TARARUA BLAZES

RECENT PIONEERING

DORA-WEST. PEAK SECTOR

ORIWA AND KELLIIIER

(Contributed.)

During the last, fifteen years or so, the southern and eastern portions of iho Tararua ranges have been comparatively well developed by tracks or by defined routes. Moro recently a good deal of track work has been done in the Levin hinterland by working parties from the Levin-Waiopehu, Manawatu, and Tararua Tramping Clubs. There still remains, however, a huge area of practically unknown country, where no tracks exist and .where few trampcrs (over a considerable area, none) have yet set foot.

The area in question is that lying between West Peak, near Mt.' Hector (where tho Otaki-Kaitoke track junctions with the main Tararua range) and Alt. Dora (at the head of the Mangahao River), Apart from two or three ascents of Alt, Crawford, in the' very heart of this area, no portion of the main range connecting these two points had been touched prior to the beginning of 1928.

So far as is known, work in the Crawford district up to the end of 1!)27 was. confined to ascents of the peak .by tho original surveyors and: moro recently by Professor Boyd-Wil-'] sou and Dr. . Yeats ("Victoria College Tramping Club) and by parties under i the leadership of Mr. Clianey, of Otaki j Forks. Professor Boyd-Wilson, in connection with a search for two missing trampers, led a party well up tho Upper Otaki (above tho Waitewaewae Junction), and Mr. Chancy has paid several visits to this region and to the "Waitewaewao area. Unfortunately, io record, of Mr. Chaney's activities s available, and in the following paragraphs mention will be made only of expeditions in which members .of tho Tararua Tramping Club were- concerned. • It may be as well to point out at this stage that expeditions in this class of country are necessarily of short duration. Each man must carry on his back all food, equipment, sjjare clothing, etc., required for the trip, and tho nature of the, country generally makes progress exceedingly difficult. WEST PEAK TO CRAWFORD. The first' serious attempt to reduce tho untrodden and quite incorrectly mapped gap between West Peak and Dora was made in January, 1928, when Messrs. S. G. M'lutosh, J. B. Wright, and G. S. Simpson set out northward frqm West Peak with heavy packs. Their, progress was delayed somewhat by bad weather and by patches .of thick scrub, whilo nearly a whole day was occupied in making a detour to get past the formidable Tararua, Peak. The party, however, duly reached Mt. Crawford, about half-way between the two terminal points, but the appearance of the range northward from there was such as to make it obvious that several more days would elapse before Dora could be reached. A descent was accordingly made to the Waiohine iti, which was followed down for about three miles, whence a spur was- followed up to Mt. Isabel • and thence to Mt. Holdsworth. MT. DORA. The next visit to the area forming the'subject of tho present article was at its extreme northern Unlit, Mt. Dora, which up till February, 1928, had remained unclimbed, though within easy reach of the Levin-Masterton route. In that month, Messrs. G. L. Adkin (Levin)- and J. W. Butcher, while on a visit to Avalanche Flat, on the Mangahao, proceeded nearly to the source of the 'Mangahao and climbed Dora by an easy route discovered by Mr. Butcher during searching operations nearly a year •previously. This ascent was made without packs, and as the narrow bed of the Mangahao is a succession of huge boulders and the full route, from Levin (up the Ohau, over Deception Eidge, via Adkin's Track, and up the Mangahao) is a roundabout one, a search for a more direct route from Levin was made at Easter, 1928, .by ■ Messrs. Butcher, Murray (Elthain),.and Neill. The party proceeded up the South Branch of tho Ohau, then up Butcher's Creek, and on to the ridge connecting Waiopehu with the main range and forming the watershed between the Ohau and Otaki. When within a fewhundred feet of the top of Dora,, and well within the leatherwood area of the main range, heavy rain compelled a halt. As the rain continued during the next two days, the trip had to be abandoned anda somewhat adventurous- return was made to Levin down the flooded Ohau. About > Se'ptember of the same year, another route was tried .by Messrs. Gapper and Gilmore (Levin), and Mr. G. B. Wilson (Tararua). This party left the - Waiopehu Hut early in the morning, and after a long and strenuous day succeeded in reaching the top of Mt. Dora, returning to Levin via Mts. Arete and Dundas, Avalanche Flat, and Deception Eidge. This route lias now been adopted on account of its avoiding the Ohau and Mangahao Eivers, which soon become impassable in heavy rain. A good deal of trackcutting has 'recently been done on this route, mainly \Sy members of the Manawatu Club, while a small Tararua Club party cut a track up Gable End, which somewhat shortens/ the route. Still another route from Levin to Mount Dora was tried out by Messrs. Adkin (Levin), Wilson, and Butcher last March, when the Ohau was followed practically to its source and the climb made from there. Though this route involves no unnecessary climbing (no elevation being lost after once being gained—a drawback'of tho Waiopehu-Dora route), it shares with the Butcher's Creek route the disability of being iisablo only at low water. THE ORIWA RIDGE. Meanwhile exploring activities had been carried on elsewhere. The Tararuas are not a single chain, but rather a group of more or less parallel ridges. East of the main range (and usually higher than it) lie the Duudas-llolds-worth range and the Lancaster-Carkeek ridge, while to tho west of it (across the Otaki). a long ridge oxtends from the junction of the Otaki and Waitowaewap rivers to the top of Mount Waiopehu, via Mount Oriwa. In April, 1928, Messrs. Butcher, Wilson, and Neill journeyed to the junction via the Waitatapia River and over the ridge separating it from the Otaki. Next day they set out up the Oriwa ridge, which after tho first few miles they found to be covered with stunted beech, which involved a good deal of slasher work, as did also the leatherwood between Oriwa and Waiopehu. An interesting feature of this trip was the discovery, just below, tho top of Mount Oriwa, of the site of the Lost Lake of the Maoris, which is reputed to have been the home of the doubleheaded tuna. . LANCASTER RIDGE. The nest journey in new territory was undertaken by Messrs. Wilson, M'lntosh, and Milroy around 'Labour Day of 1925. These three trampers proceeded to Mount Dundas by the Levin-Mastertcm route, thence south to Mount Lancaster, and down tho long Lancaster ridge to the junction of the Waiohineiti and Park Eivers. From

