Northern Crossing 08

DAY ONE
After being dropped off by Penny at the road end near Levin, Carsten and I set off across the farmland towards the mountains. Soon after entering the bush a Kaka (native parrot) flew across the track infront of us. Reintroduced into the Tararuas in the 80's, these large brown birds are now fairly common, due mainly to possum control (the dreaded 1080 may not be so bad).

After an hour or two we arrived at the Ohau River and began navigating upstream. This gravel bank was in the sun and seemed like a nice spot for lunch.

There is no actual track up the Ohau and we clambered up the valley passing through a number of very scenic gorges. Carsten was very patient while I mucked about taking photos and enjoying the sun.
We spent all afternoon enjoying the river and by the time we got to the track that led up the side of the mountain it was doubtful that we would make Te Matawai Hut before dark, so we found a flat spot and set up camp. As we put up the tent the rain started. We had a nice meal of Chicken Tikka Masala and fell asleep listening to the river and the rain on the tent.DAY TWO

We packed up between rain showers and started up the side of the hill. The track is very steep and is known as the Yeats 500 for the 500 feet (182m) of height it gains very quickly. Rain showers came and went as we climbed up through the bush. As we gained altitude, the trees become smaller and covered in moss until we were in the clouds. Thick green moss covered every surface and hung in droopy mats from the branches.

By lunchtime we were enjoying the dryness of Te Matawai hut near the treeline, and looking ominously at the ridge leading up into the clouds. This hut is maintained by the Manawatu Tramping and Skiing Club and is in very nice order. It was very tempting to stay the night here and have a restful afternoon.

After a good rest at the hut we donned our packs and started climbing the ridge. The clouds lifted as we climbed and the views were amazing. As we reached the top of Pukematawai (1432m) we could see Mt Taranaki, Kapiti Island and huge mountain ridges in all directions.

We battled strong winds over Arete (1505m) and dropped a short distance to the new Arete Hut. This is a very cute 2 person hut and was a neat place to stay for our second night. A plate full of hot Babotjie was very welcome, as was a nice warm sleeping bag.

DAY THREE
We had a quiet night in the mountains and woke to heavy cloud surrounding the hut. We packed up and wandered across to Lancaster getting bits of view and sunshine through breaks in the cloud from time to time. By we got to the Waiohine Pinnacles there was heavy cloud with poor visability and we scrambled over the near verticle sided pinnacles without being able to see the enormous rocky drops below us (this was a good thing).

A comparatively easy walk across Tarn Ridge led to Tarn Ridge Hut, our destination for our third night. I was enjoying the fact that the muddy areas here contained more deer footprints than human ones. We enjoyed a lazy afternoon, watched the sun set and went to bed after a good feed of Sweet and Sour Chicken.

DAY FOUR

We woke to heavy rain. In full wet weather gear we climbed over Girdlestone (1546m) and into the teeth of a cold southerly wind. We missed the track down off Brockett Rocks (1538m) and in poor visability ended up descending the wrong ridge in completely the wrong direction. Luckily we realised we had gone wrong fairly quickly. We pulled out Dave's GPS unit to find out where we were and with some neat electronic instructions we were led back to the track to continue our ascent of Mitre. The 200m of height we needed to climb back up Brockett was hard going knowing that it was an unnessecary climb, but the lesson was learnt. The highest point in the Tararuas, Mitre stands an impressive 1571m high and is a very steep and interesting climb. On reaching the top Carsten announced loudly "We knocked the bastard off!" RIP Sir Edmund.

At this point we needed to decide if we were going to continue on the tops or drop into the valleys. We still had 5 large peaks to traverse if we wanted them, but with the weather not being friendly and as we were cold and wet, we decided to loose some altitude. The ridge that led us down to Mitre Flats Hut was long, but our spirits were high as we plodded our way along. Eventually we arrived soaking wet at the hut and immediately searched out enough fire wood to start a roaring fire.

Once warm and dry with a plate load of Morocan Lamb inside us we decided that instead of spending another 2 nights in the wet bush just for the sake of it, we could be out the next day. We had completed the Northern Crossing, summited Mitre, and had a great 4 days, so it was decided that the next day we would head for the road end at The Pines.

DAY FIVE

A lazy start and an easy couple of hours wandering down the Barra Track beside the Waingawa River saw us out. With no plan on getting back to Wellington we sponged a lift with a passing plasterer and rode in the back of his van with his black lab Meg. Soon after we were in Masterton and 2 hours later Penny had picked us up and we were on our way home.

Click photo below for web album with more photos...

NorthernCrossing08