This was billed as a new members tramp, but featured six enthusiastic non-members sampling some of what the club has to offer.
Our destination was Paua Hut, the WTMC’s hut in the Orongorongo Valley, accessed from the Catchpool carpark (a 45 minute drive from Wellington Train Station via Wainuiomata).
Given the walk to Paua Hut was described as taking two hours, we had a relaxed start to the day, leaving Wellington Train Station at 10am. Marlies and Grace were our drivers. Catchpool car park was full of walking and tramping groups, but with so many tracks to choose from, once we were underway, we were quickly into an unimpeded walk along the Orongorongo Track.
As a first time visitor to the area, I was pleasantly surprised to discover a Great Walk-standard track far removed from the tree roots and mud of a standard Tararua Forest Park route. Our group was able to walk side-by-side on the wide track, not worry too much about foot placement and enjoy the mixed podocarp and broadleaf forest setting.
As you get closer to the Orongorongo River, there are a couple of track diversions (to avoid slips) and then the route reverts to the more traditional mix of mud pools, tree roots and a short, sharp, drop to the valley floor. The final descent involves crossing Turere Stream via Turere Bridge (an arched wooden bridge) where you arrive at the Orongorongo River.
Having had a straightforward, pleasant and swift walk in, we took a moment to adjust to the minor navigational task in front of us – walking down river for a kilometre, identifying a few key landmarks and then locating Paua Hut. After an hour and a half of relatively humid conditions in the enclosed forest, it was refreshing to find ourselves in the open air of the broad river flat.
We figured that three ‘river crossings’ (across the Orongorongo River) would bring us out at the true left location of Paua Hut. Tom and Grace took a moment to explore the first of the historic huts on the true right. The map we had with us identified the location of the many private huts in the area.
Our river crossings involved knee deep wades and the water flow had a surprising velocity for what seemed like such a flat area. A sign on the true left of the river, marking an entrance to Boar Inn, was too appealing to pass up. We were keen to have a look at as many huts as possible. There appeared to be a track at the back of Boar Inn – we would later discover that it led directly to Paua Hut. But for the moment we were keen to continue exploring the river route. We eventually waded down the true left of the river, crossed Greens Stream and walked up onto the river bank where there was access to Paua Hut.
We followed the instructions for accessing the Hut and promptly made it inside.
After enjoying lunch in the open setting outside the Hut, we ventured on further down river to look for swimming spots. We discovered a deep pool where the river swung hard into a rock face. The water temperature was cool, but not cold, so we enjoyed a long wade and splash.
After returning to Paua Hut and drying off, we turned our attention to day walk options and settled on a rogaine-style search for huts located between Paua Hut and Jans Hut. With Tom acting as chief navigator, this activity proved to be so diverting that we didn’t stop until we’d bagged all 17 huts – a task that took three hours and involved walking up a number of obscure stream beds and off-track exploration. Perhaps the most spectacular discovery was the towering Rata trees hidden in some of the deeper enclaves of the forest.
When we got back to Paua Hut at 6.30 pm there was still no sign of the medium group that had set out very early to head to Mt Matthews. They were clearly making the most of the high summer extended daylight, so we got underway with dinner preparations. The medium group arrived just as were ready to serve up our red lentil and coconut dhal, so we handed over the cooking benches in the hut to them and enjoyed dinner outside in the lovely natural setting.
During the rest of the evening we caught up on the medium group’s adventurous traipse to Mt Matthews, which is the Remutaka Range’s highest peak (941 m) and enjoyed a game of Qwirkle under Grace’s tutelage.
The hut mattresses proved comfortable and with a few members from both groups deciding to camp outside, there was plenty of room for everyone else inside.
Some consideration was given to alternate routes back to the Catchpool road end the following day, but as Ashley’s little finger was looking quite bruised after she had slipped the previous day, it seemed prudent to avoid steep and slippery ground that required hand holds. By way of variation we decided to return to the road end via the Catchpool Loop Walk and the Nga Taonga Nature Walk. We then needed to walk 200 m up the road to get back to the car park.
During our trip we’d managed to fit in seven hours of walking, a number of swims and an afternoon of valley exploration. And thanks to Grace and Marlies, we were back in Wellington by midday on Sunday.
Timings:
• Catchpool Road end to Paua Hut via the Orongorongo Track – 2 hours
• Orongorongo Valley exploration – 3 hours
• Return walk using via the Catchpool Loop Track and Nga Taonga Nature Walk – 2 hours