After a recent trip into Kahurangi National Park, when we all donned party hats during a successful summit of Kakapo Peak, a theme of tramping unicorns seemed to emerge! https://wtmc.org.nz/trip-report/kakapo-peak-with-no-unicorns-or-doughnuts-left-behind/. This time we decided we would go all out and find proper unicorn themed apparel to wear during our weekend trip into the Ruahines.
This trip was a Plan E. Originally our planned destination was the Lewis Pass tops. However, a ferry stranding a few days before our departure led to both the easy-medium and medium-fit groups looking for North Island trip destinations instead. As the weather forecast for Friday looked pretty good we decided at trip with tops travel would be the best option. So plan E had was chosen. We would finally knock off the very well-trodden Daphne – Howletts loop.
Being tired unicorns and not particularly wanting to pitch our tents in the rain on a Thursday night after work, we chose to leave for the trip on the Friday morning instead. We left the station just after 7.15am in Ellen’s car and reached Kashmir Road at around 11.15 am. This was a few kilometres before Moorcock Saddle, where another group were reversing backwards in their car, appearing to be unable to get their car up the very muddy, churned up road. After realising we would have the same issue too, we left our car on the grass verge by the farm and opted to walk up the road to the start of Longview Track. As it turns out, a very kind farmer saw us on our mission up the road and gave us a lift to the start of the track. This was very welcome, as it was now nearly midday and we still hadn’t started our tramp!
We began the easy uphill walk to Longview Hut at 12.10pm. The tops were shrouded in cloud despite the weather forecast predicting a bluebird day (oh well, this is the Ruahines after all and the weather does what it wants!). However, after reaching the hut at around 1.50pm, where we had lunch, we saw a wonderful albino rainbow. Then there was a perfectly timed breeze and the morning’s clag and clouds parted.
We trundled up Otumore Peak and saw a stunning ridgeline. It is a relatively easy clamber up Otumore Peak (1519 m), although some parts are knee-crunchingly steep. We reached the top of the Peak at around 3.30 pm – which is approx. 1.15 hours from Longview Hut. Selfies of the Blessing of unicorns were taken and we then set off over the tops to Howletts Hut. (Editor’s note: “Blessing” is the collective noun for a group of unicorns).
In the distance, the higher tops around Sawtooth Ridge were dusted with snow. As the clag was still lifting in the lower valley, we spied a brocken spectre – a second relatively rare weather-related phenomenon of the day (the unicorns were indeed blessed). Note: A brocken spectre is the magnified shadow of an observer cast in mid-air on any type of cloud, opposite a strong light source.
The tops travel was utterly delightful, gently undulating and tussocky gold in the setting sun. We reached the turn off to the lower track to Daphne Hut at around 4.30pm (ish), just as the sky was turning pink. About 45 mins later, we reached Taumatataua on the ridge opposite (at 5.15 pm), just as the sun had set and the sky was bathed in gold.
It was a gentle descent through the tussock in the dark to Howletts Hut. It was tricky in the dark – none of the snow poles had reflectors and the track was sometimes hard to find due to overgrowth. However, with only minor backtracking in order to get to the ridge junction, we arrived at the wonderfully cosy and warm Howletts Hut at around 6.45 pm.
We were greeted by a deer head (recently shot) resting on the deck and a trio of hunters from Auckland. We got settled, enjoyed Sarah’s delicious homemade dehydrated veggie shepherd’s pie, tried some delicious (albeit slightly overcooked) venison and talked about grand plans for the next day. The hunters were already planning on bagging Tiraha Peak, so we decided it was not a great option when there was clag and we had no fluoro clothing! We had also mulled over travelling back over the tops to Top Gorge Hut – but the weather was not looking great. In the end we decided to play it by ear, have a lie in, and see what the weather was like when we woke up the next day. (Sarah and I have grand plans to tackle Sawtooth Ridge in the near future, when the conditions and daylight allows! but that’s a unicorn mission for another time….). The most likely option for the next day would be to complete the loop and go down to Daphne Hut.
On Saturday we woke to clag and drizzle after a well earned lie in. The hunters had already left and being the easy-going souls we were, we opted to skip down to Daphne Hut for the night. As we descended down Daphne Spur, we saw a rainbow which upped the weather phenomenon to a count of 3! I was interested to see what the river crossing to get to Daphne Hut would be like, as it had been raining for several days (and this was one of the reasons why we opted for tops travel on the Friday). The track down was cruisy and the river was easy to cross. We reached Daphne Hut after about 1 hr 45 mins. We put the billy on and checked out the rat situation at the hut (rats were frequently mentioned in the trip intentions hut book).
It was frustrating to see the hut in such a bad state – rubbish bags and food wrappers strewn around, large rat droppings in the sink and empty glass bottles/rubbish. A lot of the mattresses had been recently replaced and you can see why – older mattresses had been fervently chewed through and fluff and rat droppings were visible on the top bunks.
With a free afternoon, our blessing of unicorns set about cleaning up the hut using some of the 30L supply of dishwashing liquid stashed under a shelf in the hut! After some scrubbing, chopping wood, sweeping and buffing it looked like a new hut, and also smelled so fresh! We also packed up the rubbish and planned to take it out with us the next day. After another incredible homemade dehydrated Mexican quinoa, we played the game “Bananagrams” and retired to bed at trampers midnight (aka, 8pm). After enjoying a solid 12 hours of sleep, interrupted only by our bladders and the sound of rats in the wall, we woke to a lovely day.
Our walk out from Daphne Hut began with a 600 m gorge and approx 8 river crossings. This was not at all difficult, aside from the rather chilly glacial water we had to walk in. We decided to cross a couple of the deeper faster – flowing rivers as a team. These were about thigh level for the shorter ones of the group (ie me). It took around 45 mins to get through the river, to the start of the track that ascends the spur. There is some very clear evidence of cyclone damage here – eg enormous boulders that have come down the hills with large slips, whole trees in the river tributary.
The track up the spur is peppered with traps, most of which were full. One trap we managed to clear and reset. After a climb of around 450 me to the saddle, we were greeted with amazing views over the ridge. We saw the mist come and go and weather phenomenon number 4 – a solar halo. We reached the track junction (at approx. 1050 m) and had a lunch break before descending to the road.
It took us much longer than the DOC estimated time of 3 hrs to travel from Daphne Hut to the road end, owing to some very muddy, slippery descents and minor tree fall. Two river crossings near the road were easy to negotiate and we reached the shelter after a relatively cruisy 4.15 hrs of walking. It was then a further 30 min easy saunter back to the car.
We arrived back in Wellington at around 5.45 pm in time for dinner.
Overall, a very cruisy tramp with a bit of everything – tops travel, ridgeline sunsets, rainbows and sun halos, rivers and gorges, cozy huts, wholesome dinners and lie-ins.
A blessing of a weekend for a blessing of unicorns!
Specifications:
• Traps (full) = 4
• Dead animals = 6 (1X mustelid, 1X stoat, 2 X rats, 1X possum, 1X deer)
• Weather phenomenon = 4: albino rainbow, brocken spectre, rainbow (the normal kind), solar halo.
• River crossings = 11 ish
• Huts bagged = 3
• Rubbish bags packed out = 1 countdown bag full
Timings and stats:
• Day 1: 15.8 km, 1,768 m elevation, 7.75 hr
• Day 2: 2.5 km, 34 m, 1.75 hr
• Day 3: 8.8 km, 760 m, 4.75 hr (the DoC time of 2 – 3hrs must involve turbo charging!)