Sunday 7 April 2024

Leader: Dave Cox

Ralph Waldo Emerson said "Do not follow where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and make a trail." Emerson's words would later come to mind, as we set out on a stunning day to climb Maunganui.

Getting our feet wet crossing the small stream at the base of the climb did not dampen our spirits. After a relatively easy, straightforward climb, we reached the summit which is a little over 700 metres. The summit offered limited views and so for our lunch break we chose a lovely spur looking out towards the Tararua ranges. The more experienced trampers amongst us enjoyed identifying various peaks and pointing out familiar routes.

After lunch, we began the downhill walk. At one point we saw the summits of three local mountains simultaneously: Maunganui (from where we had descended), Wainui and Kapakapanui. Some of us are planning to climb all three over King’s Birthday weekend on the “three nui's” club trip.

The plan was to walk in a loop, rejoining the road further on from our starting position. We began our descent following a marked track. After about an hour the track started to become indistinct, overgrown and hard to follow. We completed some sections by sliding, jumping and swinging from branches! Were we still on the track, or had we left the track? It didn't seem to matter as we were making good time and moving in the right direction, according to our Topo map. Indeed, if it was not a track before, it would certainly resemble a track after nine people had crashed through, pushing aside branches and stomping the undergrowth! We rejoiced in the knowledge that we were doing a favour for future trekkers by creating an interesting alternative route for the descent. Ralph Emerson would have been proud of us.

At the base we crossed another small creek and walked along the road to complete the loop walk. A fun day out in great company was had by all with the walk taking around six hours.

Those on the trip were:

Brandon Holman, Dave Cox, Glen Cattermole, Kate Livingston, Susan Robertson, Viv Roberts, Yingjun Shelton, Ian Algie, Nick Cattermole

Photos were not supplied for this report.