PLAYGROUND FOR THE TRAMPING CLUBS

Evening Post, Issue 149, 20 December 1935, Page 16

PLAYGROUND FOR THE TRAMPING CLUBS

Along the Tararua Heights r— % ■ . ° NORMAN E. ELDER ' . FORESTED FOOTHILLS AND RIVER GORGES — - !o oKpfn! Z^&UZitefounP^ 17^ Zsi^W^^ aaMm *"*■ *a V^T*V the main Levin SJSFSS& vigorous find alternative playgrounds within their ■ ™f conslderably- onWaiopehu, where there is a comfortable hm. limits of time and expense The main range swings away to the north-east, lhe northern range now forms a splendid panoFor the Wellington riktrir* ti, o tC= . n risingto the Beehives and Mt. Hector immediately ranV* of peaks, at its centre Pukematawai; within a is obviouslysuch an a™ Thl ' ■• T behind them. This is the highest point visible from »»«« of which rise the Mangahao, Ohau, Otaki, •tte^yof^V^c^^^te^"^6ll^ WftoSton.tod is separated by a. gap of several Park, Waiohine-iti, Waingawa, and Rumahanga Manawatu Goreeto th^Hntt v*ii 1 f. ro. m, the miles of lower peaks arid river valleys from its Rivers. JS33? aSdVXa^orT^soS S^'X^'^^^lffi-'^Sfi «- bracks recently cut in this area present a Kff^l^yir WitWn ':«^:«onSd^£^tofte^-ift&-£Sa W ide choice of routes to the range. In P lf« oTtoS fMef smnn, tL P £ aU three *ully exploited last snowy winter, about fivl hours f"*™ 1 r£ Utf ** difßqilt OhauGorge a highthl affiltfK^ *c. Cr?w f°r4 and fromthe road-head on the Otaki side. This hut is lev?* ?!? hR\ "?« cut ■k»« *•» river terrace. fa cohered a^ a ™*1 >* Simplified each : a memorial to the young man who in 1922 was f *hat tb? rout« lnt« Avalanche Flat on the Manis considered as a component range. caught out on the range and died of exposure. ■. «*Jjf°'■»? UP Mt- Dundas can now be foUowed They are no Mps, although in winter, when At t u ie n ; nf tll - „,.„ ~.„,,, , * „ , without nver-wading and the risk of being cut off under snow, they make a bold attempt to pass vJSJQjRS*?? ™am t dlV^ e ayes, thf H,? ctor *!*<»*■ addition, a small hut has bee£erected themselves off as such. In spite of their bold and an^ c and bears across to Mt Crawtord- Some at the Blackwater, and from this a track runs up irregular outlines the main heights are.curiously ■' '■ V '• , - <- - ■ . ' ' , even at about 5000 ft. A somewhat tortuous divide links them at an oblique; angle, and densely-forested foothills, broken at intervals by river gorges, rise on either flank to a height of 3000 odd feet, the whole forming an area perhaps 35 miles by 25. For those who can dispense with refinements of accommodation and trust to their own legs for transport, here is a resort of ample extent and variety. • : ■. Sixty years ago a number of the main peaks were visited by surveying parties, but it is only recently that the combined efforts of trapper« hunters, rangers, and trampers have effected a comparable entry, and the country remains incompletely routed. Established tracks link up Levin with Masterton and Eketahuna across the northern range, while Otaki, Greytown, Kaitbke, and Reikiorangi connect with the Hector Range; In • addition the northern and, southern routes are linked by a low level track running by way of the;» eastern river valleys from Kaitoke to.Mt. Holdsworth. The Crawford Range is isolated from this by the deep upper gorges of the Waiohine Rivers, from the northern range by an extensive belt of sub-alpine scrub, and from Hector by the ' formidable chasm of Tararua Peak. Its western approach is straightforward, but its intermediate position has so far made it little visited and delayed the formation of tracks. ' No adequate view of the ranges can be obtained from any point in the lowlands. Such glimpses as are obtained from the railway or the main roads are sometimes imppessive, but always tantalising, demanding closer acquaintance. In general the approach involves negotiaUng the main line of foottulls, either by direct assault or by way of one of the river gorges, both strenuous, and the latter by the possibiUty of flood. Beyond this barrier the river valleys are a glorious mixture of bush. Rata and rimu tower out of the forest, and m the spring clematis,, lawyer, and Kan^ahPinc? 