8-11 March 2026

Leader: Owen Cox

Three of us left Kapiti on Sunday and headed into Mitre Flats for the night. The plan was to head up Mitre and then down Table Ridge to Arete Forks if it was fine. Otherwise we’d head up the Waingawa valley and get to Arete Forks via the valley and return via Mitre if the weather was alright.

On Monday it was windy with low cloud over the tops so we headed up the track to Cow Creek, arriving for lunch. Here we had a small amount of rain so decided to stay and do Arete Forks as a day trip on Tuesday.

Tuesday was cloudy, quite cold and windy. We set off early, climbed the steep hill behind the hut then hit the sidle track to Arete Forks. This involves a fair bit of up and down and crossing some steep slopes. We very happy to hit the last downhill before the hut. Arete Forks Hut is in good condition and has been recently painted. After lunch and a small wander about, we headed back down the sidle track to Cow Creek. It was quite a bit faster going down than going up.

On Wednesday we had the walk out. We made good speed down past the open flats and then shortly after I managed to fall over and damage my leg on a log with a sharp branch stub on it. It left a scrape plus a nasty gash next to my shin. After bandaging (thanks Julie) it it was clear I wasn’t going to be able to walk out so we ducked down to the river and set off the beacon. We then texted Steve via the InReach. He got back, saying the helicopter would be in soon. And it was. They picked me up and pretty shortly afterwards dropped me at the door of Masterton Hospital. I was thankful for the helicopter and crew, as I was in hospital about an hour after damaging my leg. There, they x-rayed my leg, checked the wound was clean and stitched me up. That and a bit of follow-up took the rest of the day. In the meantime Julie and Mark walked out to the Waingawa road end. Thanks to Tony and Adele who picked me up from the hospital after a really late discharge. For me that was it for tramping in March, given I had to keep my lower leg dry until the hole healed.

Those on the trip were:

Julie James, Mark Robertson, Owen Cox

Currently there is no photo album for this trip.