The day dawned fine & sunny as the "A" and "Top" teams headed South for the Tongariro National Park, leaving Auckland early in the morning. After a quick stop at Ohakune DOC for our hut passes, it was time to head up Ohakune Mountain Rd where our trek begins. Mt Ruapehu was covered in snow, ensuring magical reflections on the broadwalk. The 3 hour journey into Mangaehuehu Hut was a good uphill walk. The tracks/streams were quite frozen in the areas that never saw the sun. We arrived at the hut just before the sun set, so we got to enjoy the beautiful pink skies and views toward Mt Egmont (Taranaki). A warm fire was soon going and we settled in for yummy tea (sausage casserole + rice) and a relaxed evening.
Next day was just a magnificent as the previous. The "A" team headed off early to Rangipo Hut leaving the "Top" team behind to enjoy the surrounding landscape. The icicles on the hill-faces were awesome however we had to be extremely careful on the swampy board-walked areas as the ice was treacherous. We passed an area of mountain beech forest where DOC had put steel bands around trees to protect the mistletoe from opossums.
It wasnt long before we were above the vegetarian into a lunar landscape, passing areas where our yearly "pinus contorta" weekends take place. I couldnt help but keep a lookout. The valleys we descend into and climb out of were "breathtaking", luckily the Wahianoa River had a swing-bridge to cross. 5 and a half hours later we arrived at Rangipo Hut. Steve set about chopping wood for our evening fire, which Noel soon had roaring. Mobile phone coverage was good from here. Mitch had a "moment" in the long-drop when a gust of wind whipped off with his toilet paper ... we all had a good laugh at that but refrained from asking the obvious ??!!!
During the coarse of the night the weather began to deteriorate with high winds and rain. Day three we battled our way over the first rise from the hut - 70 kmh winds were expected and they weren't wrong ! Funny .... Mitchs T-paper turned up just as we left the hut. The Rangipo Desert doesn't allow much shelter against the elements, the only respite from the wind was in the gullies. Mind you, it's not a place I'd like to be on a hot Summers day either. Noel's new (lovingly knitted by Judith) warm woolen beanie, which was under his raincoat hood, was whipped off his head and there was no chance of recovering it - last seen flying down the mountainside! We crossed the Whangaehu River which is the expected path of the Lahar - overflows from the Ruapehu crater lake, then over Tukino Road, onto Waihohonu Hut for lunch and out to Desert Road to meet the "Top" team again. Thanks guys for bringing the cars around and making the trip possible. Luckily we got back to Auckland on Sunday night as Monday the Desert Rd was closed with snow!!! Thanks for a super weekend enjoyed by: Noel, Mitch, Steve, Claire (scribe), Tania, Eileen, Colin & Carl.
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