6-9 February 2025

Leader: Peter Davis

Fantastic long weekend in the eastern Tararua Range. Perfect weather.

Day 1 – Left Paraparaumu at 7.45am. Stopped at Clareville bakery as usual for one of their legendry donuts and a coffee. We arrived at Holdsworth carpark just before 10am and soon we were on our way, starting off with a nice 1 hour walk along the easy benched Atiwhakatu track. Then the real work started with a 5-hour 1200 m climb via east Holdsworth track to Mt Holdsworth, then down and up to Mt Isabelle, then a 1000 m descent to Mid Waiohine hut, arriving just before 7pm. The track down was in mint condition after some recent track clearing by the GWBTN. Surprisingly, the hut was full, with one extra on the floor and 3 others tenting.

Day 2 – After a leisurely breakfast we set off with lovely light day packs for a trip walking up the Waiohine river to bag Jac's bivvy. The river was beautiful and apart from a scramble above the gorge at Francis Stream it was pretty easy river walking. Jac’s bivvy is in poor condition and staying there is not recommended. On the way back in the hot conditions and as the current was with us, we decided to swim the gorge. We had some late afternoon relaxation back at Mid Waiohine hut.

Day 3 – This was a big day - 8.5 hour tubing and walking down the Waiohine River to Totara Flats. The very low river level meant more walking (aka boulder hopping and rapid wading) and less tubing, but we still floated through some beautiful gorges. As usual, Totara Flats Hut was very busy, lots of kids and young people along with us more experienced trampers.

Day 4 – This was a nice 4.5 hour morning walk up Totara Creek track, down Gentle Annie, back to Holdsworth carpark, followed by a welcome banana milkshake and pie in Carterton.

Those on the trip were:

Owen Cox, Peter Davis

Currently there is no photo album for this trip.