On Saturday morning an Easy-Medium and a Medium club group set off together in the club van from Wellington Train Station to Putara Road end, via a bakery in Carterton.
The group of 14 of us all started off together on the track in the rain. We needed to cross some swingbridges along the way and we made small talk to get to know one another.
The rain got progressively worse and we stopped to put on rain covers and rain jackets. We got soggy. But the conditions were quite a typical Tararua tramping experience – with mud to slog through and lots of tree roots, so you needed to watch your footwork to ensure you wouldn’t twist your ankle with all the ‘ups and downs’.
There were a few sections with trees to clamber over, but these were easily navigated and didn’t slow us down much.
There were two streams to cross along the way, but they were easily forded – although there were no stones to step across and we got wet feet.
We eventually reached Roaring Stag Hut. There were already four people there, and a roaring fire.
Two people in the group decided to push on and do a return walk to Cattle Ridge Hut before it got dark, but the rest of us were keen to hang out at Roaring Stag Hut and chill.
During the afternoon a group of ten people turned up at the Hut (two guides and eight teenagers who were doing the Duke of Edinburgh programme), and then another group of four. All of us appeared to be expecting an empty hut! So we had 32 people for a 12-bed hut. So a number of our group ended up camping alongside the teenagers and the group of four.
Those of us who stayed in the hut enjoyed the hot fire, playing cards and chatting. But then when it was time to go to bed, suddenly we were all roasting.
In the morning it was still damp. We took a group photo and packed up before slogging back through the mud, up the hill and back down to the carpark. No twisted ankles but there were a few slips and slides in the mud.
We had a fun time stretching our legs and spending time in the Outdoors.