New Zealand 1998

Wednesday, 18 March On the road again

I walked round to the top of the cable car at Kelburn and took a few photos before descending to Lambton Quay where I meandered about a bit and did some essential shopping (film and tobacco) before heading to Shoestring to pick up the car — a Ford Laser GTX (Gentle??) automatic, registration SE5123, with power steering, power brakes, power windows and air conditioning; not bad for $39 per day. I returned to Karori to take tea and ANZAC biscuits with Anne, pick up my gear and head off just after two into the blue yonder.

Or at least as far as the top of the road over the Rimutakas where I parked at the tearoom and went for a short walk up to the summit benchmark (725 metres), allegedly 45 minutes return but took just 16 minutes up and 15 down. It was very windy on top so I didn’t loiter, just time enough for a couple of photographs.

Back at the tearoom, I took tea, a ham salad sandwich and a slice of fruit loaf before retracing my route a few kilometres back down to the youth hostel at Kaitoke (known as the Black Stump). There was a woman from Wellington in residence who pointed me towards the manager’s residence (the remarkable old lady who ran the place and the local post office for many years is now sadly deceased). There was no-one in the house but the door was open so I went in and signed the book, left the appropriate sum of money ($10) but was unable to find the hostel stamp.

The local cafe/bar was closing when I got there but the word “hostel” gained access to a small range of basic foodstuffs. All I wanted was some milk which was swiftly supplied and I returned to the hostel to drink tea before a short aimless walk to smoke my pipe, then back for more tea and some diary writing before bed.

I didn’t stamp on the brake once today.

Thursday, 19 March The Rimutaka Incline

It was light so I got up at half past six and snaffled the best tea pot before the Wellington woman appeared. Breakfast was just tea and more tea. I decided to solve the Rimutaka Conundrum (how to get back to the car from the other end if I revisited the Cross Creek side) in the simplest manner by just walking up to Summit and back from the Kaitoke end, so drove the short distance (5km) to the car park at the Kaitoke end and was walking before twenty to eight.

The track was pretty flat and nondescript (ignoring the logging operations on the hillside above which hadn’t yet started the day’s work) for about forty minutes until the Pakuratahi Tunnel after which there was a gentle but steady rise all the way to Summit which I reached about half past nine. It was still early and the day was fine so I continued through Summit Tunnel and Siberia Tunnel to inspect the washout at Siberia Gully. I didn’t notice much difference except for a deterioration in the surface in Siberia Tunnel (I blame the mountain bikers). It was still only ten o’clock to I carried on down to Cross Creek which I reached about three hours after leaving the car.

There was nothing remarkable about the return journey; I began to feel a bit fatigued by the time I’d reached Ladle Bend – probably the lack of a proper breakfast – and the last half hour was a bit tedious but I was back at the car just after two and ten minutes later was back on the road heading for Featherstone.

I didn’t really expect the Fell Engine Museum to be open but went along anyway to find that it had been opened by a couple of volunteers specially for a couple of visitors who had enquired at the Tourist Information Office and were just leaving so I was allowed a quick look round. It has expanded since my last visit, they now have a restored brake van, a viewing platform for the engine cab, strategically placed lights below and the locomotive engine driven by an electric motor with sound effects (air expelled from the pistons) but not yet the third rail engine. I thanked the volunteers by spending $40 on souvenirs including a t-shirt and a new book on the Incline.

Just after three, I continued up the Wairarapa stopping at Kuripuri (at the south end of Masterton) for a little shopping then on through the Manawatu Gorge in failing light (just after five o’clock!) to Palmerston North where I had no difficulty finding the Peppertree Hostel (apart from parking restrictions) and booking a bed for the night. I went out in search of a small refreshment and, unlike on my last visit, managed to find a couple of pubs.

Friday, 20 March

The morning was overcast but dry so I decided to head back to the Manawatu Gorge to see if it lent itself to good photography but no. The light was not good and there was an articulated truck in the river and some broken crash barrier with attendant police and recovery vehicles to confuse the issue. So it was back through Palmerston North checking petrol prices — the news of the latest price cut (or even the previous one) doesn’t seem to have reached here yet, all garages still selling at 88.9¢ so I continued but still had to pay that price at Fielding.

I left Fielding on State Highway 54 for Taihape. A niggle of doubt crept in at Cheltenham where the SH54 and Taihape signs pointed left and my memory said straight on. I followed the signs, stopped at Stormy Point Lookout to admire the view and consult the map. I was not on SH54 according to the map. It appears the route designation has been changed to a shorter route across to State Highway 1 but as I wanted the scenic route, I returned to Cheltenham and took the other road via Kimbolton. And a fine road it is, all the way to SH1 at Mangaweka.

