Tramp Reflections 780 - Lake Waikareiti to Taranaki Falls

21-24 March 2008

We set off on Friday night as usual. Charlie was unable to drive the van, so JW had recruited Debbie and Rebecca to handle that side for us. The team consisted of John W and daughter Tess (13yrs) on her first big tramp, Irish Gary, Anna and Michiel, Kevin B and John and Val plus our intrepid driver and overseer.

It was a long and windy drive. We camped by the Hopuruahine Stream, with John and Debbie's girls putting up their Aussie tent quickly and efficiently. It was around midnight before we settled.

The next morning we set off from Aniwhaniwha to Lake Waikareiti. It took Tess and Gary a while to settle into a full pack, but there was no moaning. We had lunch at the hut on the lake shore and then Debbie and Rebecca headed back to the van while the rest of us trudged on. It was mid afternoon when we reached the silted lakes, so we decided to camp there for the night. It was a long walk to get to the water, but the reflections on the little lakes were worth the effort.

Another lovely day greeted us. We climbed up to the corner junction and after some deliberation, bush-bashed our way down a ridge to the Te Kei Stream. We were glad we hadn't attempted this at the end of yesterday as it took us longer than we thought and was pretty hard going. We went up a side stream to view a waterfall. Again we camped late afternoon. Tess was going really well with all the characteristics of a natural tramper.

The next day, we encountered the Wasps as we followed down the Ruakituri River. What savage little beasties. They look like the common German wasp but are smaller, savage, tenacious little buggars. They nest in the ground and surround whoever invades their space. Then they crawl up and into your clothes and just keep stinging until they are killed. Over the next 2 days we were all stung, with the record of over 20 stings for some lucky people. These stings took about 3 weeks to fade and lose their itch. Luckily we had lots of anti histamine cream and tablets on board and took no risks that someone may be allergic.

In spite of this hazard we still enjoyed the absolute beauty of the Ruakituri River. At times slow and silent with beautiful reflections and other times rushing through a gorge with huge holes worn into the bedrock. There was lots and lots of deer sign all the way down. We had a lovely camp site beside a narrow section of the river and all slept well lulled by the rushing water.

Our last day was long and slow. The wasps gave us hell and slowed us down a lot. At lunchtime, we decided to cross the river and follow down the colder wetter side to try and avoid our stubborn attackers. Unfortunately there were a lot of steep little guts that we had to go up and down, so we were still unable to speed up. We eventually got to a track and in the late afternoon were finally at the top of the Taranaki Falls. Our visit was reasonably short and we did not have time to venture to the bottom of the falls. At last we left the bush to walk over farmland, only to have to negotiate a steep hill that seemed to take ages to climb. For Tess that was the last straw and a real battle at the end of a long day. But she did it and then fair flew down the other side to the van - the end was in sight!

It was about 8pm and dark when we met up with Debbie and Rebecca. They had had a great weekend playing tourists in the area. We drove into Wairoa for tea and then had the long drive home arriving in the early hours of the morning.

This was another great Easter tramp thanks to JW for not only leading the tramp, but sharing his family with us as well. It is so neat to be a part of the development of the next generation of trampers. Also thanks to the whole team who never complained about the hazards and all looked out for one another. Tramping at its best.

Val

Photograph by unknown (Olympus uD600).