Windy Tops

Tag: bagged:blue range hut

  • Trip: Arete Forks via Cow Saddle and Waingawa

    Last weekend we ventured out to reach Arete Forks, which lies near the upper reaches of the Waingawa River in the Tararua Range. Rather than take the most direct route, a fairly boring sidling track, the four of us intended to climb up over Waingawa Peak from Cow Saddle, before dropping into Arete Forks Hut on the far side.

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    Megan S following the south-west spur off Waingawa (1423).
    Pinnacle Spur and Tarn Ridge in the background.

    Dates: 24th – 26th September, 2010
    Location: Tararua Forest Park, Kiriwhakapapa Road End.
    People: Amanda, Megan S, Megan B and me.
    Huts visited: Blue Range Hut (1 night), Arete Forks Hut (1 night), Cow Creek Hut (0 nights).
    Route: Up to Blue Range Hut from Kiriwhakapapa on Friday night, then down the track and veer onto an old track to Cow Saddle. Up to spot-height 1360 via the track onto Cattle Ridge, then a few hundred metres past Waingawa (1423) and down an overgrown spur direct to Arete Forks Hut for Saturday night. Out via the horrid sidling track (with the river being too high) to Cow Creek Hut, and back to the Kiriwhakapapa Road End.
    [Photos]

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    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.

    Coming after an unusual week of strong, persistent nor-westerly wind, things didn’t exactly let up, and we were concerned that the continuing conditions might prevent us from getting onto the tops. Having been dropped at the Kiriwhakapapa road end at 8.30pm, we took a little under 2 hours to climb up to Blue Range Hut, our passage being accompanied at the higher elevations by a roaring jet-plane kind of wind. For me personally this is the third time I’ve climbed to Blue Range Hut in the dark, and I was a little surprised when the surroundings appeared unfamiliar for what I’d been expecting. All that had happened was that we’d walked straight past the turn-off sign without noticing, and at that time I’d not been expecting to see the comparably open section of track with violently waving head-high trees.
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  • Trip: Blue Range Nav to Mid King Biv

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    The hut book at Mid King Biv.

    Things began with an idea of a weekend expedition over the Tararua tops to Tarn Ridge Hut. Somehow, even with the weather cooperating for such an idea, things didn’t quite work out that way. It was the opposite, and we spent the majority of our time navigating off-track below the bush line.

    Dates: 7th – 9th May, 2010
    Location: Tararua Forest Park, Kiriwhakapapa Road-end.
    People: Illona, Richard and me.
    Huts visited: Blue Range Hut (1 night), Mitre Flats Hut (0 nights), Mid King Biv (1 night)
    Planned route: Up to Blue Range Hut for Friday night, over to Cow Creek, navigate up to Table Ridge, along around Mitre and Girdlestone, and to Tarn Ridge Hut for Saturday night. Down over Mitre, then up Donald Spur and past Blue Range Hut back down to the road.
    Actual route: Up to Blue Range Hut for Friday night, over Te Mara and down Donald Spur to Mitre Flats, then up to Mid King Biv for Saturday night. Back to Mitre Flats, up onto Blue Range near Stoney Creek, along to Bruce Hill and down a spur to the south-east to the old bush tram track that leads back to the road.
    [Photos]

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    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.

    Originally there were going to be four of us, but Paul unfortunately had to drop out with a foot problem, which left Richard, Illona and Myself. We stopped for a Friday night dinner at Carterton, which has a fabulous kebab shop, then continued to the Kiriwhakapapa road-end. Along the way we discussed the original plan, which would have been to walk from Kiriwhakapapa to Cow Creek, up to Table Ridge, along to Girdlestone, and then on to Tarn Ridge Hut… then come down over Mitre and up Donald Spur (a more direct way back to Blue Range Hut) on Sunday. The more we thought about it, the more that this idea seemed to be skimming the edges of available daylight at this time of year. Consequently, we thought we might try doing it in reverse instead, which would make Saturday the longer day.
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  • Trip: Ruamahanga, Blue Range, Te Mara and Kiriwhakapapa

    Last weekend we had a nice navigation trip in the Tararuas, along part of Blue Range, organised by Marie and Alistair. It was largely a navigation trip, and was well worthwhile despite persistent rain. Apart from an overnight stop at Blue Range Hut (or camping outside), we managed to spend nearly the entire weekend off-track.

