Napier Tramping Club

based in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Search in posts
Search in pages
Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Search in posts
Search in pages
  • Home
  • News
  • Recent trips
  • Meetings and Events
    • The Tramp List
    • Club meetings
    • Bike Rides
    • Eezee Tramps
  • Gear and fitness
    • Tramping gear details
  • History
    • Memory Lane
  • Contacts
    • Interested in joining

Life and death on Sparrowhawk

May 20, 2017 by Julia Mackie Leave a Comment

Sparrowhawk Ridge, Ruahine FP, Saturday 20 May 2017 Map: BK36
Reporter and Photos: Paul Hendy. Banner: Paul astride the widow maker.

The Sparrowhawk Ridge is one of the great walks in the Ruahines. My daughter Lizzie (sister of Jessie ) and boyfriend Reuben were the only ones on this tramp, others being overseas or away. The forecast was for a very cold southerly blast coming from the deep south. Knowing the ridge was north-facing, I thought we would manage.

It was 5C when exiting the warmth of the car at the Hall’s farm on Glenny Road. A box of chocolates and a thankyou card was put into the letterbox in appreciation of allowing us to traverse their farm, saving at least 30 minutes. It had been stormy and blowing through the previous night and as a result there was considerable debris on the roads leading up to the farm and on the track.

The track has been eroded due to Gold Creek cutting into the cliff face

Once we were through the very muddy, overgrown swamp, tangles of bush lawyer and vines, we descended to the junction of Sparrowhawk Ridge and Gold Creek. Not much to see except mist and some hills up there somewhere. After negotiating the slightly swollen Gold Creek, it became quite treacherous ascending the very narrow ridge line where I recall Mark falling on my last trip. Coming to further erosion of a deep slip biting into the cliff face, we gingerly edged past the precipice. Not for the faint-hearted or children, this bit and probably not OSH-approved. Soon it will further erode and I suspect DoC may need to reroute this section.

The track right to the top was in great condition and quite wide. Long periods of fairly flat terrain gave us opportunity to look at plant life.The gale the night before had brought down a couple of large beech trees across the track and we were horrified and a bit surprised on the return trip to find an epiphite (widow maker) had fallen directly down on the path where we had walked, probably from weight of snow and hail.

The track is wide and in good condition

The final push to the bivvy had to be abandoned due to blizzard-like conditions. A hurried lunch and then we turned back. There were 15 individual hailstorms, with light snow, yet it was surprisingly warm in the bush canopy.

On the return trip, the area was covered in an intense white winter wonderland and was extremely spectacular. The soft snow made descent much easier. I was impressed by the flora and fauna. There are a lot of small wild mushrooms and deep green mosses on some of the lower trees, plus more birds and birdsong than I had heard before – tiny black mountain robins, grey warblers, fantails, tuis and quail near the river, with deer tracks on the soft sand. And sadly, a new memorial to a misidentified and now-deceased deerstalker, Danny Jordan.

It was a great day out in nature, despite the forecast!

Trampers: Lizzie Hendy, Reuben Moore and reporter Paul Hendy

Filed Under: Recent trips Tagged With: Ruahine Forest Park, Sparrowhawk Ridge

About Julia Mackie

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Our most recent trip

Hypothermia caused by cool winds and water

Cameron Hut, Kaweka FP, Wednesday 20 January 2021. Map: BJ37 Banner Photo: Don't they look chilled Eleven keen trampers headed off from Park … Read More

News

January 2021 News

January 1, 2021 By The Editor Leave a Comment

Sunrise Hut Track Closure Just a heads up Sunrise Hut and Track will be closed from the 8th of Feb … Read More

December 2020 News

December 2, 2020 By Brian Mackie Leave a Comment

Mike Christie, Ranger Recreation/Historic, Manawatu. Kia Ora RUG group,  There will be on-going … Read More

About us

We are a group of like-minded people who love the great outdoors. We tramp mostly in the Hawke’s Bay province, in remote areas such as the Kaweka and Ruahine Ranges; but we also travel longer distances to new places, for longer walks.

The Napier Tramping Club was established in 1974 and has about 70 members. We belong to the Federated Mountain Clubs of NZ Inc (FMC) and run Saturday, full-weekend and Wednesday tramps, every fortnight.

Interested in joining us?

Enjoy the great outdoors, keep fit and get to know others with similar interests.

More information

Latest news

January 2021 News

Sunrise Hut Track Closure Just a heads up Sunrise Hut and Track will be closed from the 8th of Feb … Read More

December 2020 News

Mike Christie, Ranger Recreation/Historic, Manawatu. Kia Ora RUG group,  There will be on-going … Read More

Latest trip

Hypothermia caused by cool winds and water

Useful links

  • Dept of Conservation
  • DoC Huts Use, Kaweka Forest Park
  • Federated Mountain Clubs of NZ (FMC)
  • Heretaunga Tramping Club
  • New Zealand Tramper
  • NZ Walking Access Commission
  • Wanganui Tramping Club

Useful links 2

  • Royal Forest & Bird Protection Society
  • Weather forecast

Copyright © 2021 · Napier Tramping Club · Sign In · Website by D2 ·

Copyright © 2021 · Outreach Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in