0™ maSSe? °£ White' Up''the ridges divided 1 Tr^nks^'som^imes^forSne "T h°^J, S, long il lieS-th^ curious double pin- Gable End Ridge, links with the parallel -teack groves. Higher still Se b^ech bS g The c Hm£ hA 3M™P* <**?*** over Waiopehu? and continues ' to^LK f^vled^hSh^V^^^LT^^^T spurs conceal its lower slopes, while from Hector P Thenorthem range is much the most extensive, hfiht till the twkWrt trfml '. ,? hut. tmg °v* the its end-on view renders it indistinguishable, so that ■ F rom,^undas^to Holdsworth is more than a day's hfgh^nough to^wflk BeSh PP * T°Ot haTe]y onJy from specially-chosen viewpoints can its con- travelling under conditions, in addition mgti enough to walk beneath. struction be fully appreciated. The approach from north-eastern extension oflthe At this point there is a fairly abrupt break into the Kime Hutbrings one by way of a final razor- t Range and the lateral buttresses^ of leatherwood scrub, in its unbroken state one of back sud4enly upon the southern pinnacle, Tu-nui. , •Pannisjer and the Mitre, which are in them.- . the chief sporting hazards of the Tararuas At its Immediately - ; opposite lies Tu'-iti, a sheer blunt senes> small ranges,, each^^ offering a.separate best, a dense thicket of rigid stems,"mainly directed horn> and between the two, from a narrow saddle, rout£ Th, e Dun<*as and Dpra routes' to" Holdsdownhill, the twigs closely • interlaced it forms a Breat gash drops steeply down either side to worth unite on AreteV beyond wh'ich'the track .ah entanglement through which progress cari: best Profound depths. While the crossing has proved ' sklrts Lancaster, traverses the Waiohine-iti Pinbe measured by the'; yard. The twigs break sharp Possible by way, of narrow ledges, it requires a drops on to a broad, flat top leading requiring as cautious negotiation as barbed wire good head and is not a job to tackle with a pack; °n w^the. gracefur cone of Mt Girdlestone with ■i Fortunately^ a,track once cut thrpugh it is clearly the exploring party,that took a day and dropped "s??" trig. Although eyiertppped by the\rieighand permanently,.formed, sp; that on the niain " 2000 ft to'putflank it showed wisdom. pouring Mitre, its outiine makes it va recognisable v :routes,it presents:no;difficulty. .=r :•■•:■•■- :/. Returnine to the Kirn*. w»+ +>,« ir^t ♦„, mlv' ! J B"^l^l^ **?*^al^parts•bnHe'rangeV^andMe'outvSsattfflg^iaKffiKas- s^sHlfeH^^ 2 S=ssrti^Si^E ,*«*. «« h»™ ««ed«,e. : «^a/lo t An obUgin^SS'SV OI.M Forks- "rSSS:

s^^ ''■:4^.^^'^^^^W^ .it vHere^however, freedom of dement become^ rSS'ShSI^ The ?u 2 aggfed Broken Axe *&»&* to McGregor S^=ES?a.sas;Ba^s?!S «^&SiS= :5S£aE; fc"""^ M btrait, the range has a good share of wind and rise amazingly in its narrow course. A few years The Eketahuna Range is a little-visited continua. cloud^so that even, in summer conditions can be- ago at one point the stream used to double back tlon of the main range, to which it makes an. difficult, while m winter, when snow may lie for on itself round a siU of bare rock, forming a perfect obtuse angle with Dundas as apex. A series of Tn fi^°f h ey Sei ere' weir 12tt hi«h- over which driftwood aidirunks shar