After a brief stop to photograph the South Rangitikei Viaduct, it didn’t take long to cover the 20km to Taihape where I found the station buildings in a dilapidated condition, obviously the independent attempt to keep the refreshment rooms going had failed. I tried a pie in a plain looking cafe on the main street but it was pretty run of the mill.

After lunch, I returned south on SH1 and turned west through Marton to pick up SH3 for Wanganui, reaching there just before three. I parked near the river and went looking for the Paddle Wheeler Otunui (1907) just in time to snatch a couple of photos as she disappeared upstream to her base. Then into the Riverboat Restoration Centre to admire the work on the PS Waimarie, raised from the river bed a few years ago. They don’t have much to work on and there won’t be much of the original present when she sails again. However, I overspent somewhat on souvenirs.

It did not take long to find the Riverside Inn B&B and YHA where I booked a bed for the night and set out to buy some milk. The supermarket was very busy and I couldn’t see a dairy so I’d fish and chips for tea and a couple of beers before buying milk at a garage on the way back to the hostel.

Saturday, 21 March

The forecast was mainly cloudy but it was mainly sunny at seven o’clock though cloudier at half past eight. I phoned 0800Otunui and yes there was room on the eleven o’clock sailing so to kill time I went looking for maps but the Lands & Survey maps are only available from the council offices or DoC both of which are closed for the weekend. Braeburn apples were 59¢ a kilogram (about 10p a pound).

The Paddle Wheeler Otunui turned up on time at the quay beside City Bridge just before eleven and there was indeed plenty of room, with only myself, another bloke and an elderly couple aboard. A nice little boat built in 1907, she was the first kerosene engined vessel bought by Hatricks (all their previous vessels had steam engines). We made steady progress up the river, though slow past the power boat racing between Dixon and the railway bridges, generally holding close to the inside bank on bends as the boat has a very shallow draught (being flat bottomed). The engine is fairly high revving (compared to a steam engine) and the paddles turn quickly but as the blades are quite small, speed is relatively slow.

It took about an hour to reach our lunch stop at Upokangaro where I eschewed the delights of the Italian restaurant and took a stroll up and down the “main” street admiring the public buildings, before nipping in to the Avoca (does it really mean “confluence”?) Hotel for a quick refreshment. On the return journey, I spent most of the time chatting with the skipper about the delights of “walking” the boat through rapids and over shallows. There was no stop at a winery on the way back as the boat had an afternoon charter. The power boats were still racing.

We were back in Wanganui at ten past two and by quarter to three I was on the road for New Plymouth, stopping at Waverley for petrol (well, I would, wouldn’t I, though not so happy to discover it cost 4¢ a litre more than in Wanganui or Hawera). I managed to get lost in road works in Hawera but without any real loss of time and reached the hostel at New Plymouth just after five.

After booking for two nights, I wandered downtown (after checking the closing time of the local dairy) and meandered the length of Devon Street, vaguely looking for food. Nothing caught my eye (except pubs) so I dined on fish and chips. On the way back, I went into a pub selling Egmont Brewery beers. I was not impressed with their bitter but Mike’s Mild was rather better. I crossed the road to Peggy Gordon’s Celtic Bar where they had Runrig on the sound system but no interesting beers (unless you count Tartan Special coming out of a McEwan’s Export tap) so I settled for Speight’s Dark.

The dairy was still open when I went back up the road.

Sunday, 22 March Taranaki

It was a not bad morning and I was away just after eight and was at North Egmont before the DoC visitor centre opened. Luckily it had opened by the time I got my boots on otherwise I would have been without a map. Still, it’s not the Scottish hills.

At ten past nine, I set off up Translator Road to Tahurangi Lodge (a mountaineering club hut) which I reached an hour later. I couldn’t be bothered refolding the map to see the summit enlargement so set off in the wrong direction on the Round the Mountain Track but it took only ten minutes to realise my error and I returned to the correct route. There were lots of man-made steps up a gully then even more onto a steep ridge which was seriously loose gravel (scoria), slipping back a bit on every step. In time, I reached a lava flow called The Lizard which was at least stable though not entirely solid. The last stretch to the summit was quite interesting, a scramble over large boulders, not all of which were steady, across the crater with large patches of icy snow and a short sharp ascent to the top (2518m).

