Te Puia, Saturday 9 September 2023
Banner Photo: Taken by Julian
A sobering reminder of Cyclone Gabrielle’s fury leaving her mark on the landscape is very evident on the drive to Puketitiri and beyond.
As there was a group of five interested in doing the Makino route to Te Puia, Di decided to complete her trap line, so we stopped at the field base in Puketitiri to collect bait. The road is in good condition and, apart from an abrupt halt when meeting the local farmer on his very big tractor on a corner, we made it to the Makino car park in good time.
The start of the track, which heads straight up, had been pretty overgrown with bracken. When Di and her team first went into the area after the cyclone, they had to hack their way through.
Once we got higher, the track was in very good condition and it was a pleasant walk; we checked out the traps, finding a stoat and a couple of rats, and Di replenished the traps with fresh bait.
It took a couple of hours to reach the signpost, left to Makino Hut, right down the hill to Te Puia, which is where we headed and 50 minutes later we arrived at the bridge, then on to the lodge. We decided not to follow the other group up to the hot pools but instead sat in the sun and had a long lunch break. Marie announced she was too hot, changed into her togs and marched into the river for a very quick, refreshing swim!
We chatted to two young women who arrived, giving them advice on other huts suitable for overnight stays, plus how to use their Topo maps on their phones. On the way out to the car park, we met two other groups of young people going in for the night; we were secretly pleased we weren’t staying!
It’s a pleasant walk out along the river, with lovely views from the several high points. Our group stopped on the river flats just before the last climb for a sit down in the sun, then Julian arrived. He’d made quick work of the walk out from the hot pools. He showed us photos of the seven whio he had seen and commented on the trout he had also spotted.
Then we tackled the last climb, arriving back at the van round 3pm. The other group weren’t that far behind and we were on the road by 4pm.
This is always a lovely walk, especially in the warm sunshine, giving us a beautiful day out.
Shona reports on the other group’s adventure:
Our group went Te Puia then on to Mangatainoka Hot Springs. After dropping the others off at the start to the Makino loop, we continued on to the Gums car park and started off around 8.45 am.
The weather was definitely on our side – with barely a breath of wind – so it wasn’t long before we were shedding layers.
There were several sighting of whio, as well as the usual chorus of tomtits, fantails, grey warblers and others.
We stopped for a spot of morning tea down by the river, then continued on to Te Puia Hut. Just a quick stop there to check out more whio, then we continued to the Mangatainoka hot springs. It took around 40 minutes and we commented that the bush is noticeably more lush and green in that section of the track.
Anne, Craig and I donned our swimming cossies and luxuriated in the hot pools (it was the first time we had been there, so we could not let that opportunity pass) and the others continued on a bit further to lunch there. Apparently they saw lots of trout.
After lunch we made our way back to Te Puia Hut, where we learned from a couple of ladies that the Makino loop group had been there about a half hour ahead of us.
We stopped several times on the return trip for trout sightings – poor Mary wished she’d brought her rod as there were so many, including a huge rainbow trout basking in the sun and taunting her!
We arrived back at the car park at 3.40pm. It had been a delightful tramp with excellent company – a nice easy track although by the time we got back to the car park, knees and quads felt that they’d had a jolly good work-out.
Makino route trampers: Di Reid, Marie Deroles, Rosemary Jeffery, Carla Voigt and reporter Alison Greer. Direct route group: Amelia Moorhead, Julian Phillips, Mary Campbell, Cherie Le Lievre, Craig Mountfort, Anne Mountfort, Kate Fuller and reporter Shona Tupe
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