Windy Tops

  • Collins Ultimate Navigation Manual, by Lyle Brotherton (a review)

    Collins Ultimate Navigation Manual, by Lyle Brotherton

    I don’t normally refer to material without a direct New Zealand connection, but I’ve made an exception in this case. In my kiwi-centric world (at least on this website) I’m very interested in outdoor navigation. Globally the Collins Ultimate Navigation Manual by Lyle Brotherton is a highly recommended resource. I haven’t seen it on retail shelves in New Zealand, but it’s accessible fairly cheaply with an online order via an NZ web retailer such as Fishpond, although you’ll need to wait for the book to be mailed from the UK

    I was excited when I first heard about this book. I’ve seen it informally referred to as something that resembles a complete and authoritative guide to navigation. The book itself doesn’t state this, but still claims via its preface to be “the most comprehensive and easy-to-use navigation manual ever made available”, and “a landmark in land navigation”.

    More specifically, the book considers what its author refers to as “micronavigation”, which is essentially described as [my translation] the form of land navigation that involves connecting together short legs of movement through a terrestrial environment to successfully form a lengthier journey. In other words, it’s a guide to virtually all types and tricks of navigation that are normally required for finding one’s way through the back-country.
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  • The Shaky Isles

    I won’t make too much out of the recent effects of Seddon’s seismic activity on Wellington, at least until it gets any worse. Yesterday afternoon I was traversing through part of the Tinakori Hill, trying to determine how long it’d take to walk between the CBD and Ngaio. There’s still quite a lot of tree-fall and other storm damage up there, and elsewhere around the town belt, from that storm a few weeks ago, which made it interesting.

    On this occasion I coincidentally ran into a friend from the Wellington Tramping & Mountaineering Club (Michael L). We were chatting for a few minutes, and the ground started to shift in a way that either of us could have perceived as general dizziness if we’d not confirmed with each other that it was an earthquake. Neither of us knew if there’s a protocol of what to do in an earthquake whilst in a forested area—maybe a worthy topic for another discussion—and then it stopped. Later, when I bumped into a woman walking her dog as she played on a smartphone, I was very surprised to discover that the shaking had been measured as magnitude 6.9 although it was later revised to 6.6. Somehow I’d felt nothing compared with what I’d have expected that to feel like.
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  • More comprehensive mountain forecasts

    Very quickly, it’s great to see that, as of today, the Met Service is providing more comprehensive mountain forecasts under its commercial contract with the Department of Conservation. Jacqui Bridges has helpfully detailed the changes in a post on the MetService Blog.

    Also, and I mention this in particular because I think the Tararuas are so awesome, Tararua Forest Park now has its own mountain forecast. Apparently there’s rain coming.

  • Staying put

    ACR ResQLink

    I’ve finally bought myself a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB; an ACR ResQLink in my case), which I obviously hope I’ll never need to use. I was on the edge of buying one a couple of years ago, but put it off for a while when things changed. It arrived in the mail a few days ago.

    Several SAR incidents were making the news on the day that my PLB turned up. One of these occurred in the southern Ruahine Range. In this most actively-reported case, a PLB was activated by a tramping club group which had taken a wrong turn in bad weather.

    In the Pohangina vicinity (here’s a map) they’d planned (according to the club’s trip schedule) to head up Shorts Track, follow the tops over .1380, .1405, .1350 and down to Ngamoko Hut, before eventually returning somehow via Toka Trig and down Knights Track. A navigation error in bad weather on the first day, however, in the vicinity of Whaingapuna (.1405), resulted in the group ending up in Piripiri Stream. They changed plans to attempt to follow it out to farmland, but found themselves bluffed by a very high waterfall.
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  • You can’t beat Wellington on a good day

    All parts of New Zealand have great things going for them, but the target of my unending bias is definitely the Wellington region. This is the case even though I’ve been absent for the past 2.5 years, living in Melbourne for secondary employment reasons. I’m aware that the region gets its share of weather events which are sometimes unpleasant to live with, yet it’s events like last week’s relatively newsworthy storm which also cause me to feel most home-sick. It’s the type of thing I would have written about if there at the time.

    Sunny and consistent weather is okay for a few minutes, but I appreciate being able to walk around a hill-top in the town belt during a strong wind, or sit on the rocks during a southerly gale under the sheltered northern end of the Wellington Airport runway, watching the flights awkwardly drop to the runway from directly underneath. When living locally, it’s the type of thing I often enjoyed writing about between everything else which ends up here, but it’s been lacking during the time I’ve been away.
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  • An update on that “inappropriate PLB activation” incident

    In February I wrote a lengthy post based on a major media incident where a man was reported to have activated a Personal Locater Beacon (PLB) because he was “running late”. This wasn’t just out-of-control media, however. It was sparked by a hasty press release pushed out by the Rescue Coordination Centre of New Zealand (RCCNZ)—the part of Maritime New Zealand which is responsible for monitoring and responding to PLB activations. In my opinion, the press release was full of inflammatory and unverified innuendo that accused the man of “apparently” mis-using the beacon, and it then threatened to charge him for mis-use. At the time, popular media lapped it up.

