Waimea Tramping Club Inc. 72 Chelsea Ave, Richmond 7020 www.waimeatrampingclub.org.nz www.facebook.com/waimeatrampingclub Newsletter Vol 47, No 1, March 2019 Editor’s Report We have had the driest January and February on record in Nelson, a complete contrast to last summer which was very wet. Some track closures due to the high fire danger have affected or may affect some planned trips. January’s Club Night was a late change to the programme with a good presentation by Jake Harris, Dylan Lester and Matthew Fox from Nelson College on a 20-day traverse through the Tasman Wilderness in Kahurangi National Park. The students were worthy recipients of a FMC Youth Scholarship. To view photos of the expedition, just search for “Tasman Wilderness Expedition” on Facebook. The Club Night on tramping gadgets is rescheduled to April. Keep on tramping. Robert Wopereis Top Shot The beautiful alpine tops on Robinson Saddle on the Lake Christabel circuit Photo: Robert Club Nights Wednesday 3 April: Gadget information Share your ideas on new technology for tramping such as apps used for tracking, maps and GPS. Wednesday 1 May: AGM and Africa by Joy Bryant The election of the Waimea Tramping Club executive, the presentation of the annual accounts and minutes. Then a presentation by Joy Bryant about her recent trip to Africa, including a climb of Mt Kilimanjaro. Wednesday 5 June: Show and tell Club members will show photos of their recent NZ tramping trips. 1 Hut and Track News Kahurangi National Park The Cobb Dam Road re-opened in December after being closed since February 2018 because of damage from ex-tropical cyclone Gita. Slips were cleared and the road is now much improved with extra work carried out widened corners in several places between the power station and the ridge top. Tasman District Council in conjunction with Trustpower and DOC maintain the road. Abel Tasman National Park Extremely dry conditions have forced some temporary closures to huts on the Inland Track. The hut closures are Awapoto Hut, Wainui Hut (including access through Wainui Saddle and Birds Clearing), Moa Park Shelter, Castle Rock Hut and Holyoake Clearing Shelter. The Inland Track is closed but Rameka Track, Harwoods Hole Track and Rawhiti Cave Track remain open. Mt Richmond Forest Park Due to high fire danger all access to tracks in Mt Richmond Forest Park through forestry land is closed until further notice. The only entry possible is by the Pelorus Track from SH6 at Pelorus Bridge via the Maungatapu Road, or at the southern end of the Alpine Route through the Red Hills near St Arnaud. Enjoyable Plan B tramping Mt Arthur – Sunday 25 November 2018 The long range forecast for Sunday was miserable-bordering-on-terrible all week, which didn’t bode well for our planned Mt Arthur summit bid. But not to worry - there is a Plan B lurking patiently in the wings. Things started improving, and by the time Sunday morning rolled around, it was actually looking rather promising, and nine people fronted up for the walk. From the Flora Saddle carpark we set off up the wheel-chair-grade track through the forest to Mt Arthur Hut for morning tea, before optimistically heading higher. However a cold wind stripped us of warmth and thick cloud afforded no views, so we took the sensible option and scuttled lower, taking the track through the tussock and dracophyllum and thus down to the historic Flora Hut. After an early lunch (carefully guarding our food from the patrolling eagle-eyed weka waiting to pounce on unsecured morsels), we headed further into the park and out to the rock bivvies - our View photos of trips at: alternative offering. facebook.com/waimeatrampingclub Upper Gridiron, a cosy wee hut built into the small rock overhang, with its gorgeous stained glass window, and outside hearth and swing seat. Lower Gridiron, a rock overhang on a grander scale, with its upper storey sleeping platform and spacious sheltered outdoor living area. The rock bivvies are definitely pretty special, and one of the highlights of Kahurangi NP. Instead of continuing on to the Tablelands, we turned around and retraced our steps to Flora Hut, then completed the earlier Arthur loop back to the Flora Saddle carpark. It was a very enjoyable day of Plan B tramping ... the predicted rain didn’t eventuate; in fact there was not a drop of precipitation to be seen. We were: Diane (leader), Pete, Robyn, Joy, Odette and newcomers Daniel, Dave, Beth, and Moshe. Diane A magnificent sunrise Angelus Hut – 8-9 December 2018 Everyone who was busy with Xmas busy-ness missed out on an awesome weekend to Angelus Hut. For a start, it was The Best weekend weather for quite some time. A small amount of high cloud on Saturday produced some amazing formations, including impressive flying saucers, whereas Sunday was almost cloudless. After initial beech forest from the carpark up the Pinchgut Track to Relax Shelter, the track then follows the Robert Ridge far above the bushline. Your feet follow the well-trodden route through both stark open expanses and towering rocky pillars, with views of mountains marching far off into the distance. An early-summer dump of snow two days previously had almost melted away, but a few residual smatterings in sheltered spots added to the beauty of the vistas. 