29 February to 1 March 2020

Leader: Owen Cox

We made an early start 6.15 am for the drive to the Kashmir Road end on Saturday morning. After a coffee at Dannevirke we got to the road end in overcast weather. As the forecast had very light rain, some wind and cloud for the Saturday and fine on Sunday we decided to do the river from Leon Kinvig to Top Gorge on Sunday which meant we headed in down to Awatere and followed the streams around to Makaretu.

This was easy start along the low ridge from the road-end followed by the spur down to Awatere Hut. This is a nice simple little hut on a bush flat. From here it was an easy wander down and open gravel stream to the fork of the Makaretu. We had very light rain for this stretch that just managed to dampen the rocks in the open but reach the ground under trees. From the forks the Makaretu Stream is bit steeper and rougher but it is only an hour or so Makaretu hut. We lunched on the porch.

After lunch we headed up the spur behind the hut. The old on this spur is no longer maintained and has dropped off the maps. Apart from some fern at lower end it was pretty clear. At the top, we then headed south along motorway of a track through leather-wood that follows the ridge from Longview down to Leon Kinvig Hut. We meet four people on a SAR exercise wandering around looking for footprints and things in orange vests.

After a short, steep drop we arrived at Leon Kinvig to find one person, Mary, in the eight mattress hut. How cool is that. The SAR team arrived later and pitched a couple of tents and two slept on the porch. A warm night so we left the door open. Overnight the cloud cleared. The other notable event was a possum which got interrupted running off with some food treat, a small bag of ball shaped perks, which was retrieved. Turned out this was a repeat visit and it had already made off with Peter’s licorice.

We were away reasonably early heading up the Pohangina River. Easy travel for the most part. About a kilometre above Leon Kinvig there is deep pool which depth tested (getting up to my neck before deciding it might be a bit wet for the packs). Got round this by a short climb up a slip to rocking rib and then down the other side back to the river. The was another narrow bit about another km up but this only involved a few waist deep wades. Then more open river to another gorge.

Near the start of this gorge we met Mary who was starting to climb out to avoid a deep bit. This proved to be a short swim, which Peter did with his pack. The rest scrambled up the bank and followed old permalat around a near vertical face before dropping back not far above the deep bit. Under an hour from here to Top Gorge Hut. After lunch we wandered up river enjoying the hot weather. The two waterfalls added a bit of fun despite the river being almost draw at the falls. We then did the short climb to the Longview ridge where Paula bagged her fifth hut of the weekend. The just a short trip off the ridge back to the car park.

Took about 3.5 hours from the road to Makaretu, then 4 hours over the hill to Leon Kinvig. It took just under 4 hours total time from there to Top Gorge and about 3.5 hours from Top Gorge back to the car park.

Those on the trip were:

Owen Cox, Marian Cox, Peter Davis, Paula Richardson, Marcia Goode, Neville Grubner, John Sturgess