Te Kowhai, Don Juan, Lotkow Road, and then Lotkow Road to Black Birch Bivvy, Little’s Clearing.
Kaweka FP, Saturday 10 April 2021. Map: BJ37
Banner Photo: The Don Juan trig, having a great day out
The forecast was not brilliant, so we had just ten of us heading to the hills. This tramp seems to be on the tramp list every year, but I have never done the first section. So, new territory, which is great after 15 years of tramping.
Mark had kindly offered to drive, and drop off and pick us up at the end of the through tramp. Bruce decided to keep him company. So eight of us set off from Te Kowhai. There had been rain overnight, so the bush was wet. As I headed off first, I copped a lot of it and ended up getting very wet. But it is only water.
Looking back, we could see the farmland of Hawke’s Bay with patches of cloud hanging over valleys.
Just before reaching the high point of our 600m climb, we met Bruce. What a pleasant surprise. Mark and Bruce had changed plans, and driven up Lotkow Road. Bruce had walked up to meet us, also seeing a deer on his walk. We were grateful to Mark and Bruce for the lift to the start of the Black Birch Range track which we had intended to walk the 2km.
Don Juan is 943m, and has a trig A3RO. We stopped for a pre-lunch snack break and photo opp. Heading down to Lotkow Road, the track becomes very wide. A hunter had scratched an arrow on it, indicating that he had gone down a side spur to hunt. We did hear a single shot in a southerly direction.
The track becomes a walk through pine (again) and then what seems like a strange landscape. The pines had been sprayed, and were dead, but there was the occasional large tree which many have not been affected, and many small trees which have grown up in the new light. This demonstrates the continual battle we will have with the infestation of pinus contorta in parts of the Kaweka Forest Park.
Heading to Little’s Clearing, the vegetation returns to scrub and the route drops down to a small stream, before the short climb back up to the car park. The Kaweka Ranges were in cloud, and the wind beginning to pick up. We were all glad we were not on the tops.
Trampers: Di Reid, Colin Jones, Amber Cooper, Lynette Morgan, Alison Greer, Dorothy Sole, Jenny Burns, Bruce Hodgson, Mark Jenkins (thank you for driving), and reporter Julia Mackie
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