23-25 May 2025

Leader: Owen Cox

Peter picked me up early on Friday afternoon for the drive over to the Upper Waingawa Road end. We left the road end after 3 pm to walk along the vehicle track to the start of the track.

Just before the drop down to the river flats by the edge of the bush we passed a few vehicles including an ambulance. Just after we had climbed up to the terrace near the park boundary we met people in SAR outfits wheeling out a stretcher. They were smiling and the person on the stretcher was also smiling. Still, a real rescue caused by a turned ankle (which we found out later was broken). Pretty impressed with the stretcher – one wheel in the middle. And they were taking good care of the patient; she was very well wrapped up.

After that we had the normal up and down to the hut at Mitre Flats. The last hour and a bit was by torch light. There were three others in the hut, and as it is a small world one of them was a nephew of an old friend of mine from Paekakariki.

The other group in the hut set the alarm early so we were up before it got light. We set off for the plod up Mitre before 8 am and reached the top in time for an early lunch. We enjoyed the view and the warm, calm conditions.

After lunch we dropped off Mitre and went around Brockett and Girdlestone to Tarn Ridge in a couple of hours. We were expecting Tarn Ridge Hut to be damp and mouldy inside, as a couple of its walls have been leaking for the last 5 years. We were pleasantly surprised to find it dry and warm with some clean mattresses. The old mouldy ones were stacked and tied up on the porch. The door was open so it may be we were lucky because of a good stretch of fine weather.

We decided to stay at Tarn Ridge Hut so we’d have a shorter walk out on Sunday. We walked to Dorset Ridge in the afternoon without our full packs. The tussock slowed us down a bit, but the calm conditions, the views and the sunset made up for it. Dorset Ridge Hut was in the shade and the ground was well frosted so we weren’t sorry about the walk back to Tarn Ridge. We arrived back by torch light. The night was surprisingly comfortable and warm, given the state of the hut and the noise of the wind getting up.

We made a quick get-away from Tarn Ridge next morning. Going over the gnarly bits before Girdlestone was fine, without too much wind. From Girdlestone it was windier so we made slower, more erratic progress along to Brockett and then Mitre. I got skittled by the wind just before the climb up Mitre. The face was better; it is a bit sheltered and the wind was behind us.

We bailed off the ridge to Peggy's Peak and sidled a short distance on the east side of the ridge. Below Peggy's Peak the wind was not as strong and we made good time down to Mitre Flats, arriving there at 12.30 pm. After a brew and lunch we then walked out to the car, happy that our decision to stay at Tarn Ridge meant we did the whole thing with no need to use torches.

We also bagged the last two huts of the challenge - Dorset Ridge and Tarn Ridge.

Those on the trip were:

Owen Cox, Peter Davis

Currently there is no photo album for this trip.