Up The Karamatura

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 226, 24 September 1938, Page 3 (Supplement)

Up The Karamatura

IN a hazy sort of way I recollect that I was standing in the doorway of a small shop, where for some reason or other 1 had to pay an account for 14/6; and owing to the shop being full of customers I had been waiting rather a long time, so I rested my weight against the door post, and immediately 1 did this a bell started to ring furiously. Jumping back had no effect; the bell still kept on ringing. That was when I reached out and grabbed the alarm clock at 4.30 on a recent Sunday morning; that was also when I remembered a little phrase spoken more than once a day or two previously by well-meaning relations and friends: "You're both crazy! What do you want to do it for anyhow!" and as I tumbled out of bed I had a feeling that perhaps they were right. Bed at that moment was very—oh, well, if you've ever forced yourself away from a warm bed at 4.30 a.m. you know the feeling and if you haven't it doesn't matter. But that is not the real beginning of the story, it all started by my reading a paragraph in the paper under the title of "A Lonely Stream," and for those people who did not notice it I reprint it here. A LOXELY STREAM. Some beauty spots unknown to the average Aucklander may be opened up when the Waitakere Centennial Park proposal is tinalisetl. In the Huia Valley there is a little stream, the Karamatura, which winds from the west through some precipitous gorges. There are live waterfalls between its confluence and source, the latter being a high point on the dividing ridge to the wewt where, in the clear weather, a glimpse may be seen ®f far-away Mount Egmont in Taranaki. Having a friend of the "try anything once" variety, I lost no time in getting in touch with him. So it was that at 5.30 a.m. on a Sunday that a car containing two crazy people, two rucsacks, two dogs and a coil of rope left Auckland on a day trip of exploration.

It was somewhere beyond Titirangi where we saw the sunrise, and for a few moments we stopped the car near the summit of one of the hills and enjoyed the scene spread out before us. Except for the twitterings and chirpings of a few birds, and a rabbit that hopped across the road unconscious of our presence, the world seemed still asleep; a diaphanous mist lay in the valleys and on the horizon a low bank of billowy clouds had their edges trimmed with gold.

This in itself was worth the effort of early rising, but we had other places to go and other sights see, so we did not tarry long.

We ran the car off the road near a little wooden bridge which crosses the Karamatura Stream, and there we and the dogs had a light breakfcst, after which we shouldered cur packs and started off upstream. The first portion of the stream is rather uninteresting oxcept for the few "lit patche- uere here and there the sunlight came filtering through the trees. The stream is fairly shallow at this part, and most of the early part of the journey was by means of stepping stones of which there are plenty. In one or two places it is necessary to leave the stream for short distances and continue by picking a track through the ti-tree and scrub along the banks; this was still wet with dew and the first few showers we got from the leaves had a chilling effect, but as we kept on and our blood warmed, we. became almost indifferent to repeated showers. As we went upstream the size and number of boulders increased and in a short time the stream had taken on

By--W. H. Moore

quite a different appearance, developing into a series of cascades and minor falls. In some of these places we set up the camera only to find by reference to our exposure meter, that, although it was broad daylight, owing to the stream being hemmed in by towerin» hills, there was only just sufficient light to get a picture. To our eves, which had accustomed themselves to the gloom, everything was quite bright, but one must remember that in some of these places direct sunlight rarelv, if ever penetrates.

The dogs seemed to be enjoying themselves thoroughly, sometimes jumping fiom stone to stone and sometimes just paddling along in the shallow water.

Close to some of tlie cascades the noise was deafening and the dogs appeared scared*_when thev ventured near the foot of a fall.

we continued upstream, the going became rougher and climbing was a

necessity as we became more and more hemmed in between banks which towered above us. Gone was the quiet, wandering stream, and in place of stepping stones were boulders larjre as motor-cars, scattered indiscriminately along the way. It was soon apparent that we were to have trouble with the dogs. In many places the rocks were too steep for the dogK to climb: when we had finally managed to get them up to the top of one boulder the distance to the next would be too great for them to jump. A rushinjr torrent, six or ei;rht feet below might cause the dogs to lose confidence in his ability.

However, by constructing a sort of harness from the extra leather straps attached to our rucsacks we were able to take the dogs as iii- as we went. One of us would climb to a secure position and lower the rope which was attached to the harness. The dog would be swung out into space and hauled aloft.

This treatment was not relished bv the dogs and at times we had to iars'i at their antics, their yelj*i and whimperings. We were really sorry for them, especially so in one place where the only way to get the dogs to the top was to haul them up in the very centre of a waterfall. The drop was only about eight feet and they were submerged for only a few seconds, but they thought it was the last straw and told us so in 110 uncertain tones.

Had we known how hard it would be for the dogs, .we would not havs taken them. Before we returned the water had softened their claws and scrambling over rocks had worn them down to such an extent that the smaller of the two dogs, a fox terrier, had to be carried part of the way back in a rucsack. The other dog. a spaniel, fared much better, although his toe-naik were well worn down.

The number of times we were forced to stop and consider ways and means of getting the dogs past the various obstacles accounted for our slow progress. We did not reach the source of the stream. All I can say is that eventually we came to a high waterfall beyond which it was impossible to so bv "way of the stream. We entered" the" bush on our left and climbed, not without a few anxious moments, to the top of the hill, which point of vantage we reached shortly after one o'clock. On the summit we had our lunch and the dcs enjoyed a well-earned rest.

-A® we had to return to the car before dark, we could go 110 further, so after a rest of nearly an hour, we began the return trip. We soon fonnd that getting down steep rocks is harder than going up and when we finally arnved at the car it was getting dark. Tired and wet, we thought that perhaps we were crazy after all, and for a day or two we felt we had had our fill of rocks and waterfalls.

Although only a short time has elapsed, we are planning to go there again to «ee what the rest of the stream has ;n store for us over the hill, and next time there will be four of us, with a small movie camera thrown in for good measure. e

Whether the two dogs will accompany us or not will depend on a little idea 1 am working- out—l am trying to fit them with little boot ß to save their feet.

Yes, it's a lovely stream and a lonelv one, which doesn't alter the fact that we were crazv.