This article was first published in the Tararua Tramper Volume 84, no 10, November 2012
Tauwharenīkau Valley M/F
Wednesday 12 September 2012
The snow fell gently onto our hoods and the shoulders of our jackets as we got ready at the Kaitoke road-end carpark. It continued to fall all the way up the Puffer. Looking around was enchanting, like the land of the White Witch, in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Despite the weather forecast, nine of us set off into the Tauwharenīkau Valley with the intention of doing some off-track exploration on the slopes of Mt Tauwharenīkau, up to a point of about 720 metres. Once over in the valley, the continued presence of the previous night’s snow dump indicated the temperature was not spiralling up. The tops of the umbrella ferns were coated, as were the long gangly branches of the trees; even the gorse growing on the river bed was attractively whitened. At the bridge we looked up toward our goal. Nothing but murky snow cloud was visible.
The decision point had arrived. The knowledge that we would wandering up into falling snow and the chance of getting very cold on the ridges had to be weighed against the attraction of completing our quest. Collective wisdom prevailed. The opportunity would return to do the off-track exploration. We chose to continue to Tutuwai Hut for lunch. After sustenance, we retraced our steps through much mud back to the carpark, where the morning’s magic snow had disappeared, but the cold rain persisted. As it turned out, the trip had a few new experiences for different party members, including using the wire stream crossing; crossing the ‘new’ bridge; being inside Tutuwai hut; walking the bridge-to-hut section of the track. And of course, all had the winter wonderland experience on the Puffer – much better than being at work. TF
- Party members
- Janet Atkinson, Tricia French (leader and scribe), Howard Larsen, David Ogilvie, Peter Reimann, Bob Stephens, John Thomson, Lynne White, Warwick Wright