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Eight trampers, lead by Stephen and Lynley, headed for the Hapuakohe ranges in from Ohinewai in the Waikato
on November 1, under cloudy, and sometimes threatening skies. The group divided into two, five faster trampers going to the northern end of the southern section of the tramp, and three to the southern end of the tramp. Cars were swapped at an intersection before each group headed for their respective start point. Reports had said the tramp was about six hours long, including breaks, so a busy day was expected. The northern group started walking from the roadside at 10.15am. The track entrance is easy to miss, so attention is needed in looking for it. Also there is no parking area and the gravel road is not wide. However there is room for one or possibly two cars to pull off to the left hand side of the road with relative safety. (The track actually crosses the road and continues into a northern, much longer and harder section. We were doing the southern section only.) The bush track leads moderately steeply down into a gully, across a stream and then rose consistently to the first trig and microwave station at 535 metres (Maungakawa). We arrived at this point at 11.30am after about 1.25 hours of steady tramping. It was time to try out our radio and see if we could contact the other group and estimate where our lunch stop and exchange of car keys would take place. Much to our surprise we got a very clear response. The other group had just arrived at the other trig point, Pukeitionga (490 metres) across the valley from us. Each group had morning tea on their respective 'high place' and set off into the valley to meet up for lunch. Stephen shared in his reflection, Walking away your worries, that he had learned it was actually a sin to worry too much, and that we need to trust in God more for our needs. The descent from Maungakawa was relatively gentle, with a number of sorties out into the open in long grass along a fence line. The biggest risk was missing the markers which indicated the track was going back into the bush. The track was very well marked so there were no excuse, except inattention, for going astray. The ascent to Pukeitionga from the north was much gentler than climbing to Maungakawa, but this trig offered even better views of the surrounding farmland and bush clad hills. There is a TV relay station at Pukeitionga. The track follows a gentle slope down through bush and occasionally along a fenceline in the open, across several small streams and through some bracken before exiting onto farmland and through a farm gate to a large parking area. Our group exited the track at 3.15pm, and the other group, moving a little more slowly, took half an hour longer. At that stage a few raindrops fell - we escaped dry and not too tired. Total time for the tramp: 5 hours including about three quarters of an hour for stops. Recommendation: That this tramp be graded medium (there is a long and relatively steep uphill on the northern side of Maungakawa) but with large sections of easy/medium track. |