Kiwi Saddle Hut, Kaweka FP, Wednesday 24 May 2023
Banner Photo: Heading down to Kiwi Saddle Hut from the Cameron Hut junction
This was the club’s first tramp to Kiwi Saddle Hut after the cyclone. After an earlier-than-normal start, to avoid most of the queuing on the expressway, we arrived at the Lakes car park at about 8.30am.
The tops are in cloud
The sky was crystal clear so we were hoping for some good views on the way. Alas! After 20 minutes up the track to Mt Kuripapango, the sky was already covered in clouds and the further we went the foggier it became.
The track is in very good condition; no change really since before the cyclone, except for one improvement: Roel, who volunteers to do trackwork for the Backcountry Trust has put orange covers with reflectors on the top of the waratahs, which makes the signage so much more visible on the tops, so thank you!
Julia went ahead, to practise her fast pace, and the rest of us followed at our own speeds. The weather was very calm, no wind whatsoever, not even on the tops, which meant that the fog did not move either. At the 1380m highpoint when you come out of the bush on the Smith Russell Track, we stopped for morning tea, but we were cooling down quickly so kept it brief. No views at all at this point, unfortunately.
The views on a fine day
Ted, pulling pinus contorta from along the track
At Kiwi Saddle Hut, which was very nice as ever with its proper chairs, we had an early lunch; it was only 11.10am. Julia had already been there for about 15 minutes and she started feel cold, so she soon left for the return trip, meeting Ted who had turned around at the 1359m high point. They spent the way back pulling pinus contorta seedlings.
Elly and Geoff at Kuripapango mast
It was quite cold at the hut, so after lunch we did not linger and started our return. This went very smoothly. Di and Elly had decided they wanted to find the track to the Kuripapango trig point, but it was Geoff who spotted it; the start of the track even has a white marker and a large cairn. It only took a few minutes to reach the mast. By this time, the fog had started to lift a little and from the top we could vaguely see the Ngaruroro River below.
Back on the main track, we continued down and met Julia and Ted. Juliet and Christine had gone off to the other trig point not too far up from the car park, but they were only a few minutes behind us when we reached the car park. It had started drizzling, so we were back just in time.
A few statistics:
Distance from Lakes car park to Kiwi Saddle Hut: 6.9 km; total ascent 788 m. It took us 2 hrs 20 mins to get to the hut (excluding morning tea). Return: total ascent 385 m. It took us again about 2 hrs 20 mins. From the main track to the trig, it is 140 m one way.
Trampers: Juliet Gillick, Julia Mackie, Ted Angove, Di Reid, Geoff Donkin, Christine Briasco and reporter Elly Govers
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