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

Tramping over epiphytes on the Whirinaki Track

September 29, 2010 by Gary Bowler Leave a Comment

Whirinaki Track, Wednesday September 29 2010
Trampers: Ken Ross, Alison Greer, Vic Bullock, John Burrell, Murray Goss, John Marshall, Sue Martin, Peter Slagter, Robyn Smith and Gary Bowler

Five hours in the van and seven hours walking through some of the most beautiful bush in the North Island proved to be a very satisfying experience for the seven walkers who travelled along the Whirinaki track from Plateau Rd to the Minginui car park. More would have joined the group had it not clashed with school holidays and the requirement of some members to fulfil “grandparent” duties and others attending the Wearable Arts display in Wellington.

The travelling involved meant a 30-minute earlier start than usual, though this together with it being the first week of daylight saving, created no delays in the “pick up” routine. An hour later, we were expressing surprise at the impact of heavy logging on the roadside scenery (and our bearings) as we turned off the Napier-Taupo highway and travelled over boulder-strewn roads to Plateau Road car park.

The first of many wood pigeons greeted the trampers as they set off shortly after 9am. It took a while for the low cloud to lift; however, the generally cloudy day provided ideal conditions for tramping. A brief rest near the cave was followed by views of some spectacular groves of ferns clearly benefiting from recent rains.

Vern's camp - time for a rest

After a brief stop at the Central Whirinaki hut, we travelled on to Vern’s Camp, often passing over many epiphytes lying on the ground as a result of recent strong winds. Blue duck also were present in this area of the river, where we met the only other person on the track – a DoC ranger checking out this species. Vern’s Camp enabled us to see for the first time a recently built shelter with wood stove, sink and places for cooking and seating, similar to other shelters on the Waikaremoana track. Some of the group saw it as a good overnight stop for future Napier Tramping Club journeys!

Vic and John, lunching at Arahaki Lagoon. Photo by Ken Ross

Shortly after 4pm, we met up with the remaining three in our group (Ken, Vic and John Marshall), who had brought the van to Minginui and who had walked to the lagoon before tramping through the magnificent podocarps near the car park. It was then all aboard the van with drivers Ken Ross and Alison Greer’s efforts being very much appreciated by the rest of the group.

http://www.fishinghuntinginfo.com/photo-gallery/backcountry-huts-and-surrounding-terrain/plateau-central-whirinaki-hut-minginui-carpark-29th-sept-2010/

Filed Under: Recent trips Tagged With: Whirinaki

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

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

Our most recent trip

Two short hikes for the final outing

Bell Rock, Local, Saturday 12 December 2020 Banner Photo: Exploring the "Bell" Earlier in the week, there hadn’t been much interest in the … Read More

News

January 2021 News

January 1, 2021 By The Editor Leave a Comment

First club meeting of 2021 Our first meeting for this year will be on Thursday 14th January at the … 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

First club meeting of 2021 Our first meeting for this year will be on Thursday 14th January at the … Read More

December 2020 News

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

Latest trip

Two short hikes for the final outing

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