2 As always, the view from the ridgeline looking down into the basin containing Lake Angelus and Angelus Hut was breath-taking. Later a walk towards Sunset Saddle meandered through beautiful alpine meadows, and this was followed by relaxation time on the large sun-soaked deck of the fully-booked-out hut. The highlight of the weekend was getting up super-early on Sunday to catch the magnificent 5.45am sunrise over the lake. It’s times like this that epitomise why we head into the mountains, and why Angelus is one of the most popular huts in the Nelson Lake Angelus Photo: Diane Lakes National Park. We were (quality not quantity!) a party of two: Diane (leader and scribe) and Deb. Saturday - 5.5 hours Mt Robert Carpark to Angelus Hut. Sunday - return trip 4.5 hours. A very pleasant pre-Christmas tramp Easby Park - Marsden Valley crossover – Saturday 15 December 2018 Although on the day unable to come Alison’s clear planning helped ever-y-one. She’d dotted the i-s and crossed the t-s A short local crossover trip it must be Leaving most of the afternoon free. From Easby Park five climbed a steady incline To rest at the Forest Lookout with view sublime To chat with the ranger keen to share the news Three runners 14 circuits were attempting to run The height of Mt Everest from here in the sun. From Marsden Valley four trampers chugged up Enjoying estuarine views and a brew in a cup From a paraglider pilot they heard the news GPS transponders had altered the game Higher and longer flights now in the frame. Nine trampers now traversed Barnicoat Range Undulating forest road – or flat for a change They thought and they talked in the hot sun To meet in the middle, enjoy a chat and a laugh Swap car keys, continue on – and then home for a bath! Times: About 1 hour 15 minutes up or down and 2 hours along the top. About 5 hours overall. Colin West walks Westport – 29 December 2018 - 2 January 2019 Four keen trampers left sunny Nelson over New Year to explore some of the walks and tracks in the Westport area. We arrived on the Saturday afternoon at the Westport Holiday Park and quickly settled into our comfortable chalet accommodation. Then, it was off to view the lighthouse and seal colony at Cape Foulwind, 16km west of Westport. This was easy walking along a 3.5km cliff track from the lighthouse car park and down to the beach at Tauranga Bay. The walk there and back took three hours, including time to read the informative signs along the way and (despite the smell) viewing the rare NZ Fur seal breeding colony on the 3 rocks below. With an ominous looking rain front coming up from the south it was then time to drive back to Westport. Sunday morning dawned misty with low cloud after overnight rain, and so we had an uncertain weather forecast for our planned trip up Mt William, a high spot above the Denniston Plateau. Instead we opted for a five hour, 14km return walk along the historic Charming Creek Walkway. We started at the Ngakawau end, 35km north of Westport. The well-formed and maintained route followed a historic bush tramway, with many interesting relics relating to past coal mining and transportation activity. Of note during the walk was the narrow boulder strewn Ngakawau Gorge and then, after one hour, impressive views of the Mangatini Falls including from a very long Mangatini Falls, Charming Creek Walkway Photo: Ron suspension bridge. Once through a long and very dark tunnel, the walkway continued through bush that became more open due to past logging and sawmilling activity. After passing Mumm’s sawmill, we stopped for lunch at the Charming Creek coal mine site, which is close to the car park at the Seddonville end of the walkway. Returning back to Ngakawau the same way, we recuperated with ice cream and then on our return to Westport we had time for a detour up the winding road up onto the Denniston plateau. We had ample time to view the historical artefacts with their excellent information panels, and take in the magnificent vista out to the coast from the Denniston Incline Brakehead lookout.