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    Alistair and Patricia navigating
    down Te Mara.

    Dates: 11th – 13th September, 2009
    Location: Tararua Forest Park, Ruamahanga and Kiriwhakapapa road-ends.
    People: Marie, Alistair, Patrisha, Richard, Tim and me.
    Huts visited: Blue Range Hut (1 night).
    Route: From Ruamahanga Road End up a south-east spur to Blue Range, heading south-west along the ridge to Blue Range Hut for Saturday night. Then up to Te Mara, and down to the South East. Out at Kiriwhakapapa.
    [Photos]

    [Download GPX file] [View GPX on NZTopoMap]
    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.

    We spent Friday night in Kiriwhakapapa Shelter, sharing it with another club group, even though we weren’t intending to start from there. It’s not quite as exposed as the Ruamahanga road-end further north, though. The rain was coming down persistently by the time we drove up, and one way or another anyone on the edges migrated further inwards overnight. Eventually the bellbirds began to wake, and some kind of bird that I couldn’t identify began making a lot of noise as it started fluttering around with its nest in the ceiling.
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  • Trip: Kiriwhakapapa to Cow Creek, Mitre Flats and Holdsworth Lodge

    There’s a certain feeling one can sometimes get when looking at a weather forecast the day before going tramping, to realise the entire country is be converged on by unavoidable freezing heavy rainfall from all directions. It’s a feeling that corresponds with thoughts of wanting to avoid river travel, and thus I was very surprised last Saturday to be happily wading down the Waingawa River in the Tararuas. But then, you can’t really beat the Tararuas on a rainy weekend. As is generally known, the Tararuas and rain are like two magnets with poles reversed. Yep, the Tararuas are awesome.

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    Crossing the Waingawa under Cow Creek.

    It seems weird going back to somewhere where I’ve been as recently as a week earlier, but that’s what I did last weekend. This time it was with the trampey club, and it wasn’t quite the same place. Instead of just walking from Holdsworth to Mitre Flats and back, we began further north at Kiriwhakapapa, then walked back to Mitre Flats before coming out at Holdsworth.

    Dates: 8th – 10th May, 2009
    Location: Tararua Forest Park, Kiriwhakapapa to Holdsworth Road-ends.
    People: Steve, Daniel, Andrew, Justin and me.
    Huts visited: Blue Range Hut (1 night), Cow Creek Hut (0 nights), Mitre Flats Hut (1 night), Atiwhakatu Hut (0 nights), Holdsworth Lodge (0 nights).
    Route: Kiriwhakapapa to Blue Range Hut (Friday night), down to Cow Creek Hut via an old track to Cow Saddle, then to Mitre Flats Hut for Saturday night. Out to Holdsworth road-end on Sunday.
    [Photos]

    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.

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  • Trip: Blue Range, Mitre Flats, Bruce Hill

    Well since the last post, my knee has completely healed and I’ve completed six weekend trips. My boots have been damaged twice (I think it’s a design flaw), and I’ve had one serious fall that ended in a 10 to 15 metre slide, and was quite lucky to avoid serious injury. I thought it’d be worth writing down some details about trips, just so there’s a record. I might expand on some of the other things later if I have time. Meanwhile I’m leaving for Chile in a couple of weeks, so I won’t have any more (New Zealand) trips for at least a few months.

    Dates: 20th – 22nd April, 2007
    Location: Tararua Forest Park
    Huts visited: Blue Range Hut (0 nights), Mitre Flats Hut (1 night)
    [Photos]

    This weekend’s trip was in the Tararuas.

    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.

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