tho junction a spur was followed up to tho main range at tho northern shoulder of Mount Crawford, Crawford being traversed and a descent made to the Otaki Biven, near its junction with the AVaitewaewae, the Waitatapia route being followed thence to tho lower Otaki Forks. MOUNT KELLIHER. On the second of two trips up the Oriiva Ridge Mr. Butcher had noted what appeared to be a feasible route to and up Mount Kellihcr, situated on tho main range somo, miles north of I Mount Crawford. In' company with Mr. Murray, of Eltham, ho tried out this route with eminently satisfactory results so far as the ascent of Kelliher was concerned, though an intention of proceeding along the main range in the direction of Dora had to be abandonee! on account of a snowstorm developing. The route followed, which brings the top of Kelliher within 10 or 12 hours' reach of the road at Levin, was up Waiopohu, along the ridgo to j Oriwa, thence down an easy open spur to the Otaki, and up another easy spur to tho top of tho peak. The party incidentally found evidence in the way of blaze marks that Kelliher had been climbed earlier (? by Mr. Chancy) via tho long south-west spur running up from well down the Otaki River. CRAWFORD TO PUKETORO. Though Crawford, Dora, and Kelliher had all been climbed, there still remained untouched the sectors of the main range between Crawford and Kelliher and between Kelliher and Dora. These sectors were tackled as recently as last Labour Day week-end by Messrs. J. W. Butcher "and J. K. Nichols, tho southern gap being eliminated altogether and tho northern being reduced by a milo or so, almost impenetrable scrub north of Mount Puketoro compelling the party to decide between being satisfied with the progress already made and being posted overduo. A return.to civilisation was accordingly made by the Kelliher-Oriwa route, some six or eight miles (as the range bends and undulates) still remaining untouched between Puketoro and Dora. Half of this distance appears from Puketoro to be good alpine meadow country, a milo or so beech forest, and two miles or more thick-set and exceedingly difficult leatherwood scrub, where progress is reckoned not |by the milo but by the chain.

Following Tip this article and the article in the issue of Saturday, 2nd inst. (which dealt with the WaiohineKaitoke track), the writer hopes to induce one of the participants In tho Crawford-Puketore trip to write an aceount thereof.