Napier Tramping Club

based in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand

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Up and down to Daphne

November 5, 2016 by Juliet Gillick Leave a Comment

Daphne Hut, Ruahine FP. Saturday 5 November 2016. Map: BL36
Banner: Having our lunch in Daphne Hut. Photo: JLM.

The day dawned bright and sunny on Guy Fawkes Day in Napier. The forecast, however, was for overcast skies and scattered rain in the ranges, and that turned out to be spot-on.

Eleven intrepid trampers set off in the van. The Kashmir Road potholes haven’t improved but fortunately there was no oncoming traffic for newbie driver Juliet, who hadn’t driven that narrow track before. We arrived safely at the car park and the immediate climb up the hill was warming; the wind at the car park had been somewhat frigid.

Up the Tukituki River

Up the Tukituki River

The track was a series of ups and downs from there. Fortunately, some trampers were keeping a better eye out than others and alerted us to the hooded orchids growing on the track (which we managed to avoid stepping on). But Marie was so keen on taking a photo that she managed to leave her sunglasses behind.

In spite of a bit of windfall from the winter storm, there wasn’t anything major that couldn’t be negotiated. We also spotted some flowering native clematis which was quite beautiful. We carried on at a good rate until we reached the Tukituki River. At that point, two of the group elected not to get their feet wet and had lunch by the river instead of travelling on to the hut. The rest of us trudged through the river, with vertically challenged members struggling to keep their shorts dry. The river crossings were safely handled, in spite of the slippery conditions.

And down the Tukituki River

And down the Tukituki River

All were pleased to get to the hut safely and have lunch. While there, the rain settled in a bit more but not too significant. The hut is very close to the river and would make a lovely place to be on a sunny Hawke’s Bay day. As always, the trip out via the river seemed quicker than going in and we caught up with the two other trampers about halfway back to the van. Even the missing sunglasses were relocated – one of the bonuses of retracing the route out.

It was an uneventful trip back, with the weather improving all the way. We got to the van in warmer conditions than when we left and eventually arrived back in Napier in the late afternoon, after a very pleasant day out in the hills.

Trampers: Alison Greer, Rosemary Jeffery, Andrea Hannah, Sue Martin, Geoff Donkin, Julia Mackie, Bruce Hodgson, Marie Deroles, Viv Bramley, Rachael Verbance (visitor) and reporter Juliet Gillick
Photos in the river: Geoff Donkin

Filed Under: Recent trips Tagged With: Daphne Hut, Ruahine Forest Park, Tukituki River

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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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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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