TARARUA TRACKS

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 136, 5 December 1929, Page 17

TARARUA TRACKS

SOME PATHFINDERS

THE SIGN OF THE SLASHER

t WOI?Jv IN LEVIN AREA

It is not so very many years ago that the only track worthy of the name in the.whole of the Tararua region proper was that leading up Mount Holdsworth, one of the principal tourist and holiday attractions of tlio -Masterton district. Prior to the advent of the TaraTua Tramping Club ten or cloven years ago, the only other formed track was that -put through about 1914 or- 1915 from Woodside to tho bush lino on Mount Alpha. A track of sorts, prob. ably dating back; to the days of the old .surveyors and kept in existence through constant use by cattle. and pigs, led from the edge of tho cultivated land at the Otaki Forks to the bush line'- on Table Top. The activities of the Tararua Tramping Club, with the assistance of Government grants, soon led to an extension of existing tracks and the formation of new ones. The Masterton Club also, iv its particular sphere—the Waingawa district—put through several good tracks, which have materially assisted towards making this part of the Tararuas known to an increasing number of trampers and tourists. A recent article in "The Post" showed how a large portion of the central Tararuas still remains practically trackless. Farther north, in the Levin hinterland, track-cutting has recently been instituted on a moderately extensive scale, and tho present article deals briefly with the progress to date. EARLY GAME TRAILS. , The starting point for all expeditions into the' Tararuas in the Levin district is the pipe bridge, reached by "either of two good .roads fr.om Levin; For many years a small band of local enthusiasts had made- occasional trips up Mount Waiopehu and to other, points, of vantage, making use of game tracks where these existed. Other trips were made up the Ohau and sometimes over the range separating tho Ohau and Mangahao systems. ■ On one or two notable occasions these expeditions went still farther afield, penetrating right through to the Wairarapa. Always, however, it was the game track, the more or less open but trackless spur, or the open ridge above the bush line, that .was used, formed tracks being non-existent. A certain amount of blazing was, however, done, which served to indicate the route for future use, thereby assisting towards the' foot-forming of tracks. . As early as 1910, a survey, party under the late Mr. H. E. GirdJestone cut a track from near the head of the south branch of'the Ohau, over the main range, which is here well under 3000 ft elevation, down to the Mangahao, and up to the bush line on Mount Dundas. Some distance up Dundas, Girdlestone's track connected on to the spur used by Mr. G. L. Adkin a year earlier, and it is only from here to the bush line that the track is now used, Adkin's much more direct Deception Ridge route (which incidentally saves several miles-of river walking) having, been adopted. BLAZING AND CUTTING. It* was not till 1922 that any further traelccutting was done in tho district. In that year a party of Levin trampers, who were attempting to cross to Eketahnna, cut a good track from Avalanche Hat up. the..spur Jeading to

Dundas, and functioning with Girdlestone's _track some distance up. Through increasing use a reasonably good track gradually took shape from the Ohau confluence up to tho top of Deception Ridge, but, though well blazea, no actual track-cutting -was done on this section. In April, 1927, Sir. "\V. Harris blazed a route from Avalanche Flat to the top of Deception Ridge. This route has since been well tramped over, so that a good track now exists all tho way from the Ohau confluence to tho bush line on Dundas, viz., up Deception Ridge, a little along tho ridge to the north, down to Avalanche FJat on the Mang'ahao, and thence up Dundas. Traok-cutting proper in this district, however, dates back ouly to the formation of ,the Levin-Waiopelm Tramping Club a ghort two and a half years ago. Members'; of the new club enthusiastically set \ about building a track up Waiopehu, and iv an incredibly short space of time had formed a really good track from the cultivated land near the pipe bridge to the top of tho mountain. The whole work was done, and the fine hut near the bush line built by club members without one penny of Government assistance, and it may here be remarked that so far. all track-work-in the district has been, done byj working parties of -trampcrs without the Government being asked to contribute in any way.' TO AVOID FLOODS. At the inaugural' meeting of the Levin Clubia suggestion by a prominent ■Wellington tramper. that an attempt bo made to form a track up the gorge of the Ohau, to avoid the danger of floods and of scrambling round the deep holes with which: the gorge - abounds, was deemed to be impracticable. It was proposed, however, to provide a safer means of ingress and egress by cutting a track from a point on the Waiopehu track-to the "junction of the Ohau and Ohau-iti,. above the gorge. On hearing of the decision, Mr. G.Gappcr drew attention to the fact, known apparently only to himself, that there is a succession of terraces up the soutli side of the Ohau as far- as Tongue Point, with intervening stretches of hillside which'- would present no insuperable difficulties to track-cutting. He and. Mr. W." Harris set to with a-will and soon-had a good track through to the Blue 8001, :a little down stream from Tongue Point. This track was later continued to Tongue Point, and subsequently to the Ohau-iti Junction, at the loot of the Gable End Eidge, a coupleoff elled trees: being set across the Ohau-iti to form a bridge. OABLE END AND DORA. _ About; this time'the question of finding _a< route: to Mount Arete (on the Levin-Maßterton .route) that would avoid the Ohau and Mangahao Rivers altogether,' came into prominence, and it was, considered advisable to utilise the rather tortuous and undulating ridge running from Mount Waiopehu to a point on the main range north-west of Mount Dora; The question of whether to run a new : track vp 1 Gable End or to take, advantage of the five-mile stretch already cut up Mount Waiopehu was settled by work being put in hand almost; simultaneously from two points A working party from the Tararua Tramping Club, assisted by members of the Levin Club, cut a good track to the bush line on Gable End and thence through a luxuriant growth of leatherwood along the flat top of the ridge to its junction with the Waiopehu-Dora Ridge. - A party from the Palmerston Club under the direction of Mr. Silson, of that club, and Mr. Gapper, of .Levin commenced at Easter last the cutting of a-, track from the top of Waiopehu through the scrub towards Gable End. The good work ha 3 been carried on by members of the Palmerston Club at subsequent holiday ■ periods, and the track now extends to Butcher's Saddle, between- Richard's Knob and the main range. - tFrom this saddle a good game

track leads to the bush line below Mount Dora. Mr. Murray blazed this track well at Easter, 1928, and three parties which have used this route to Dora have cut tracks through the scrub in places, so that not a great deal remains to be done to complete the Waio-pehu-Dora track. ORIWA. South of Waiopehu, a reasonably good track now extends to Mount Oriwa, the leather wood belt on Waiopehu and Oriwa having been cut cleanly through last Easter by Messrs. Butcher and Murray on their return from a visit to Mount Kellihcr. Where the route runs through beech forest it was fairly well blazed and a blaze was also run from the Otaki River at the foot of Kelliher to the top of Oriwa. A track of sorts has also taken shape up the long. Oriwa Ridge running northward from the Otaki-Waitewaewae Junction, the first party to follow this route having to do a good deal of cutting to make any headway- at all, and subsequent parties, helping to make a fairly definite track. Little work would be involved in making this into a really good track.

The foregoing brief account will give some idea of what can be done by willing^ workers. From being practically untouched less than throe years ago this district now has a track system which compares ■ favourably with those of the southern and- eastern portions of the Tararuas, and the work is still going on.