This article was first published in the Tararua Tramper Volume 89, no 9, October 2017
An unintended crossing of the Turere Valley MF
September 6th
With heavy rain forecast, the scheduled Wednesday MF was switched from Waiohine Gorge to the Orongorongos. Unfinished business there included checking Topo50 BQ32's placement of the waterfall in Scholes Creek; one seen on a previous trip was well downstream from the one shown on the map. Although two waterfalls seemed unlikely, we could not be sure of a mapping error until the mapped location had been checked.
From Sunny Grove we ascended a side spur of Skerrets Creek (see right), reached the northern watershed ridge of Scholes Creek, dropped into it (somewhat fortuitously well above the mapped waterfall due to a failure to stay on the main spur - see trace) and walked down the creek. The only waterfall we encountered (marked * at right) was the one we knew of just above the forks. The map was wrong. (But not for much longer, the information being sent to a LINZ contact next day.)
Morning tea was taken at the forks below the waterfall, leaving a fair bit of day still to fill in. We headed back up to the McKerrow Track (noting another map error in the placement of the lower section of the track out of Scholes Creek - see the trace on the upper map) intent on visiting a Turere side stream forks. Once again the leader's down-spur navigation was wanting. He missed a veer south at about 450m (see right, lower map) and continued SE too far, finally ending up with a very steep drop into the stream, one he completed on his back in a small but fortunately deep pool. The party then scrambled on down to the forks (this stream would be fun to come up in summer conditions) and being within cooee of Turere Stream decided to cross it and come out via the Whakanui Track (rather than the McKerrow Track as originally planned). Again, failure to scan the map had us end up on Turere Spur, much further south than had been envisaged and a long walk out ensued, resulting in a ten-hour day. At least we were never rained on!
(David and Robin walked out after lunch, missing the high jinks at the spur toe.)
- Party members
- Colin Cook (leader and scribe), Robin Chesterfield, Tricia French, David Ogilvie, Janette Roberts, Warwick Wright