Hi all,
Just letting you know that the hike to Atiwhakatu Hut was a raging
success with both leaders and kids enjoying it immensely.
Day 1
We met at the Den on Saturday (23rd), organised everyone into their
watches and divided up the food for each watch to carry. Spread out on
the table it did look like quite a lot, but it all got swallowed up into packs
and we set out to Holdsworth camping ground (a long drive for everyone who was
a passenger), but once we got there, things started to happen.
We got on our packs and after a little orientation on where we were,
where we were going and elevations and courses, we set off. This is some
of the kids at the first bridge.
The walk was a good three hours (possibly more) and a very large detour
had to be taken to get around a slip. This involved going up and around
the top of the slip, and back down the other side, a fairly hazardous undertaking,
going by the number of brown marks on trousers afterwards.
There were a number of bridges on the way there and as they are the best
opportunity to take pictures, here is Sean crossing the swing bridge.
The path was a well prepared DOC path with plenty of ups and downs. You
couldn’t miss Alfie in his bright coloured jacket and hat.
The walk into the hut continued into the night. Some wisdom was imparted by leaders to the
scouts. Here are Hamish, Sean and Max debating with Neil.
Walking in the dark, clearly did not require much concentration
either. Katy and Sol set the pace all
the way to the hut and a cracking pace it was too.
When we got to the Hut, it was already fairly full, with
another Scout troop from Masteron and a young Family with a son of 4 who had
completed the same walk as the kids.
First order of business when we got there was to get the gas cookers
going and dinner made. A very successful
Risotto was made by each watch (and the Leaders- thanks Kate). Here are Magnus, Sean and Alfie preparing
theirs.
Following dinner that evening we went for a short walk into
the bush to see if we could find any glow worm banks or possums, but failed at
both, so we collected some firewood and came back to the hut for a camp
fire. Ghost stories were told, Dad jokes
brought out some laughs and marshmallows were cooked.
Once all this was completed, the sparklers were brought out
and all the scouts (including the Masterton ones were given a couple to wave
around in the dark).
Day 2
Began with a very
quiet start. The scouts were in bed
until about 7am and were finally allowed out at about 7:30. We all made a handsome breakfast of
ingredients available including Weetabix, raro, cheese, jam, bread, and some
left overs from last night’s dinner.
Trust me when I say that some of the combinations were not what you
would expect.
This was followed by packing and cleaning the sleeping rooms
in the hut. All the gear was sorted out
and all lost property returned and packed (although there may still be some
“mix and match” in the bags, but we did bring everything we took in, out)
This was followed by a mapping exercise and a little quiz
managed by Kurt and Nick. Because it was
raining outside, the scouts did a theoretical walk up river, and described
surroundings, elevations and expected obstacles on the route.
This was followed by cleaning up the living area of the
hut. By this time all the other groups
had vacated and we had the hut to ourselves and could clean to a really good
standard. The scouts really pitched in
and the place was given much more than a lick and a promise. Neil and Kate
really got into the swing of things:
The official photograph before leaving the hut (Courtesy of
the Wellington High Tramping Club who turned up just as we were leaving)
We then walked out from the hut, this time, having consulted
other trampers, we took the lower route through the river around the slip. It did mean traversing about 10m in the
river. This meant everyone got wet feet
but it seemed to make no difference to speed or enjoyment.
Below, Kurt and Neil prepare to cross the swing bridge again. Rachel had a problem with this bridge but was
rescued by Max. He suggested that he
walk across with her (it was a single person bridge) as he was the smallest and
she could pull her hat down over her eyes and cross with him guiding her. It worked a charm, except that Neil and I had
to traverse a swing bridge with two packs each to get Rachel and Max’s packs
back to them.
Lunch was at the Donnelly Flats about 15 minutes from the
end of the hike. Instant Noodles were
boiled up and consumed with vigour and delight by the scouts, with cheese, bread,
jam and the remains of the salami.
We all walked out safely and no-one got hurt. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves too. To quote one of the scouts on the car journey
home: “That wasn’t as bad as I expected!”
(From left to right: Nick, Max, Sean, Rachel, Hamish,
Kate, Sol, Neil, Katy, Magnus, Derrick, Alfie (slightly behind), Kurt and Grant)
Well done to Nick and Kate for organising the event and for
all the leaders who supported the scouts.
Well done the scouts who made a fun event but listening, participating
and enjoying every minute of it.
Looking forward to the hike into the Orongorongos in August
