The Mighty Moerangi - June 2005
 

After a good drive down from Auckland, our walk began at the end of mid-Okahu Road, Urewera Forest Park.  The 2 ½ hr walk into Skips (Whangatawhia) Hut was just lovely, with an incredible variety of mushrooms to photograph along the way.  Noel & Steve were on hand to make a track over a new slip and then help us across, they’d also organised a hearty hot cup-of-soup and a warm fire when we arrived at the Hut just on dark.  Ain’t we spoilt!  [Apparently “Skip” was the dog owned by a forest manager at the time the hut was built.]

Going out to tend to the call of nature, through the night (as you do!), we all commented on the beautiful stars in the nights sky and noted the beginnings of a frost.   By morning the ground and trees were white with frost, as Steve and I packed our gear and headed off to Moerangi Hut.

We left Noel, Eileen & Tania to enjoy their hot cuppa’s in bed as a short day walk was planned to Roger’s Hut for them.   As Steve and I headed away from Skip’s we noted all the deer sign along the way.  We enjoyed a short break at Roger’s (Te Wairoa) Hut, [built in 1952] which has a beautiful leadlight window. Heading on we plunged into the crystal clear Moerangi Stream for an awesome 4 hour walk upstream.  We came across several pairs of blue duck (whio) along the way.  The water never got much past our knees for which we were grateful and the sun made an appearance right on cue at lunch-time.

Just after lunch we startled a stag on the track (boy, do they pong!), and were amazed when a couple of minutes later it had stopped long enough for a good shot.. photo that is [check this out].   It was his lucky day I wasn’t a hunter! 
As I wandered along the track I mused…   “do we smell as bad to him, as this stag did to us???”  

We arrived at Moerangi Hut around 2.30 p.m. and enjoyed the afternoon relaxing.  A lot of trees had been cleared in front of the hut, letting a lot more sun in than it obviously used to have.    A lovely spot to stay - we also noted from the visitors book, “Active Earth” brought regular overseas visitors through this way… thankfully not this weekend!

The next morning we headed off early as we’d planned to meet Noel on River Road around 1.30 p.m.   We followed the “orange” track markers over the new bridge and along a wide benched track above the stream, which had a number of new slips along it but nothing major.   Crossing another new bridge the markers turned “white” as we headed up a tributary, then became fewer which had us questioning whether we were indeed on the right track.  We came across a waterfall which had a knotted rope hanging down!   Upward and onward we went, finally coming back onto a well formed track, which then became a 4-wheel drive track with “no markers”.   Around about here we startled another deer…  this is a hunters paradise!!!

Coming to an intersection the sign told us “Minginui Road End” this way…   which is where I think we should have gone, however… we headed forward and eventually came to a “T” intersection down beside the Mangamate Stream with a campsite on the opposite bank, where we turned right.  Back with orange markers, we stopped for a leisurely lunch thinking the end was just around the corner, then discovered we had another 1 ¼ hrs to River Rd end…  oh well!  it was time to pick up our pace getting to our rendezvous an hour late!!   

What a super weekend..  thanks to Noel, Eileen, Tania, Steve & me (Claire)

Back to Trip Reports Page