This article was first published in the Tararua Tramper Volume 96, no 10, November 2024
Coal Stream spur – MH Reeves circuit MF
Wednesday 16 October 2024
Across the swingbridge from the Waiohine Gorge road end we turned left, past the sign warning of ‘unmanaged hazards’ ahead, and followed the track down to Coal Stream and then the track up the spur on the true right of Coal Stream. This track appears on some maps but is not an official DoC track. It is a good alternative track to Mt Reeves since the start of the other track to Reeves, which starts further down the Waiohine and climbs over Rocky Knob, is not currently accessible across the farmland. It offers good travel, though the drop into Coal Stream, and initial climb out, is a little steep. The lack of a bridge across Coal Stream (there used to be a three-wire bridge) could be a problem in heavy rain. The track is marked with old yellow triangles and some older tin lids and it turns out that the lower two-thirds has been cleared fairly recently. We had fun trying to identify some of the larger trees as we climbed the spur. Was that a mataī or a miro? Or even possibly a kahikatea? And how many different types of beech are there really?
At .745 we joined the afore-mentioned other Mt Reeves track and continued up towards the summit. On the way we passed the plaque that commemorates the ‘centre of the extended continental shelf of NZ’. At the summit of Reeves we enjoyed great views up towards Mt Hector with its dusting of snow, and around to the Tararua Peaks, while lazing in the sun for an extended lunch.
Then we headed north along the ridge, initially ducking east just off the crest for a few hundred metres to avoid scrub, before picking up the old track that continues north, dropping a bit to the left where the ridge bifurcates (our favourite word of the day). It is marked with old permolat and some tape and mostly has a reasonable ground trail but is a little hard to stay on in places.
Before too long we reached .682 and the DoC track which we followed back down to the Waiohine Gorge swingbridge to end a pleasant 7 ¼ hour day out in the hills.
- Party members
- Franz Hubmann (leader and scribe), Karen Baker, Anthony Hill, Janette Roberts,. [Photos by Franz Hubmann]