I spent about twenty minutes on the top which was clear of cloud though there were patches around and more solid cloud inland. There were good views to Tongariro and Ruapehu sticking their heads through the cloud, but hazier through patchy cloud towards New Plymouth.

The going was not too bad downhill, the boulder field which had caused me slight concern on the way up proved to be a paper tiger, and I ran down the loose gravel as if it were snow. Not ecologically sound as I shifted a fair bit of the mountain downhill, but it was fun.

The summit walk is listed as 6.8 hours return and I was back in the car park in 6 hours to the minute. I was back in New Plymouth at twenty past four, cleaned myself up and went out to eat a Chinese smorgasbord followed by a couple of pints of Burton’s Draught Ale in Burton’s Hotel before returning to the hostel for a pot of tea and bed.

Monday, 23 March

It was a cloudy morning. I tried to phone home but the phone demanded money when Daddy answered, despite my having inserted a phone card. On my way out of town, I stopped for a quick scramble up Paritutu (the name means “rising precipice” and it is), a small hillock behind the power station but the day was not clear and the views were disappointing; the power station and town were mirky and there was no sign of Taranaki at all.

I continued south on the coast road with a brief stop at Opunake (Beach) then turned inland on the Eltham road (I’d missed the turn for Stratford) and turned up to Dawson Falls where I’d a quick walk round the falls before proceeding to the lookout. The cloud was clearing but I lacked patience and carried on to Stratford for petrol and lunch at one o’clock. This was a pot of tea and a couple of savouries — slices of multi-grain bread with the corners turned in and filled with toast topper type stuff. Quite nice actually.

From Stratford, I took the road for Taumarunui; a good road with nice scenery but I was confused again when the Taumarunui turning came up much earlier than expected — it was the same problem I encountered on SH54, the route has been re-designated since the map was printed. I followed the new route and was in Taumarunui just after four. I couldn’t decide whether to stop overnight in Taumarunui so continued north to National Park, turned off the main road and stopped at the first backpackers I came to – the National Park Lodge.

I booked a bed for one night and went for a walk; the station is in better order than Taihape but still dead. I’d one beer (Waikato Draught) in the new Schnapps Hotel beside the main road, not impressed, a bit plastic like the customers, then continued on the same substance in the older National Park Hotel, much more congenial, before returning to the Lodge for a brief burst of diary writing then bed.

Tuesday, 24 March

This time my attempt to phone home was successful, all is well. Yesterday’s fiasco seems to have cost $3.60 and the phone card is now expired.

There was not much of the forecast cloud to be seen so I headed for Whakapapa Village on the slopes of Ruapehu and bought three maps in the DoC visitor centre to add to my luggage problems. I decided that a full day’s walk might be too much for my knees so soon after Taranaki and settled for a gentle stroll up to Tongariro Falls, where I considered extending to Tama Lakes but decided against that and returned round the loop to the car park. Just a couple of hours easy going and possibly my last walk in New Zealand.

At ten past eleven, I was back on the road and half an hour later stopped to admire the view of the south end of Lake Taupo from a lookout somewhere on what is a minor road on the map but is now signposted as PH47, before arriving in Taupo about half past twelve. I stopped long enough for lunch in a tea room before continuing for the ten minute trip to Huka Falls.

Lake Taupo is drained by the north-flowing Waikato River; shortly after it leaves the lake, it passes through a narrow chasm and drops over a small sill. The falls are not high but there is a considerable volume of water in a confined space. After a look at the falls, I went just downstream and found the jetty where the former Hatricks river boat MV Waireka masquerading as the “Tiger something” offers short cruises. The Waireka was built by Yarrows in 1908 shortly after they moved to Glasgow and has the propeller in a tunnel in the hull for protection in shallow water. She claims to be the longest continuously working boat in New Zealand with the Earnslaw (1912) next. There are older boats sailing but they have all spent some years laid up on the bottom and been restored.

The cruise was pleasant, down river to just above the Aratiatia Dam (which maintains the river level for power station cooling water) then back into the Falls basin and up fairly close to the outfall. There was a small problem as all the passengers went forward for a close-up and lifted the propeller out of the water but apparently that happens every trip and did not faze the crew. The photos might be good.

It was quarter to five when we got back to the jetty and I decided it was a bit late to continue so returned to Taupo and booked into Pols Hostel for the night. I went for a wander round the town, all the pubs are very touristy and the hotel where I stayed ten years ago is now Central Backpackers. After a couple of beers in the Red Barrell and Cobb & Co., I went to bed.