Tramp Reflections 843 - Easter in Te Urewera National Park

2 - 5 April 2010

For those of you who are new to the club, the Easter trip has become a real tradition among hardcore club members and is normally led by Bill Garland and John Whitehead. They are long time club members, good old friends and hardy kiwi blokes who have great experience and knowledge of the bush and are 'specialised' in remote wilderness trips using rivers and streams as tracks.

Kevin B drove me, Anna and Adrienne to Mystery Creek to pick up the Whiteheads (John, Debbie, Tessa and Rebecca) and Ted, who works for John. Bill couldn't make it because one of his dogs had a problem, so he managed to find a good excuse again. Or maybe he's getting too old for these trips.....?!

We had a dinner stop in Rotorua, where myself Anna and Adrienne decided to skip the traditional fish and chips shop and had some take-away from the next door classy Indian restaurant, where we got 'served' as we sat outside. Onwards to Lake Waikeremoana and after 2 hours of winding gravel road Adrienne almost had to let go of all the nice food again, but managed to control it somehow with a short stop and fresh air! We encountered a couple of 4WD cars with big flood lights, hoping to catch (a glimpse of) some wildlife and arrived 11pm at Hopuruahine Landing, where we set up camp and spent a chilly night.

Day 1 (10 hours)

JW's wake-up call. Breakfast, pack-up the wet tents, park the van and off we went. This is the 'real' starting point of the Great Walk around the lake. Many people get dropped off further down the track by water taxis from Waikeremoana village. Near Te Wera Peninsula, where they have created a fenced-off reserve for kiwis, we stopped for a snack and said goodbye to Debbie and Rebecca; Rebecca, 11 years old, is 'in training' to become a regular Easter tramper.

Trucking on down the main track along the lake we found a nice shady place for lunch just before the next hut, because by now it was quite hot in the sun.

Leaving the main track, where the route was indicated with a sign to the Waiau Valley, JW told us to ignore a notice on a tree nearby saying something like: "walking times could be doubled" (due to damage done to trees due to heavy snowfall last year).

We headed up 'a gentle slope' for about 1.5 hours, gaining about 400m, much to Tessa's delight (NOT). JW showed us his new toy, an ultraviolet water purifier so no more pumping river water for him! We met 3 hunters at the top, had a courtesy chat and dropped down to our intended nice little campsite on the Manganuiohou river. JW cooked steak, as he would do every evening, the smell enough to make one's (at least my) mouth water followed by Easter treats (marshmallow eggs) for dessert for everybody.

Day 2 (10hours)

After a gradual climb up the Pukekohu Range, we found an aeroplane toy marker, message book box and neighbourhood watch sign at the ridge junction, but no latte!

Tessa was glad the climbing was over, but meandering along the ridge for 4km was not easy and made her saying at some point she was doing 'craply'. Her dad's standard answer to her asking whether there was any more climbing to do was " no", and every time he proved to be wrong (and most of the times he knew he was wrong) she gave him 'the evil eye'. The track was mostly through bush, not so exposed, but there was a cold and strong wind coming through. The highest point was 1186m. We found a water bottle we assumed left there or forgotten by a hunter. Then at long last it was time to drop down to Te Waiotukapiti Stream, bashing our way through and over fallen trees and having trouble finding markers. After some riverbed walking we camped on a clearing high on the bank, about 2hrs short of the intended campsite. Some hunters were camping 'next door' and came over for a talk.

Day 3 (9 hours)

Despite me and Anna being the last ones to get ready we made a record start at 7.30 (summertime). On top of that I had an unlucky start with a fall head first (luckily into the sand) and a slip into low water, later followed by a 'controlled' slide and a sting by onga onga nettle. Kevin accused me of trying to imitate John Featherstone, but his record of mishaps is probably almost unbeatable.

Along the way we were passed by a lone tramper, with a ginger beard and map who could have been mistaken for the Easter bunny. We continued over slippery stones downstream to the Waiau river and turning upstream on true right up to the Maungangarare Stream, the start of a gorge. KB & JW deemed the first bend already impassable so we took the high level route: a steep 200m climb to the top of the Blue Slip. Adrienne had some problems getting down and was tempted to do the bum slide, that she got famous for on the snow slopes of Ngauruhoe.....(leaving a blood track).

Passing another hut with hunters, we camped on a flat by a swing bridge. We had made good progress and arrived early, so there was some time for relaxation, a good swim and some blue duck watching. The resident couple was arguing with an intruding couple, but after some time they went on doing there business; washing themselves on a log near to our beach and they didn't seem to mind us watching them at very close range. After dinner we collectively wrote up some trip highlights. There was rain overnight.

Day 4 (6 hours)

In light rain we headed up the Parahaki Stream all the way to Whites Clearing. Horse tracks along this pretty stream and we saw several blue ducks again, which made us wander about their endangered species status. Ted cleared a log of the track, disturbing a wasp's nest and causing a couple of people to get stung. Nothing like the infamous Easter 2008 wasp-trip though. We managed almost to get 'lost' near the end. The group waited at a junction before getting the green light and continuing up a steep unmarked track that led up to a house where we were greeted by a Maori man waiting to pick up some hunters. His invitation for a hot cuppa was resolutely but sadly refused by our intrepid leader. We then walked out along a farm track for 1.5 hrs with the sun coming out and stopped for lunch near a stream. Right on time we met Debbie & Rebecca at the van, changed into fresh clean clothes and drove off. After an ice cream stop in Rotorua and drop-off in Mystery Creek we arrived back home relatively early.

We all survived another Easter trip! Thumbs up to John for another great trip and to Tessa, 14 years old, for surviving her 3rd Easter trip: so it is possible! She definitely deserves a club badge.

The Easter trip is typically not for the faint-hearted, but do-able for those who can carry a pack for 3-4 long days and of course like camping in the wild. We could do with a few more new faces on these types of long weekend tramps that take you to places that you normally wouldn't be able to reach on shorter tramps. See you next year.

Written by Michiel van Dijk

Photographs by John Whitehead (unknown camera) and Michiel van Dijk (Casio EX-V7).

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