Atiwhakatu Beginners Tramp

 Holdsworth is a great place to go tramping and while it is about 2 hours drive away, it never fails to make it feel worth while.  This year we had a smallish group of scouts wanting to learn the skills and experience the feeling of an overnight in the bush - some were experienced, but for others it was a first time.

The trip over was an experience.  I have a scout play list in my car, given to me by the Venturers.  The scouts I had in my car loved it and in a lot of cases were singing along (despite some of the songs being Taylor Swift - Sorry Harvey)

Some of our more experienced scouts lead off and set a good pace.  We did the walks in and out in very short times.  We were in to the hut quite early and did the usual of dropping our packs around the hut and heading off to collect firewood.  A LOT of firewood was collected for such a small group.  We had teams on collecting, breaking up and also packing the firewood into the stores at the back of the hut.

Dinner was whatever each group wanted to make with the ingredients that they had.  Cous cous formed the based and most went with adding some of each ingredient for interest sake.  Peppers, Chorizo, Cheese, Tomatoes, etc, all in one pot.  A standard feature of these hikes since we discovered it a few years ago is Chocolate Mouse desserts.  Whip it up and leave it outside in the cold and Voila!  You have dessert.

The evening following dinner was about the fun games and exercises that Nick had prepared.  Lots of learning while still having fun.  A family with a small baby were sharing the hut with us and also took part in the fun.

Next morning was breakfast of porridge and fruit.  Some scouts find this a challenging meal for some reason.

Tidying up and packing up took the best part of an hour or two before we could set off back to the parking lot.  The hut looked spotless and all the scouts played a huge part in making it so.

The walk back was brisk with no issues.  Even swing bridges were just fun.  We stopped at Donnelly Flats for lunch and retired to the the river where it runs close to the track to have it.  The river bank was comfortable and dry and we all settled down a variety of wraps, noodles and soups according to each groups desire.

The trip home also involved a lot of singing in my car, and I believe this showed that all had really enjoyed the trip.

Feel free to check out more photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/NkG6cU5aqRAMUrjv5

2021 - Tramp to Atiwhakatu

Cheerful exhaustion

What a great weekend full of food and chatter and learning.  We challenged the scouts to each write a paragraph about the tramp and the experience that sticks most clearly in their mind.  Below are some of them:

From Connor:

"Atiwhakatu Tramp. A tramp. My first tramp with a big bag on my back. And sure was it a difference. Instead of carrying a light day bag, you are carrying all of your stuff. At first, I thought it would be hard. But it was surprisingly easy. My favorite part of the tramp was the cooking. I love cooking with the gas stoves. Although we made an explosive out of one of the gas cookers, I still enjoyed it. For dinner, we made macaroni and cheese. For breakfast the next morning, we made yummy porridge. Our group's porridge was the best of course. Nick made some sloppy watery porridge for his breakfast, because we are so amazing and kind we gave him some of our lovely porridge. There is even a photo of me feeding him it."

From Ella: 

"It was really cool. I enjoyed the walk and really really liked the sleeping quarters. I learnt that u can go without a lot about stuff e.g., a pillow.

When I came to the scout hall, I realized why you needed a lot of space left in the top of your bag because you had to carry your own food in your pack. I then had to switch from my tiny little bag to a decently sized tramping pack. Then (after I had put all my clothes into the other pack) we were called to sit on the floor to be sorted into our car groups. When we got to the car park, we had lunch there. Then we set out on the tramp to Atiwhakatu hut. My favourite bridge was the bridge that had the wired floor, The one that swayed really hard. I got a shock when I saw Derrick throw Rosie’s group’s gas cooker out the window. I marvelled at the gas cooker on fire outside.

The weekend was really fun. I hope we do something like it again."

From Amelia:

"Atiwhakatu tramp was so much fun. I think my favorite part was  the actual  walk. The views were amazing and the weather was nice. I loved the bridges and the scenery. It was a pretty easy track with a few hills but mostly flattish. I'm very happy I got to do the tramp, I might not have been able to do it as  I hurt my ankle. Overall it was tons of fun and I'm grateful to Nick for organizing it and the rest of the leaders for helping us with the cooking and stuff."

From Trinaya:

"The lengthy car drive to Halesworth Carpark was to be honest, pretty monotonous. But since I had never been on an overnight tramp before, I guess the excitement for me started when I reached the hut. My favourite part of the tramp was probably the swing bridges. The first swing bridge from the carpark swung so much that my hands were gripping the railing super tightly! Once we reached the huts, the first thing we did was collect firewood. After that we got to choose our bunkrooms and start unpacking! By the time everyone was sorted and unpacked, We were told to start making dinner. We did this in our watch groups. Basically everyone was making Mac' n' cheese the first night! 🍲 After dinner, we had this tramping quiz that Nick had put together for us. It was really fun!!! In the morning we walked back. Surprisingly to me it felt like half the distance of walking to the hut! It was a really fun tramp and I can't wait until the next one!!!!"

From Hannah:

"My favourite part about the Atiwhakatu tramp was the actual walk. The scenery was gorgeous and the swing bridges were so cool.  At the start of the walk, I was excited because I hadn't been on an overnight tramp before. When we were on the last boardwalk we saw the white roof of the hut, and we started running. Everybody was so happy and relieved when we got there. The bunk beds were so cool cause you got to be around all your friends. It was an amazing tramp! Thank you Nick for organizing it!"

Some more pictures here.