the centre, with water colour changes and some disturbance. After only about 10 minutes the weather started to clag in and along with a cool wind off the nearby snowfield, we were soon putting on extra layers. After a decent lunch break and a photo session, we headed back, electing to go back the same way rather than via Tukino Peak or Te HeuHeu as visibility was not good.

The way down was marked by many cairns, but we knew our bearing was almost exactly north anyway. Some of us enjoyed playing in the snow, which was soft but still good enough for some decent sledging (albeit without a sledge). Soon we were in sight of the café again, and we cut the corner somewhat on our return getting there about 3:30pm. We all availed ourselves of the refreshments there. Some contemplated taking the gondola down, but $20 was required, and being fit and healthy we took the footpaths, some electing to go with Owen on the new Wild West path whilst some came with me on the standard path. Most people were back at the hut by 5:00 pm and very much appreciated the hot showers.

A party of five felt they had not brought enough alcohol, so headed off to National Park shops to top-up. We all enjoyed a pleasant evening relaxing in the lodge, some enjoying a gourmet Chinese meal with a fondue-type arrangement.

Sunday saw a more leisurely start and we did not leave until 9:45 am, having given the hut a thorough clean as per the instructions for guests. Firstly, we all did the small Tawhai Falls walk (20 minutes) which were delightful, then 11 of us went on to do the Taranaki Falls walk (2 hours) starting near the now defunct Chateau Tongariro. The weather was warm, and we loitered by the falls long enough to tempt 5 of the group to go swimming, or at least stand in the water. It was as always, cold but refreshing! On the way home we stopped for a late lunch in Ohakune and most of us were home by 6:00 pm.

Those on the trip were:

Brandon Holman, Jing Zhou, Julie James, Marian Cox, Owen Cox, Rob Dey, Stephen Bowler, Wei Wu, Yingjun Shelton, Shally

Currently there is no photo album for this trip.