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Haurangi Mountains

On Friday night 23rd March, embarked 17 bods for the fastness of the Eastern Wairarapa, under promise of open bush, grand pinnacles and limestone caves. 13 in Haigh & Hughes small truck and four noble volunteers with the Tararuas. Hours later, slightly greener, 13 disembarked at the mouth of the valley in which the Putangirua pinnacles are situated, moved 300 yards upstream and decisively camped, They were awakened later by a herd of elephants which turned out to be the remaining 4. Then rest at last followed. It must be explained that nobody had the slightest notion of the lie of the country and that the leader is a firm unbeliever in maps and oompasses. Hence next morning people had only vague ideas of where they were bound. Initially it turned out to be the Putangirua pinnacles. Thankfully dropping their packs at the first major fork of the valley all members rushed to inspect, photograph, dismantle and generally abuse the series of fine pinnacles. After unsuccessful attempts, some managed to climb above the area and get a more comprehensive view of the amazing phenomenon.

On their return the party moved steadily up the other branch of the stream, stopping for lunch before climbing out on to the main ridge. lower altitude bush is beautifully open and abounds in beech and rata. Tops navigation was found by bitter experience to consist of pushing through lawyer and nettle. All members were stung by latter I assert. Some fast talking persuaded the party to climb to the top of Surf, a place with an iron pipe sunk in the ground. Coming off this,point, two members took half an hour to cover 100 yards. Soon farm country was reached — here the party divided, some staying to swim. We camped at a pleasant spot just before the forks of a stream. Sunday saw us graunching along a mill road - very low spirits, gazing in horror at the incidence of dead crawlies in a stream from which we had drunk. We emerged at our truck rendezvous 2 hours early and lazed in the sun. By truck in luxury to the Ruakokopatuna Caves where we spent some time dodging a cattle corpse, crawling through narrow passages and plunging, torchless,into underground streams while dodging rocks hurled with gay abandon by two irresponsible old hands who had been there before. A fascinating place to those unused to stalactites, stalagmites and glow—worms.

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14 returned to Wellington in our truck, and 5 unwilling heroes waited for some Tararuas who had got lost. A wonderful trip, forgetting the lawyer, nettles and roadjbash.

W.R.S.

Party: Steve Reid, Mike Heenan, Ray Hoare, Bill Grave, Kerry Reidy, Linda Redmond, Les McLachlan, Margaret Macpherson, Evan Crawford, Barbara Wallace , Phil Laird, Bob Braithwaite, Jeavons Bailey, Peter Barry, Tina Harwood, Ian Cave, Bill Stephenson (leader).