16-18 September 2022

Leader: Tony Quayle

Although this circuit can be comfortably completed in two days, we elected to relax the pace a bit by walking in to Longview Hut on Friday afternoon. This gave us some free time to explore the Howletts Hut area before dark on Saturday.

Driving in on Friday the weather in the foothills looked decidedly damp, prompting our carload (one of two) to change into tramping clothes under the shelter of some trees, well short of the roadend. However, by the time we caught up with the others at the carpark, conditions were looking decidedly brighter. We enjoyed having Longview to ourselves that night, with the hut nicely warmed by the fire.

Saturday involved a 300 metre grunt from Pohangina Saddle up to Otumore, followed by a couple of gentle kilometres north along the range to a snack break in the Oroua Saddle. Another short, sharp climb took us back onto the crest of the range, which provided scrubby but generally easy travel on the final stretch to Howletts Hut.

Unfortunately, some members lost items of gear along the way, most likely in the leatherwood so, once we’d had lunch and staked-out our sleeping spaces, Julie, Patrick and Wayne walked back for what turned out to be a fruitless search. The rest of us climbed onto the snowy shoulder of Tiraha for a look at the spectacular Sawtooth Ridge. Back at the hut, two hunters had moved in and proved good company for the evening.

Sunday dawned sunny and calm, the best day of the trip. First up was the steep descent to Daphne Hut, followed by 20 minutes or so chilly river travel. A steep climb out of the valley soon eased off to a gentler grade and a pleasant walk through the push, past the turnoff to the lower carpark and out into the tussock. Wandering the rest of the way along the ridge back to the top of the Longview track was pleasant and easy, with great views across to the main range and Ngamokos.

A most enjoyable trip with great bunch of Parawais, including new member Steve Knowles.

Those on the trip were:

Julie James, Marcia Goode, Owen Cox, Patrick Liss, Peter Davis, Rob Dey, Tony Quayle, Wayne Williams, Steve Knowles