Four hardy souls decided to tackle the Dundas Loop over a weekend. The original plan had been to tramp from Putara carpark to Dundas Hut on the Saturday. But common sense prevailed. So Friday afternoon saw us making the two-hour drive from Wellington to the remote Putara carpark. After a brief stop in Greytown for fish and chips, we arrived at the carpark fully fuelled. We started shortly before 7pm and made a steady ascent up the ridge, without encountering too much mud, and arrived at an empty Herepai Hut by 9pm. It was nice to not need to cook dinner and to be able to climb straight into our sleeping bags.
We knew the next day would be much tougher. Fortunately, Richard had slept soundly sans crying baby. Leaving at 7.30am, we made the steep climb to Herepai (a 1125m peak on the range) and enjoyed stunning views over the Wairarapa. Before too long however, the famous Tararua clag rolled in, temperatures dropped and we were tramping amongst snow. We made it to Dundas Hut for a late lunch, before a steep descent down into the valley, being careful not to slip on patches of hard ice dotted around the track.
This was by far the most difficult part of the day. I didn’t think it would be a nice stroll next to a stream, but I hadn’t expected it to take almost an hour to navigate the approximately 1km sidle track on the valley floor (losing the track twice), before you cross the river and begin the 600 metre climb straight up to Cattle Ridge. By the time we started climbing, it was near dusk, so headtorches were out pretty quickly. As we approached the tree line we thought the bush would clear out and the terrain would become easier. But instead, we were faced with very thick shrubbery and six-foot high Leatherwood that we had to barge our way through, while still climbing at a very steep gradient. Once we overcame that, we had to tackle steep scree sections with very little to hold on to – I’d much rather climb up this than descend it! Murray did a great job leading the way in the dark, and we all scrambled to keep within headtorch sight of each other, lest we blaze different trails through the thick undergrowth and lose each other.
It was a reasonably warm evening, save for an occasional gust, and the terrain was much easier going once we had gained the ridge. Arriving at Cattle Ridge Hut at 8.30pm, we found it full with another group (including a long lost tramping companion of Richard’s!) The hut has been recently renovated and was very snug; the other group already had a great fire going that we enjoyed immensely.
Day three was relatively straightforward – down the hill we went to Roaring Stag Hut, finding it weird to be able to move freely without being attacked by Leatherwood, before gaining the ridge again to complete the Dundas Loop. We then descended to the carpark. A quick stop at the dairy to stock up on snacks was the perfect way to bookend the trip. We sadly missed out on the opportunity to fill up with the cheapest petrol in New Zealand (7.9c a litre – yeah right!)
All in all, it is a great loop with a more challenging middle (valley) section between Dundas and Cattle Ridge Huts, which I would definitely classify as Medium Fit. It was Julian’s first trip in the Tararuas, so definitely a trial by fire and one where he acquitted himself well!
If desired, the loop could be done at a more leisurely pace over four shorter days, with sleeps at Herepai, Dundas and Cattle Ridge Huts. I’d recommend doing this over summer though, as Dundas Hut can be a bit of an icebox. And if you have more time, the river before you start the climb up to Cattle Ridge looks like a lovely spot for a swim.
Statistics:
Friday – Putara car park to Herepai Hut: 2 hrs 6 mins elapsed, 5.25 km, 533 m of elevation, 114 m of descent
Saturday – Herepai Hut to Cattle Ridge Hut via Dundas Hut: 13 hrs 2 mins elapsed, 17.00 km, 1,828 m of elevation, 1,605 m of descent
Sunday – Cattle Ridge Hut to Putara car park via Roaring Stag Hut: 5 hrs 49 mins elapsed, 11.46 km, 437 m of elevation, 1,130 m of descent