October 2019 News

Contents:

Change of Tramp Organiser – For Wednesday October 23, Kelvin Shaw is now the T/O. Please see the updated list on our Tramp List Page.

Trip Planning Meetings for the period January to June 2020
These will be held at Alison’s home. Wednesday tramps – Monday October 14 at 1:00pm. For Saturday and Weekend tramps – Wednesday 16th October at 7:30pm. If you are unable to make these times but would like to put forward some suggestions, please email greer.fans@xtra.co.nz or text Alison.

Anniversary Dinner
It was great to see so many club members at the dinner on 3 October at the Puketapu Hotel. The noise levels were high, so everyone must have been having a great catchup.

Brian and Julia Mackie were awarded the Jonathan Livingston Seagull trophy for their work keeping the NTC website lively and interesting. It is a great asset to the club, and is our best ‘marketing’ tool. But it would not be so without the contributions of the club members and their interesting tramp reports. These are always a great read, not only for club members but also our many visitors to the site from around the world.

Note: Jonathan Livingston Seagull, written by Richard Bach and illustrated by Russell Munson, is a fable in novella form about a seagull trying to learn about life and flight, and a homily about self-perfection. Bach wrote it as a series of short stories that were published in Flying magazine in the late 1960s. (Wikipedia)

Labour Weekend Tramp
The proposed tramp is in the Tongariro National Park, doing all or part of the Round the Mountain Circuit.

Sparrowhawk Bivouac
The Backcountry Trust will be approving funding for the ongoing maintenace required at the biv. Rob Brown, Manager of the Trust will be working this with DoC, but he is expecting that we will provide the manpower. This work will be carried out in February 2020. Julia Mackie will be coordinating this effort to help save the biv, so please contact her if you would like to help. Any NTC club members or other interested persons please contact her on julia@napiertrampingclub.org.nz

Rodent Monitoring Ruahine Ranges

Kia ora
We now have the latest rodent monitoring data back for the monitor carried out on 27-28 August 2019. Rats and mice are at the highest recorded rates since we started monitoring – rats had tracked 74% of tunnels, and mice had tracked in 62% of tunnels.

Tables don’t seem to work well in these RUG posts, but some previous data are from May 2019: 61% rats and 11% mice. By comparison, May 2018 was 1% rats and 16% mice and August 2018 was 3% rats and 23% mice.

DoC is in the last stages of finalising consents for the upcoming Tiakina Nga Manu operation to protect our native species from the rodent plague caused by the mega beech mast.

Nga mihi
Sue Moore, Biodiversity DoC, Palmerston North

A Frame (Travers Hut)
Kia ora
A deal has been done with DoC to be kaitiaka of the A-frame hut. We are the Te Kauru – Manawatu River Hapau Collective.

We are just waiting to hear from the Backcountry Trust regarding funding; once we have sorted all of that out, we will then plan the work. It is awesome that everyone is excited about the rebirth of the now renamed A-frame to Te Ao Tūpare; there is a korero about that name but we will leave it for another time.

Anyone who wants to jump on the waka and give us a hand would be very much welcomed.

Nga Mihi
Cherry

Notice of Intention to Apply Vertebrate Toxic Agents: Northern Ruahine
Epro Limited (Epro) has been contracted by the Department of Conservation (DoC) to undertake predator control (rats and possums) in the northern Ruahine Ranges. This work is part of the department’s Battle for Our Birds (Tiakina Nga Manu) project.

In accordance with the Health and Safety at Work (Hazardous Substances) Regulations 2017, Epro wishes to notify you of our intention to apply sodium fluoroacetate (1080) and potassium cyanide (Feratox). This operation will be carried out in two phases. Initially, non-toxic prefeed bait will be applied. This will be followed five to ten days later by an application of toxic bait. The bait will be in the form of pellets and will be dyed green.

This operation will commence as soon as practicable after 10 October 2019 and should be completed by 1 February 2020.

Toxin warning signs will be erected at all normal points of entry to the area prior to toxic bait being applied.

A fact pack is enclosed with this letter. It includes a map of the area concerned as well as information about the operation and the precautions that should be taken.
This information has been provided to you as the holder of a DoC concession for the affected land. Please inform any associates, members or staff who may also use this area.

Please feel free to contact Epro if you require any further information.

Yours faithfully
Mike Reid, Operational Controller, Epro Limited.

For information on the toxins being used, please see the attached Fact Sheet. Toxin Fact Sheet
The area affected map. Northern Ruahine Map Predator Drop

Ngamoko Hut, Ruahine FP
Hi all,

Went in to Ngamoko Hut with handsaws at the weekend, and gave the track down to the hut from the Ngamoko range a much needed trim – cut back or removed whatever overgrowth and windfall could feasibly be done by hand. Should be a lot easier to follow now.

There are still two or three large windfalls across the track lower down, which have to be climbed over or detoured round. Did what we could to make this easier. Some lower sections are also a bit obscured by ferns, but this shouldn’t cause much trouble. The upper part of the track is quite cut up by deer traffic, making it muddy and slippery right where the track’s steep and you don’t want it. So some care needed there.

It’s a great spot and a lovely hut, with a fantastic woodburner that’ll keep you toasty warm – it easily got the temperature up to 25C on a frosty Saturday night. The river will be too cold still to get there by any other route right now, so make the most of our work and try the tops route – maybe 6-7 hours from Limestone Rd by the Shorts Track, if you don’t stop to pull a saw out! The hut doesn’t see much traffic this time of year (last recorded visit was May), so there’s a good chance you’ll get that quiet wilderness experience you’re looking for. Enjoy!

Chris Tuffley
Ruahine User Group