15-16 October 2022

Leader: Owen Cox

After coffee at Featherston we drove to the Mangatoetoe valley near Cape Palliser. It was misty with occasional drizzle and an easterly so we thought camping at Mangatoetoe rather than on the coast made sense.

The route follows the stream with reasonable stretches along scrubby flats and some in mature kanuka. The old tractor track has largely disappeared. After not much more than an hour we reached the hut. There were two kids and their dad in residence so most of us camped. The hut has six bunks.

For an afternoon walk we headed up to the saddle below Kawakawa. This track hasn’t been cleared for a while and in places the stream has taken bits away. The first part is easy, under open kanuka; this is followed by a narrow section with a few scrambles over the stream banks. It then climbs out onto a spur before climbing and sidling to the saddle. At the start of the this climb is a bit of a bank and someone has put rope there, not that you need it. Once on the saddle we decided to do a short loop to check out a hut and old track before returning through a bit of supple-jack to the main track.

In the evening we had fire. The stars finally came out at about 10pm.

After a chilly night we had a leisurely start back down valley in sun. We picked up the cars and drove around to the lighthouse to walk around to east of Cape Palliser to the Stonewall Stream. It was very pleasant wandering along in sun with virtually no wind. This was despite the 4-wheel-drive-induced mud and puddles that we had to by-pass.

We checked out the waterfalls and then downstream in a pool, some distance from the sea, we spotted four young seals enjoying a swim. After lunch by the stream a few of us had short swims, in realty more like dunks, in the stream. Then it was back to the beach and around to the lighthouse. Along the shoreline and in the rocks near the beach were more seals. There are more of them every time we go there. It was noticeable this year how many of the seals were young ones.

Those on the trip were:

John Glover, Pam Glover, Julie James, Kate Livingston, Marian Cox, Mark Robertson, Owen Cox, Rob Dey, Robyn Wilson, Sandra Rowland, Stephen Bowler, Steve Knowles, Yingjun Shelton

Currently there is no photo album for this trip.