Te Waka, Wednesday 19 Aug 2015
The forecast was “wind changing to the North-west and rain in the afternoon”. (There was no mention of the showers in the morning and severe gales from mid-morning.) The forecast temperature for Napier was 18˚.
Te Waka is a high point (1020 metres) overlooking SH5 at Te Pohue. The area is covered in rocky outcrops, with sheer drops and great views of the surrounding country and ranges in the distance.
We set off from Church Road at 7.25 with 12 on board, heading for Potter Road (off Puketitiri Road) so as to head across country to Te Waka via farmland, courtesy of the Carswell family. From the start, there was a cold wind which took its toll on Paul and Bruce so, with Vic and John doing their own thing on the lower slopes, the remaining eight continued up the farm tracks and through what seemed like at least 500 gates (slight exaggeration).
Some vital lessons were learnt:
1. Don’t follow Ted
2. Don’t follow Kelvin when he is following Ted
3. Bring somebody who knows confidently where to go
4. Don’t do this trip in winter.
Behind our decision to return to Potter Road without achieving the objective were the looming rain clouds. The concern was that we would lose visibility, which under the circumstances was not an option.
Trampers: John Marshall, Sue Marshall, Vic Bullock, Sally Woods, Murray White, Dianne McBryde, Bruce Hodgson, Paul Exeter, Ted Angove, Viv Bramley, Peter Slagter, and scribe Kelvin Shaw
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