Napier Tramping Club

based in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand

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Snow at Sunrise

September 15, 2010 by Keith Moretta Leave a Comment

Top Maropea Hut – Sunrise Hut, September 15 2010. Map: BK36

Trampers: Kelvin Shaw, Peter Slagter, Alison Greer, Gary Bowler, Paul Exeter, Vic Bullock, Ken Ross, John Marshall, Viv Pinkham (visitor), John Gray, Robyn Smith, Murray Goss, Ron Morison, John Burrell, Elaine Gavin (visitor) and Keith Moretta

Strong winds, snow-clad hills and spring lambs greeted us at the Sunrise Hut car park. The walk was planned through the wonderful beech forest track to Sunrise Lodge, then continuing over Armstrong Saddle and finally dropping down into Top Maropea Hut.

Sugar coated beech trees, etched into blue skies. Photo by Ken Ross

Light snow began to fall, 30 minutes before Sunrise Lodge, and everything looked as if it had a heavy coating of icing sugar. At Sunrise Lodge, Alison greeted everyone with a warm smile and the occasional snowball.

Sunrise Hut, in winter sun and snow. Photo by Keith Moretta

Inside the lodge, the warmth from the gas heater was appreciated and it was nice to be out of the strong wind. Everyone was in good humour, and an early lunch was very enjoyable. With typical spring conditions of strong gusts, occasional snow and intermittent sunshine, only a few were keen to venture out of Sunrise and go to the ridge above Armstrong Saddle.

Keith, Peter and Robyn set off around noon. The track to Armstrong Saddle was covered with snow, but not icy, which made walking not too difficult. It felt colder due to the wind chill, but Robyn was determined to go beyond Sunrise for the first time. Although this was her third or fourth visit to Sunrise, she had not ventured further due to typical Ruahine weather – but today’s conditions were not a deterrent.

On the ridge above Armstrong Saddle, views were limited and with more low cloud, dropping snow and reducing visibility, we headed back to Sunrise, where many of the group were already walking back to the car park.

After a short rest for refreshments, the remainder headed back to the car park. The snow was quickly disappearing, and the lovely beech walk sheltered everyone from the high winds.

The beech forest to Sunrise is a very popular walk, and although we had a shorter day due to the weather conditions, it was a very enjoyable time for everyone.

Filed Under: Recent trips Tagged With: Sunrise Hut

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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

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December 2020 News

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Latest trip

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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

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