TARARUA TRAMPERS

Stratford Evening Post, Volume II, Issue 234, 4 May 1933, Page 7

TARARUA TRAMPERS

0 ! ' Statement by Dr. Snick !; SEARCHERS THANKED |' Press Association—Copyright j Palmerston North, May 3. —A statoI 1111 * 11 1, issued by Dr. W. B, Subh | on behalf of the four Tararua trampers ■ says that an hour after their arrival in j : Mastcrtori an explanation and apprecia- j : tion from the trampers was written. This j i seems either to have been delayed in the | | post or so summarily condensed as not | to bo recognisable as an official state-' i rnent from the parly, j “In. view of this and because of the \ several inexact, misleading and even i false reports that appeared in some i dailies,” the statement explains, “we i should like to make clear our point of 1 view. The purpose of the tramp was to cross from Te Matawa: to the Mount j Holdsworth hut to see whether it would, j be possible to make a winter crossing. ! In other winter conditions this would

j not be a difficult trip for trained trampi ers, and has several times been done in j i a one-day stretch. We took a risk in I i having to spend one night in the bush, | | but as we started out between 3 and 4 I ! o’clock in the morning the contingency j ! was rather remote. When the storm | ! struck us we were within three hours of Mount Holdswcrth.” After detailing the equipment for the tramp and the experience of the party. ' Dr. Sutch continued: “Two things we did contrary to the tramping rules. The first was to sidle round the Tararua Pinnacles instead of going over them, and the second was to leave the tops for the bush. The lirsl action was' due to the | wind, the velocity of which was too great |to stick to the ridge. Similarly, to leave i the tops was the only thing to do in the j blizzard raging for days. To work ! through the bush in (he general direc- ! lion of the main range was preferable to I dying on the tops, “We were confined to an area on the « east side of the main range between i Mount Hector and Mount Crawford, ! | with the main range the base of a tri- j ! angle and the other two sides being the j rivers Waiohine and Waihine-iti, both ! raging torrents and quite unfordable. We j were therefore trapped, our only hope-j being to get across the main range to ! I Mount Hector and Otaki. For six days I

we attempted to get to the ridge through sleet and snow, knowing that search parties would be out. “We wanted to make every attempt to relieve the anxiety, but when the party j I had been almost starved for eight or | j nine days, and the feet of one were black j j with frost-bite, it was decided that per- j 1 haps it was better to follow the river [ out, especially as we could not be rcas- : onably located in the bush by a search j parly. “We were very lucky to cross the | Waiohine River at this stage. The last i j six days were occupied in getting along j i the cliff faces and through tire edges of I the bush bordering the river. “It was unfortunate that a jocular vc- j mark that wo were not lost, which was j passed to the search party, was given ■ | such prominence and public comment. ) jWe could place ourselves on the map, I j and with food we could have got out. j j The question was not whether we were | j lost hut whether we needed help. There I | was no doubt of this; we needed it, and ; i needed it urgently.’’ I Concluding, Dr. Sutch thanked all i j searchers, committees and others who | j helped. He paid a tribute to the efli- I j cient organisation of the search. In j future there would he far less chances I of death in the ranges. ! ,