A Dangerous Business

Date: 30th December 2023

Start: Ian & Frank’s Hut (km 1529.2)

End: Makahika Outdoor Centre (km 1547.2)

Distance Travelled: 18 km

Total Distance Completed: 1387.2 km

Song Currently Stuck in Head: edamame by bbno$

Muddiness: 3.5/5 Pirongias, with some bits rising to 5/5

Truthfully, I was dreading today’s hike. It looked to be longer and harder than yesterday’s, and there was still rain forecast. It had all the makings of a miserable day. The rain the night before had bucketed down, so much so that Vicky went out to check on those in tents; everyone was fine, some mildly wet. Despite the promise of mud and rain, everyone else was in good spirits. Thankfully it wasn’t raining when we left, so I urged myself to enjoy the trail whilst the rain stayed away. The first bit like yesterday was on a gravel road, a nice warm-up to get the legs moving. A ubiquitous orange arrow directed us up into the bush, commencing the hard slog of the day.

The start was an exact replica of yesterday’s track: immediate climb, immediate mud. The difference? It still wasn’t raining. It was still very overcast and as we got higher the clouds came to greet us so the forest was rather dark.

One hour in we reached the first of many river crossings we’d have to do today. The first one I got over cleanly, the second I got a few drops in my shoe, but the third was too deep. Knowing there was far more to come, I gave in and just went through it. Don’t get me wrong, I’d take dry feet over wet feet any day of the week, but it didn’t feel as bad as I had envisioned. More so, I felt a lot more confident in just going through any future crossings and deep mud pools without caring about what was going on below my ankles. Speaking of which, the severity of the mud seemed to be proportional to our altitude. The higher we went, the deeper the mud got. For most of the way it still didn’t come above my boots, but as we got closer to the summit an old friend came to meet us.

There wasn’t any boardwalks to save us this time, we got stuck into it, the mud coming all the way up to the bottom of my knees, completely covering my socks in a thin layer of chocolate soup; I would not recommend tasting it.

The summit lookout was a little further on from the soup. The trail notes claim that the lookout “gives a grand vista of Shannon, Horowhenua, and Manawatu.”

Now I’ve been through Shannon, and last I checked there was a bit more to it than a white cloud. Might have to write to the TA Trust to get the notes updated. John and Laur were having lunch here and seemed to be far more interested in their food than the “view”. Jenny also caught up with us and settled down for a break here, but the four of us decided to continue to another lookout a little ways down the mountain. This one actually had some views.

It still wasn’t as great as it had been advertised. Apparently on a clear day you can see all the way to the South Island. I’ll take their word for it. Much to my surprise the forecasted rain hadn’t arrived yet. Looks like I might get my wish for a dry day after all. To make things better, the descent down the mountain really wasn’t as steep at Far Out made it out to be. I mean, it wasn’t a nice stepped descent, but a series of small muddy switchbacks all the way down. In what felt like no time at all we reached the bottom and the start of a plethora of river crossings.

At some points we’d be walking for less than 20 metres on dry ground (dry being a relative term, it was still pretty muddy) in between crossings. Not having to care about them was a nice feeling despite the soaked feet I now had, making me consider if it would be worth switching to trail runners for the South Island. Sure, it’s a bit inconvenient as my boots are next to new, but I’m sure I’ll get some use out of them when I do some drier tracks back in Australia. From what I understand, this small section is a teaser for what some of the SI tracks are like, so I think my time as a member of the “keep feet dry at all costs” party is coming to an end.

Speaking of coming to an end, the final river crossing brought me to a grassy clearing with a toilet and pie by of space to camp. We’d be pushing on a bit further, stopping briefly for snacks. John and Laur caught up with us and together we made our way through a farm field filled with bulls, through another stream crossing/shoe cleaning station and out onto a gravel road that took us to Makahika Outdoor Pursuit Centre. A small shelter with a hot shower had been set up for the TA, with plenty of space for camping. It was surprisingly empty considering the crowd that we were with at the last shelter, presumably most got a lift to Levin for New Years. It was just the four of us, plus Lukas from Slovakia and a French couple, Emmelline and Humbert. The owner came by later on that afternoon with the weather forecast for the Tararuas. The short summary was it was gonna suck tomorrow morning, with the rain easing up in the afternoon and the cyclonic winds slowing down on Monday. Going to the second hut was out of the question but we could make it to the first – Waiopehu Hut – if we started late. That would mean having to do a stupidly long day after that, but the weather should improve by then. If not, there’s plenty of alternative huts to choose from to wait it out. The Tararuas are infamous for their freak weather changes and typically poor conditions, you can’t be taking chances up on the ridges. This was exemplified by the conditions down at the campsite as evening came.

That’s got to be the first time I’ve seen the sun since my first day out of Palmy. I tried to enjoy it, but my thoughts were filled with apprehension for the next 3 days. 3 hard days of proper tramping.