Southern Ruahine Crossing – Opawe Road to Kumeti Road, Wednesday 25 October 2017
Photos: Alison Greer
Traversing the Ruahines has always been on my list, so given the chance I took it up. Thanks to Kelvin, Vic and Ted for moving the vehicle from Opawe Road to Kumeti Road so that we didn’t have to do a return journey. The three managed to squeeze in a tramp along the Manawatu Gorge Track and the odd latte or two.
Nine of us crossed over the Ruahines. The track initially goes through farmland which was a tad boggy before entering the bush. It is well marked. It’s a steep climb and sometimes a clamber, up to the top. I’m glad we didn’t come down that way. The wind howled around us but the leatherwood gave us 100% protection. The path was very clear, with steep leatherwood sides. Once we reached the sign to the turn-off for the Kiritaki Hut, we started following deeply embedded horse hoof prints. Our guess was that a hunter had taken a horse to the hut whilst pig-hunting. It made a big mess on some places on the track.The track was muddy in places and by the time we got down to the river, we needed a wash. We followed the river downstream, about 800 metres to a large DoC sign that indicated a path to the car park.
We stopped at The Black Stump for replenishment on the way home.
Trampers: Alison Greer, Rosemary Jeffery, Sally Woods, Robyn Wolfsbauer, Kelvin Shaw, John Stairmand, Ted Angove, Les O’Shea, Bruce Hodgson, Juliet Gillick and reporter Hilary Heath-Caldwell.
Puffin says
From the prints the horse had two attempts to get up from the Maungapuaka, about two weeks apart, succeeding on gaining the “raingauge” ridge line on the second attempt. I had assumed it had gone right over to Opawe, but if you only began to notice indications when past the junction then it probably went back out at Loveday or Fairbrother. I think this may have been a resident of Kumeti road. No reason for a hunter to take a horse up there that I can think of, but trampers assuming hunters are responsible for any damage in the park appears common enough. How about a mounted tramper?