The plan for the first day is to walk up Old Blyth Track, up to Blyth Hut, cross country to Turoa Skifield carpark, then north on the Round the Mountain Track to Mangaturuturu Hut. Cyclone Wilma is just veering away off the eastern coast and we are getting a cool south wind. It’s a bit drizzly.
Old Blyth Track is wet but is little used, so quite pleasant, amongst the Beech trees then on duck boards over bogs as the forest opens up. Next we turn east to pass Rotokawa and Waitonga Falls. Rotokawa is a mountain wetland and lake. It has a boardwalk across it with a seat in the middle where you can sit and contemplate your surroundings and look up at Mt Ruapehu. Alas today the cloud is low so no mountain, but very photogenic all the same. We cross the stream below Waitonga Falls, then turn left and head up to Blyth Hut for lunch.
Now we get a little bit of adventure. We go off the beaten track and take a short cut up and over to Turoa Skifield carpark. It is quite exposed and cold but with a tail wind, so it is bearable. As it happens there is a marked route up here but the poles are very widely spread and the cloud often comes in and obliterates our view. A whole variety of navigational tricks are used and they are needed too, to skirt around the head of the big gullies and steep terrain. Good practice though. About 4.00 pm we were sheltering behind a boulder, discussing our next move, when the cloud lifted and 200 metres in front of us was the Turoa carpark. Bang on target. That shortcut took us 2 ½ hours, about the same as by track and road bash.
The highlight of the last couple of hours is scrambling down the edge of the Cascades, a waterfall that tumbles down into the valley at about a 45 degree angle. The rocks are stained creamy/white with a silica deposit, which makes the falls visible for miles. I had been a bit apprehensive about climbing down but the rocks to the side of the falls were dry and it turned out quite easy.
Mangaturuturu Hut, not far past the falls, is one of those huts with a special character. It was built by Wanganui Tramping Club at a time when volunteers would have humped the materials in. It isn’t big but is nicely laid out. The kauri slab kitchen bench and a big window looks out to Mt Ruapehu. The blurb says 18 bunks but I reckon that would be a bit of a squeeze. The paths outside were paved with slabs of rock and a big stone seat faced the mountain. If you ever need a couple of days away from it all, consider Mangaturuturu Hut.
Next day the sun is out but with a cool breeze. Good tramping weather. Almost immediately we scale down into the Mangaturuturu River valley, one of about six huge steep sided valleys that the track crosses as we head north. Looking to our right, up toward the mountain are high rock cliffs and numerous waterfalls that stand out white against the grey background.
We climb out of the valley up a wooden staircase. These wooden structures that you come across from time to time are there to protect a fragile environment and rightly so, but some are designed to fit in with the surroundings. This one is just ugly. It’s soon forgotten though because, surprise surprise, it’s Lake Surprise. Another opportunity for a breather and some photos.
By the time we get to Whakapapaiti Hut, I figured we had done a decent days work. The quoted track time is 5 ½ hours. We did it in 6, plus ½ hour for lunch. But climbing out of all those valleys is quite tiring.
The next day, our last day, we have to meet the Bus at 1.00 p.m so we head out to Whakapapa, via Whakapapaiti Valley Track and past the Silica Rapids.
Another fantastic weekend.
Now it’s off to Taumaranui for coffee and a feed.
And this from Roger………………Also had fun doing Ruapheu traverse. Cross country 9.5 hours first day, 9 hours 27km second day, gentle third day. Over 60 km total in two and a half days.