Day 1: Friday
Tash, Nate, Richard, and I met at Wellington Train Station and started driving north, stopping in Masterton for sneaky kebabs. With our stomachs (very) satisfied, we continued to the trailhead at Kiriwhakapapa Campsite.
As darkness settled in, we donned our tramping gear and headlamps and set off towards Blue Range Hut. The initial uphill hike was nice enough, except Nate pushed on despite a strong disagreement between his stomach and those kebabs. Richard did his best to keep spirits high with an old tramping ditty:
♪ And all they see is nothing at all,
In the Tararua Ranges ♪
Eventually, we reached the pretty cool (and very blue) Blue Range Hut, complete with signs from a decommissioned hospital. We slipped into our sleeping bags and in the process yours truly managed to give his knee a good knock on the ceiling joist for no particular reason. While most of us felt we had an average night’s sleep, Richard, on his first trip since becoming a parent, relished the best sleep he had had in months.
Day 2: Saturday
The next morning we bid farewell to Blue Range Hut and resumed our journey towards Cow Creek Hut. The wind was pretty extreme and we were grateful that the majority of the walking remained below the bush line. Nate, still battling his illness, persisted with full marks for grit.
The track itself was pretty normal for the Tararuas. Along the way we passed a local Backcountry Trust member (see: https://www.backcountrytrust.org.nz/) who was dropping off an axe at Cow Creek Hut. We were encouraged to hear that a bit of maintenance had been done on the Arete Forks track, but we were warned to count the streams – not the kilometres (good advice!).
When we arrived at Cow Creek Hut, around lunchtime, Nate and Tash made the tough decision to conclude their day there. Nate was still feeling a bit rough. After a quick lunch, Richard and I pressed on, heading towards the notorious Arete Forks. Rumoured to be “the worst track in the Tararuas”. Anticipation was high. We kept our spirits high with the trusty Tararua tramping song:
♪ A-lolloping down the mountain track,
They’ll all get lost and never come back,
In the Tararua Ranges.
Hear them holler and hear them call,
As up the ridge they crawl ♪
The track to Arete Forks Hut turned out to be surprisingly less formidable than its reputation had suggested, thanks in no small part to those absolute legends who had cleared the trail a few months earlier. While a bit of an undulating slog, the track itself is in pretty good nick, and didn’t mud up too badly despite the damp conditions. Heeding the advice we received earlier to count the streams, not the kilometres, we made good time.
To our delight, Arete Forks Hut greeted us as a classic NZ Forest Service (NZFS) hut. All painted in resplendent NZFS orange, and complete with an original open fireplace. Nestled with a commanding view up the valley towards the tops, the hut provided a cosy shelter once Richard coaxed a fire to life (pro-tip: don’t close the door when you have an open fire going unless you are trying to smoke the hut out).
Day 3: Sunday
After another excellent night’s sleep for Richard, and a mediocre one for myself, we were treated to an epic sunrise painting the mountaintops. The tranquil morning reminded us why it is so great to be out in the wilderness.
Reluctantly leaving behind the picturesque setting of Arete Forks Hut, we began our return journey along the same path we had come in on. As we retraced our steps, my knee gave a bit of a protest, but that is why we carry painkillers. Six stream crossings and many renditions of the Tararua Tramping Song later, we could see a hut at the bottom of the hill.
When we arrived at Cow Creek Hut (again), we reunited with Tash and Nate for a well-deserved lunch break. Afterwards we traversed back over Blue Range, retracing our path back to the starting point.
For those curious about the song: http://www.vuwtc.org.nz/Resources/songs/tararua-ranges
“If you stand on Lambton Quay,
On Friday night then you will see,
through rain and snow the trampers go,
To the Tararua Ranges.
Away, away with billy and pack,
A-lolloping down the mountain track,
They’ll all get lost and never come back,
In the Tararua Ranges.
Hear them holler and hear them call,
As up the Marchant Ridge they crawl,
And all they see is nothing at all,
In the Tararua Ranges.
Away, Away, etc.
Their leader’s getting old and grey,
They say-he’s sixty-five today,
He reached that age by staying away
From the Tararua Ranges.
Away, Away, etc.
The treasurer went out on the bash,
And he drank up all the petty cash,
And now he’s got big rocks to smash,
In the Tararua Ranges.
Away, Away, etc.
The chief guide got so old and blind,
He broke his neck, but they don’t mind
He said the girls were all behind
In the Tararua Ranges.
Away, Away, etc.
So if you’re under ninety-three,
And find your life a misery,
You’d better come along with me,
To the Tararua Ranges.
Away, away with billy and pack,
A-lolloping down the mountain track,
We’ll all get lost and never come back,
In the Tararua Ranges
In the Tararua Ranges
In the Tararua Ranges
In the Tararua Ranges.”