PPeaks' diminishing in height, run from this In fine weather the tops afford a magnificent of trees had been pitched in flood time Thatsill ■ to the head ot the Mangatainoka River, where the promenade with valleys and plains, the sea and has now gone, and in its place the water cascades ridge lans out into the bush- abreast of the Manga-, wf c lS^ Vn^ geS»SP t rl ad out°n either hand. In through a narrow cleft, leaving the old b^ddVy hao Downs. From the Eketahuna roadtracks lin places are boggy stretches which burst into flower and hard. Branches arch over forming a ereen up the rid Bes on either side of the river, and down m late summer, and higher still are tarns1 and tunnel, and where the sides close tatalMr~*K «* Ruapai Creek to the Ruamahanga River; on S; WCd SCr6€nS leading °n to the highest out to«edibly high overhTfd, the^ the west,^tracks cut from the Mangahao Dam rui p riif' tt * -r, ■ i •'■■•'' : ' against the sky. up to the top. -. ■;' . The Hector Range, from its accessibility and . . ■■ ■ t>-j ■'• ' proximity to WeUington, has been most developed Some miles up a new route turns up a side . «ff~f n V 86 du ergef. &om 4 G""<ll«tpne. ' as a tramping ground.; In a weekend the trip from creek, and after crossing a flat between two low hfLS Vf^Jl^ 6,10^ 6 W^" Kaitoke or Greytown to Otaki can be made with saddles' descends to a snug little canvas bivouac £*? £ ;SS» ; but a quicker time in-hand for looking about. The Kaitoke °n the Otaki below its junction with the Waita- ■2£ * V Jltif ■&*? c °i of approach is up the undulating beech-covered ridge waewae. The two streams run through wide J™£ ■£ fu^^^' aide. dby the.tussock whxch of the main divide, the last portion of which will ■ valleys and converge at a gravelly tongue of land! S» '?, wf S%f n5 *T??* ot J the probably be done by torchlight, to the Alpha Hut above which is the camp site. A mile up the ' 515^ ft> hence the pack track (formed by at the foot of the peak of that name, about seven Waitawaewae is a remarkable open flat of several d ow 4 tXi'no f "S 0??^ 1 0^ hours from the road. A little before this point acres, where probably a slip has once formed a IRJ^^^^^"^^^- 001-^^^^ the track unites with that from Greytown, climb- lake. Goats and pigs are abundant here and curi- "» ,he Wa] n|a^ a Rlver- and crossmg at,a modeing out of the Tauherenikau Valley. Dawn comes ously tame. Crawford lies directly above the »? y» g r- conlmues obliquely over the; Te • early, on an eastern slope at 4000 ft, and it is as forks with one of its fqur great buttresses hiding Wara Range to the road, 12 miles from Mastertdn. well to be away while the weather holds, walking the- summit. On account of these its outline is ' The very much rougher route- over Mt Barim the sunshine while the night mists are still remarkably the same from all directions, the squat nister also reaches Mitre Flats frotn a point about creeping from the shadowed valleys. Port Nichol- peak-top rising from between their shoulders, as four miles upstream. A connecting saddle leaves son lies below to the south, while further afield someone has excellently described like a Norman the range near Arete,' the ridge continuing from the KaikourasandMt Egmont rise to their full cathedral, Bannister as a precipitous razor-back with I nwnheight out of the sea. The great bulk of Ruapeliu Between the Waitawaewae and the-Olaki the ber of sudden and awkward "steps" in it to Mt. is also visible m the north. Oriwa Ridge parallels the range, which here con- ■ .'„ t . ' , About an hour beyond the Alpha bush edge sisls of a series of peaks rising above the scrub f (Continued on next page.) .....