After a busy work day and a mission to find dinner at Paraparaumu, our tramp began at the Ōtaki Forks carpark. Being a hot summer weekend, there were plenty of cars parked.
We zoomed along the road and over the slip track, making it to Parawai Lodge in about 45 minutes. It was very full when we arrived, including a family with their babies and full camping set up, which they had taken over the slip in a cart. We got into bed soon enough, ready for our early start the next morning
We hit the track at 7:15am, some of us a little sleep deprived from the Possum party on the roof of the Lodge the previous evening. The track was easy walking for the first while and we kept ourselves entertained with some trail games, including “20 questions”, “would you rather… cold showers forever/ cold food forever? never get sunburnt/ never get bitten by bugs?”. Being peak TA season we also took bets on the number of Te Araroa hikers we’d see for the day. We were all very sceptical at Phoebe’s very specific guess of 1 solo hiker, and one couple. Soon we came to the large slip which proved easy to get around by following the orange tape (not so much on the return!).
We opted for the higher route from our first track junction to avoid a slip on the low route, and were met with lots of tree-fall along the track – necessitating some ducking, diving (for those of us short in stature) and some acrobatic skill to get through. Arriving at the junction for our snack break, we discovered Tony (who maintains the club van) and his mate, Shane. We chatted to them for a while before starting off again. After walking along the Plateau, we opted for the low river-level route to the hut – following Arapito creek down to the river. It was refreshing to be in the water after a hot trek in!
After 5.5 hours of walking, we made it to Waitewaewae Hut and took a leisurely 40 minute lunch break. Rose was pleased to make it back to the Hut after recalling trips there as a teenager. We were all shocked when a TA couple came up to the hut as we were resting, meaning Phoebe took out our TA hiker count for the day.
Being a lover of a good summer river trip, the next part was the exciting bit I’d been waiting for – going off-track, up the Waitewaewae River. Our capable leader, Tracy, had seen a trip report [https://wtmc.org.nz/trip-report/the-wtmc-takes-over-island-forks-hut/] from Emily and Aimee, which provided excellent advice about what to expect.
As we left Waitewaewae Hut, some beautiful deep blue-green pools invited us in for a swim as we walked by, but we were on a mission. Besides, it would’ve been rude to disturb the trout we spied lazily floating around. We got to the bridge over the Ōtaki and, following our instructions, descended down a small side stream on the other side of the bridge to the riverbed. As we kept walking, the river opened up into shallow flat pebble beds, where some goats bleated at us suspiciously. The summer sun beamed down and glinted off the water. Wanting to capture the magic, my phone came out of its safe, watertight, hiding spot and many more photo opportunities abounded as we kept walking.
We next left the Ōtaki and turned into the Waitewaewae River. The river began narrowing and we had to criss-cross the flow from bank to bank. The river levels crept further and further up our legs – calf deep, then knee deep. Those of us under 5 foot had to make very strategic decisions on foot placement to avoid wet shorts or slipping on the rocks into the water. Eventually the inevitable happened and the newly formed Island Forks Wet Undie Club had its first member!
Soon the river valley widened out again, and we entered the middle section of the river. We came across some lovely flat grassy banks, and by walking on them we made much quicker progress than carefully trying to jump across the rocks. By around 3:30pm we came to what we realised was the last camping spot before the hut. After a long day on our feet, we were slowing down. We realised we were quite a way from the hut. Rose had hurt her knee in the river and wasn’t able to walk as well on it. We all decided it was safer for her to stay behind at the camping spot, rather than continue up to Island Forks. Knowing that we were running out of time, the rest of us decided we’d give it a go, and try making it to the hut. We left some gear behind, so we could take day packs. We set up one of our tents for Rose, who said she would have dinner ready for when we got back. We decided to set a turn-around time of 5:30pm, so we could make it back to camp by 7pm.
The third section of the river got a lot deeper, with large, inviting pools. Streams trickled down the moss-covered rock walls on either side, and bushes clung to the edges. There were some scrambles over rocky sections around the side of the river to avoid deeper waters. By this point we were all full time wet undie club members. There was no avoiding it. We concluded that surely Aimee and Emily had lower river levels for their trip.
We finally arrived at the hut with 8 minutes to spare, at 5:22pm. We couldn’t believe we had finally made it. Island Forks Hut seems to be named for the Jurassic Park-esque island out in front of the hut, where several rivers flow into the Waitewaewae. It was a stunning and well-kept little 2 bunk hut, complete with picnic table. You could’ve squeezed an extra person or two on the hut floor if you had to, and there were some lovely grassy spots out in front of the hut for camping.
However, knowing we still had to make it back to the campsite, we only had time for a very quick snack and photo opportunity, before turning back. After 10 hours on our feet and darkness on its way, we were careful not to rush things on our return. Shortly after the hut, Phoebe spied a white permolat marker near a side stream (at E1793890 N5481730), which we supposed must be the spur leading up to the Mick track. We continued downstream and it was much easier going back the same way, with less pressure on path finding.
Surprisingly, we made good time and, after 12 hours on the move, we arrived back to camp a little before 7pm. Wet and a bit weary, we were so relieved to find Rose had started dinner and it was almost ready. We all relinquished our wet undie club status and got into warm, dry clothes before eating our tasty meal. As the sun sunk below the hill, the toetoe plants next to my tent were dead still, and I zipped up the door looking forward to a good sleep.
We woke up the next morning to a chilly start. There were winces of agony as we all put on freezing boots and sodden socks. We packed down our dewy tents and left camp at 7:30am. It soon warmed up and a stunning bluebird sky greeted us as we returned to the bridge and the track to Waitewaewae Hut. We reached the hut at 10am for a snack stop, while I snuck off for a quick, chilly plunge in the river.
After a much-needed snack, we trekked down to the river and along the route we had come the day before. We were soon sweltering again and dying to regain our wet undie club membership. I felt glad to have taken a dip when I had a chance. On our return, the slip proved much trickier to navigate. The path we took this time seemed different to the previous day, and before long the orange tape markers disappeared. We double-checked our maps and thankfully, after a slide and scramble down the hillside, we popped out onto the well-formed track again.
A swift return to Ōtaki Forks meant we had time for a final refreshing swim in the river near Parawai Lodge. The walk along the road back to the car soon dried us out, and the Island Forks Wet Undie Club made its way back to Wellington.
