This article was first published in the Tararua Tramper Volume 94, no 5, June 2022
Grandchildren head to the Ruahines
27-29 April 2022
During the school holidays, six grandchildren with assorted grandparents visited the Ruahines for the first time. We had booked Rangiwahia Hut and the forecast was for great weather. The children, despite carrying their own packs, raced ahead to the hut while the overloaded grandparents walked at a much more sedate pace.
While the grandparents sorted out a recovering cup of tea and set the evening meal to rehydrate, the children disappeared outside to play and came back in, briefly, only to don hats and gloves as the temperature dropped. They loved the outdoor environment up in the tussock and were impressed with the views of Mts Taranaki and Ruapehu and eventually the vivid sunset.
The following day, we went up to the ridgeline and turned left towards Maungamahue. We got as far as the tarn campsite before returning via bump 1635. It was quite a day for the kids – scrub bashing through concealed potholes and memorable encounters with Spaniard which left some kids looking as if they had picked up chickenpox.
On our last day we returned via Deadman’s Track. It took us five and a half hours to return to the carpark. The grandchildren were very tired after two big days. I thought the drive home in the van would be more quiet than the drive up but I was wrong. Miming ‘what am I cooking?’ was followed by good old ‘I Spy’.
The children, aged between seven and 12, impressed us with their endless enthusiasm and endless energy on what was really their first serious tramp. It is a joy to take them into the hills.
- Party members
- Peggy Munn (scribe) with Zach, Harry and Ollie; Lynne and Warren White with Mila and Cato; Helen Beaglehole with Bianca