    It’s great to see, therefore, that the RCCNZ has now completed an investigation and cleared the man of any wrongdoing with respect to activating the PLB. (Here’s the Fairfax coverage via the Nelson Mail or the Press, which have different comment threads.)

    To me this whole incident seemed uncharacteristic and inconsistent on the part of the RCCNZ, certainly when compared with other rescue organisations. I haven’t seen reliable details of the specific incident and therefore can’t comment on this man’s case, except to note that being cleared of allegedly activating a PLB without an emergency doesn’t necessarily mean that things couldn’t have been done better to avoid problems in the first place. What I do know is that PLBs are activated regularly in New Zealand, and some activations are definitely less appropriate than others. I still don’t understand what was so incredibly special about this incident which caused it to be singled out. I can’t see any clear reasons why the man’s actions were taunted so strongly and inconsistently, especially from official sources, when there are so many other incidents to choose from.
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  • Checking out the Paekakariki Escarpment Track

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    Iconic coastal scenery, albeit without the
    iconic coastal exposure to the elements.

    [Note, 23rd April 2016: If you’ve stumbled on this page whilst looking for an account of the newly-opened track, I’ve more recently posted a more complete trip report of the entire thing.]

    Another of the things I found myself doing during the recent visit, besides this Easter tramping trip, was to check out the new Paekakariki Escarpment Track, one of the contributing sections of the Te Araroa Trail. When completed, this route will provide a dedicated walking corridor between Paekakariki and Pukerua Bay, alongside the coast north of Wellington. It’ll make the most of both iconic coastal scenery and iconic coastal exposure to the elements, and it’s completely accessible at both ends by Wellington’s metropolitan commuter train network.

    I’d not even considered visiting this track until I noticed in the DomPost that the access was about to be partially opened, although its pending construction has been in the news since at least mid-2011. My only available day was Saturday 23rd March, so I bought myself a Day Rover ticket, hopped on a train to Paekakariki, and went off to hunt for it. As an aside, the Kapiti and Johnsonville metro lines in Wellington are both very interesting tourist lines when you’re not a daily commuter.

    As is typical for me when I do things on a whim, I messed this up. It was a few days before the Te Araroa Trust had posted this on their website, which would have been useful information to have had in advance. In my haste I’d assumed I knew where I was going without making the effort to check. I mean, I’ve been to Paekakariki heaps of times, and I imagined that the obvious starting point for such a track would be near the intersection of SH1 and the Old Paekakariki Road. There was nothing obvious there, however, and I spent an hour walking around Paekakariki searching for a vantage point on the hill across the road, thinking it must somehow begin from further north. Failing to find it, I then spent 40 minutes walking up the Paekakariki Hill Road before I finally decided I was going the wrong way.

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    Part of Kapiti Island.

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  • Protecting our place in silence

    In my recent trip report, which described several days in the northern Ruahine Range, I referred to the presence of whio (pronounced fee-oh), also known as New Zealand’s Blue Duck. The bird has evolved in an isolated fashion and is not closely related to other ducks. It’s a strong swimmer, and one of very few birds in the world that lives its entire life on fast-flowing, bouldery mountain rivers. It’s most active during the edges of the days, and sometimes overnight, and it’s named after the feee-oh sound of the male’s call… moreso than the responsive squalk of the female. Whio are not as iconically popular as some of New Zealand’s other birds such as the kiwi or the kea, yet if you turn over a New Zealand $10 note, you’ll see a pair of whio on the back.

    Whio are also listed as vulnerable to becoming extinct. They nest for three months a year in caves, log jams and under other vegetation, so the eggs and chicks are vulnerable to both spring flooding and introduced predators. The total population is hard to count, but a current estimate is for as few as 2,500 individual birds, scattered throughout the country and dropping. Being exclusively territorial they’re usually seen in pairs at best, which doesn’t help towards improving numbers. Occasionally, however, there are also good stories.

    Its requirement for clean water and a high diversity of aquatic insects means the presence of whio is considered a key indicator of a genuinely healthy river, something that’s all too uncommon in New Zealand today. If you find whio, it means you’ve found a waterway that’s in a fairly pristine state. Keep this in mind next time you’re thinking of leaving a mess that will seep into a waterway, or throwing unwanted food-scraps into a stream, or washing dishes in a river outside a hut or camp-site. You may well be making life harder or impossible for vulnerable species such as whio, not to mention all the insects it relies on.

