It was an offer I could not refuse! It included free accommodation and food at the club lodge for the weekend. There would be no sleeping under a fly at a shitty road end, no grovelling through Tararua mud, and I probably would not get my boots wet. Of course there was a catch! It was the annual Ruapehu lodge spring clean and food resupply mission.
Sue Walsh (our Ruapehu Lodge convener) had convinced a van load of club members to take part in this mission. We were not the first people to arrive at the lodge on Friday night; Andrew Trembath and his daughter Hannah, Kev Griffiths, Pete Goodwin and Barrie Noyce were already there. These good folk, along with Sue, do a tremendous amount of work looking after the lodge.
There was no sleeping in on Saturday morning. After breakfast it was into the cleaning. Although the lodge is cleaned every time it’s used, we carry out a more extensive clean before the ski season each year. It’s a case of just working through a check list. With more than a dozen people involved, it’s no major drama.
As well as cleaning, the other focus of the weekend was restocking the lodge pantry. This is not just a case of nipping into New World and filling a few shopping bags – it involves the delivery and sorting of all the non-perishable food required for the next 12 months. The food was delivered by truck to the car park around mid-morning. There were two pallets of supplies for us and another two for Serac Lodge (our neighbours on the mountain). Yes, this is a heck of a lot of food, and it all had to be carried from the car park up to the lodge. The club has a number of specially adapted frame packs that are used for this purpose. So once all the supplies were unloaded quite a number of trips were required to get everything up to the lodge. Once this was done, the food then had to be sorted, checked and stored in the pantry (under Andrew’s careful supervision).
Our efforts during the morning meant that most of the work had been done. One other task that needed attention was the lodge’s standard recipes. Sue along with some of the other punters spent quite a bit of time updating these recipes. Other punters got out of the lodge for a bit of an amble. I chose to have a well deserved nap.
We got lucky with dinner. We have an arrangement with our neighbours (Serac Lodge) on this day each year. The arrangement is that one of the clubs cook the evening meal for both lodges; it was Serac’s turn this year. Dinner included roast beef, veges and Yorkshire pudding – not the usual tramping fodder!
As most of the work was done on Saturday, we had a bit of free time on Sunday before returning to Wellington. A few of us went for a walk down to Whakapapa village via Meads wall and the Whakapapanui stream. Barbara kindly came down in the club van to pick us up.
A Bit more About the Ruapehu lodge
Our lodge on Mount Ruapehu is the club’s largest asset, but it does not get fully utilized especially over the summer months. The club is trying to encourage members (and non-members) to make more use of it. There are probably quite a few members who have never visited the lodge. So the words that follow are intended for these people.
The lodge is not a back country hut. It has electricity, hot water, heating, proper bathrooms, and a lot of the comforts you have at home. But there are no en suites or spa baths, and there is definitely no room service. Bunk rooms vary in sleeping capacity and layout. All people can be catered for.
The lodge is located very close to the road at Iwikau Village and is only a short walk from the ski field chair lifts. The lodge can be used as a base not only for skiing, but also for other activities such as tramping, climbing, and cycling. There are hot pools not too far away.
Non-members are also able to stay in the lodge. So you are welcome to bring your friends, relatives and work colleagues.