Hail, Good Fellows!

- Simon Leicester

- Tararuas,3-5 July

Aim: Meet some new scrub,get to know interesting rocks and bushes.

Method: Two cars,two trips - ours and Martin's were to go in at Mangatainoka for a weekend of sun,surf and festivities.

The locals at the Taratahi pub had lots of encouraging comments about trampers and Bruce's scratched legs,but after shaking off their admiration we sussed out the carpark at Mangatainoka. Huey was putting on a thunder and fireworks display so the fit party talked themselves into sleeping in the cars. Since there wasn't room for us to stretch out in the cars we squelched up to Herepai Hut for the night (we were going anyway - ed.) The hail had piled up nicely on the track and up towards the hut it reached snowy proportions but the best was to come the next day.

Saturday's ambition was to travel up the headwaters of Ruapae Stream onto Haukura Ridge and adjourn at the bivvy for lunch before a leisurely stroll down to Roaring Stag Lodge. We got down to the stream and followed Bruce up the Ruapae rapids over the logs and rocks until he was thigh deep and teetering,before deciding to bash up a spur onto Haukura Ridge instead - easy bush,then lots of leatherwood walls,totara thickets and flax fences for club members wanting new kicks in life.

Up on the ridge between occasional gaps in the cloud we could view the sun shining briefly on the Mangatainoka River,but with the sleet and hail being blasted at our legs by a gale force southerly we wasted no time getting to the biv. With one comer in the stream it was zilch distance to collect brew material and half a day was spent listening to Ruey sounds (machine-gun hail on the roof and gurgling noises getting louder beneath the floor).wondering where the fit party was,and how long Geoff's bionic bladder would hold out.

We had the novelty of fine weather the next morning - good views of the Ruamahanga headwaters with Bannister Basin Rut glinting in the sun,and pikkiea were taken to justify bringing cameras before galloping down through tussock (briefly) page 24and crawling through leatherwood looking for a "track" or anything resembling a trail/line of disturbed leaves etc. Fanning out in very open bush ultimately led to a Forest Service line and,surprise surprise,we emerged 15 minutes up the Ruapae from the forks. By now we had had our ration of dry weather and lunch was munched in "Squeaking Rat" Lodge.

We opted for the loopy trail and a two hour mozey back to Mangatainoka car park expecting to find 2 VUWTC cars waiting. However divine intervention and the wet weather caused one of them to mysteriously migrate to a certain Castlepoint pub, and the other to wander down to Mt Holdsworth so occupants could check out the new Powell Hut. We road-bashed (naturally) contemplating :

a)	Torture and horrible death for the offending parties;
b)	Hitching to Ekatahuna with a kind farmer going our way (more fantasy);
c)	Walking 15 miles to the highway;
d)	Parting out megabucks for a taxi from distant Masterton.

Realistically we opted for d) (being reported overdue 2 weeks in a row didn't appeal much),and eventually both the taxi and Castlepoint car simultaneously arrived for the pick up.

Members: Geoff Boon,Simon Leicester,Bruce Wilson.