    It’s fortunate to be able to see such birds in the Ruahine Range, but it’s something I’ve taken for granted that I can report having seen them without putting the very birds I’ve seen in danger. Sadly it’s not always the case. Despite being at risk of eventual extinction for several reasons, the whio is, at least, not generally in danger from people of malicious intent simply knowing where they live. From this point on, I’m going to write about lizards.
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  • Trip: Sparrowhawk, Maropea Forks, Colenso and Upper Makaroro

    Easter of 2013 comes towards the latter part of a lengthy drought, especially in the North Island. Rivers are low or dry, municipal water use restrictions are in place, and total fire bans are active.

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    Gareth approaching on the tops, from Orupu (.1475)
    in the background towards Maroparea (.1511).

    Visiting Wellington again for a week or so to go tramping, after frustrations like 10+ days in a row of temperatures higher than 35 (thank you Melbourne), I really am keen to see some rain, wind, snow, hilly and/or mountainous landscapes, anything relatively cold. Statistically the Ruahine Range, which is where we’re going, is good for four out of five of these, though the western Tararua Range still beats it hands-down for rain. Did I mention that the Roar is just starting? Hunters hunters everywhere.

    Dates: 28th March – 1st April, 2013 (Easter weekend)
    Location: Ruahine Forest Park, Makaroro Road.
    People: Craig, Gareth and me.
    Huts visited: Sparrowhawk Biv (0 nights), Maropea Forks Hut (1 night), Colenso Hut (1 night), Upper Makaroro Hut (1 night), Barlow Hut (0 nights).
    Route: From Makaroro Road up to Sparrowhawk, along tops and down to Maropea Forks for Friday night. Then along marked track through Unknown Campsite to Colenso Hut. Follow river North into Mangatera River, and walk up creek towards Potae (.1312), drop into marked track and back to .1503, then down Totara Spur to Upper Makaroro Hut for Sunday night. Follow Makaroro River through gorgey section to Barlow Hut, then back out to Makaroro Road.
    [Photos]
    [map:https://93a12629bf06.ngrok-free.app/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/20130402-sparrowhawk-maropea-colenso-upper-makaroro.gpx%5D

    This post is a trip report. You can find other trip reports about other places linked from the Trip Reports Page, or by browsing the Trip Reports Category.

    On Thursday night, being the night before the public holiday of Good Friday, we pile into a van and drive to Carterton for a short dinner. It’s nice to see that Istanbul (a great kebab restaurant) is still going strong after a couple of years—it seems to have become a popular dinner stop for tramping groups who drive north. During dinner, we’re surprised to see a couple of other friends (Paul and Sharon) drop in, on their way to the Tarauras. They’re apparently aiming for Dorset Ridge over the long weekend. Back into the van, and Amanda, Richard, Craig, Gareth and myself aim for Dannevirke, where Amanda and Richard have managed to arrange a cabin for an overnight stay. This beats staying at the end of Makaroro Road, where camping’s not allowed, or walking until 2am to reach somewhere like Sparrowhawk.

    Richard and Amanda had their own thing planned. On paper it looked similar to our own plan except they have, for some reason, decided to include additional circles to make the distances further between stopping points. On Friday morning, after about another hour’s drive, they’re out and walking up the Makaroro River. They’re sporting fluorescent clothing and pack covers, as they don’t want to be accidentally shot by an over-enthusiastic rifle-bearer.
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  • Re-visiting New Zealand

    We’re getting ready to go back to New Zealand again, in another of our recurring visits. For anyone who reads these things and has not been aware, I’ve been living abroad for the last couple of years. My plan, having caught up with some friends and family around Wellington, is to visit the Ruahines over Easter as part of a small WTMC group. All of the cool kids in the trampey club like to go south on long weekends for some reason, so we’ll be a more dynamic, small group in what is the second best mountain range for tramping in the world. These are my favourite kinds of groups to go out tramping with, so it should be enjoyable.

    Being the Ruahines, as with many other parts of NZ, I anticipate steep climbs between coasting around on the mildly undulating tops, possibly in cloud and strong wind. Trying to prepare for this type of thing, when based in Melbourne, has been a novel task in itself. When living and working in Wellington, I really didn’t have to think about hill-walking fitness issues too hard, as I could easily organise my life to factor in some good routine walking activities which tended to keep me generally walking fit. I’d have a 200 metre vertical climb upwards every evening when I walked home from work, and an 80’ish metre vertical climb upwards when I walked to work in the morning. A large chunk of the route was in Wellington’s town belt, generally away from immediate clusters of population. It was a nice escape at both ends of the work day, and I think having this day after day worked.

    That type of interwoven landscape doesn’t really exist in Melbourne. Here I have a 40 minute walk into and out of the CBD every morning, but it’s all flat, through landscaped grassy parks with footpaths, sports fields and planted trees alongside busy roads and cycle routes. It’s nice in other ways, but it rarely feels physically taxing as far as getting walking-fit. Therefore, as with the previous times I’ve returned NZ to go tramping, I’ve attempted to simulate a hill-side by climbing up and down the stairs of the building in which I work.

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    An interwoven landscape, November 18th last year.
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