The Vining/Mangatangi Trig/Pa loop trip should have been a doddle. The team had two maps, a GPS, a compass, several whistles, a birdcaller and fine weather. There were six seasoned Trekkers (a superb leader in Claire, another superb leader in Nigel, plus Andrew, Carl, Stephen and Lindsay). It was a straight forward trip, and several had done the "unofficial" Pa loop before. Until Morning tea at the bush edge the trip went well. Then it was all downhill as the team ascended into the Zone of Confusion. The first ominous signs were mocked: Map 1 (a sketch) showing the critical pa track junction near a large fallen tree, and the team joking as they climbed past three such trees (with ribbons that might, or might not, have been track markers). Map 2 (topo) offered no help - not even showing the pa let alone the track to it (see post script). Further confusion erupted at the trig: some thought it was lunch time and some didn't; some wanted the view and some sought shelter from the wind. Claire restored harmony with skill and veiled threats, and soon the team was descending to the first fallen log, with some looking forward to lunch and some thinking they had had it. There was a rare moment of consensus at the first log, with everyone agreeing it was the biggest of the three. This was taken as a reason to trace the nearby ribbon trail into the unknown. Some surged ahead, taking turns with rose-tinted glasses (which make pink ribbons more visible and build confidence in the route). Others lingered at the back, muttering darkly about weird compass bearings and the time needed to find the ribbons. In a stroke of brilliance, Claire announced she was dying of starvation. This forced the group to rally round and compare notes. The GPS proved they had navigated brilliantly to the wrong place. Or maybe the right place, but just a part nobody recognised. And on a ridge that might, or might not, be going the wrong way. Or the right way. With mixed feelings the team climbed back to the big fallen log and retraced their steps down the Vining track. Symbollically the Castle Café was closed, but everyone finished well satisfied and knowing there is still a problem of epic proportions yet to be solved.
Post script and warning: It appears Map 2 (Terralink "Hunua and Waitakere Recreation Areas") shows the Vining track in the wrong place (some 600 m SW of where it actually enters the bush) and thus probably on the wrong ridge. Which means the team might have navigated to the right place but the map was in the wrong place or …..And brings to mind Andrew's question "how much confidence should we have in the map?" And which also goes to show how confused the scribe is - he had forgotten discovering the same error a year ago and writing to Terralink on the matter. Webmaster Note: Photo taken in Hunua Ranges but not this walkway. We were too confused to remember cameras!!!
Written by: Lindsay Wood Back to previous page...