February 2018 News

Contents:

Trip List Change – February 2018
Manawatu Walking Festival;
Sunrise and Rangiwahia Hut Booking Season;
Ruahine User Group Meeting, 19th February 2018;
Permolat Interview on Radio NZ – Jesse Mulligan.

Trip List Change – 24/25 February 2018
Sandy Bay Hut on Lake Waikareiti is fully booked, so a change to our trip list was required. The new tramp destination is Mitre Flats Hut in the Tararua FP. It is a 14 bunk hut, serviced so $15/night. First come first served therefore no booking.

Manawatu Walking Festival is being held on March 9, 10 & 11, 2018.
There are twelve inspiring walks for families to trampers.
These include:
– Walk the Sunset Beach Walk starting at Foxton Breach ending with Fish & Chips,
– Forest and Bird guides will explain the history etc of the Manawatu Gorge Walk ending at a cafe,
– See magnificent views over the Rangitikei on the Oroua Tunipo Tramp.
Plus so much more. Bookings essential www.mwf.org.nz

Sunrise and Rangiwahia Hut Booking Season
Just a note to let you know that beds at Rangiwahia and Sunrise huts are currently bookable; until April 30th 2018. The booking system is accessible via the DOC website. People may call the Manawatu District Office to enquire and/or book, particularly if they have an annual hut pass. Annual hut pass holders can make a booking with no additional cost. Use of the booking system will be reviewed again once the season has closed.

Based on feedback DOC have received, throughout and following our 2016/17 Gateway hut booking trial, we plan to:
– Have the difference between a booking, hut tickets and a hut pass outlined on signage at the huts.
– Have hut wardens present at the huts at peak times (volunteer hut wardens would still be welcome when paid wardens were not available, and outside of the bookable period).
– Give hut wardens a list of bookings for the applicable nights.
– Include specific columns on hut warden report forms to show who has hut tickets, bookings, annual hut passes or none.
Nicole Dillon, DoC, Palmerston North.

Ruahine User Group (RUG), Meeting 19th February 2018
This meeting is currently scheduled to take place in Dannevirke Deerstalkers Rooms. Start time: 7:00pm. Julia who is the NTC representative with this group will not be able to attend as she will be tramping in Fiordland on this date. Any club member who wishes to become involved and attend in her place should contact her (06 844 0540).

One of the items which has been on the RUG agenda over the past years is Kawhatau Base. Access has been improved, and work has been taken out by members of the RUG. Here is their report.

We have got the new fire installed and signed off by the Council. The remains of the old coal range we’re flown out by DoC on a backload, which was great. Various repairs have been completed, including repairing pipe leaks and we have also given the base a good clean out, and removed redundant equipment. We have also temporarily repaired a beam in the old outside woodshed, and this will probably be addressed later on down the track.

There are other projects in the pipeline, but for the meantime building itself is good to go. At the same time I understand DoC are working behind the scenes to suss out the access track. I’m sure Shaun, or someone from DoC, can provide an update on this.

The kitchen is certainly alot less smokey than it was with the old coal range going.

If anyone has any questions about the work were doing up there, or has any suggestions for things that could make the facility better once open, please sing out.

Cheers
Peter

Also, Herricks Hut is begining to receive some maintenance attention, again by a member of the RUG.

My son Nick and I have spent a couple of weekends in at Herricks so far. We have scraped and sanded the exterior timber back as far as we could, then applied undercoat and the first top coat, Unfortunately it rained overnight last time we were in there, and a bit of splash from where there is no spouting washed a small amount of paint off, as it had not completely set. We had scheduled to go back in recently, but forecast thunderstorms put us off. We intend to complete the exterior painting in the next couple of weeks. Then we will completely scrub out the internal areas and paint the insides with white paint. We have a length of grating to go between the 2 buildings, and also some iron to replace a couple of sheets on the roof that are rusting out.

Cheers, Phillip Hansen.

Permolat Interview on Radio NZ – Jesse Mulligan.
The founder of the Permolat Group Andrew Buglass was interviewd by Jesse on Friday 9 February. Here is a link to the interview.