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This article was first published in the Tararua Tramper Volume 96, no 4, May 2024
Tararua Lodge work party
23 - 25 February 2024
An enthusiastic team of eight arrived on a lovely Friday evening. After a brisk walk up to the lodge, we were all tucked into bed.
We awoke to the sound of alarms and a beautiful morning. We tucked into a quickly cooked breakfast and the team got to work. The forecast warned of impending rain and wind, so priority one was working on the roof. With the ladder tied on, a team were soon scraping away the rust patches and treating them with rust converter.
The team worked hard as cloud tried desperately to climb Ngāuruhoe.
Meanwhile, the other half of the team set about priming the window timbers and getting the lodge ready for the winter season. Unfortunately, the temperature was dropping and cloud was closing in. With the cloud starting to spit, we decided to hold off from priming the roof.
We had done a great job of cleaning the paint and rust as we went, but the wind had still managed to spread some of the chips around. To prevent the remaining paint chips from joining the lodge’s water supply, we removed the caps from the downpipes ready for the following day’s downpour.
With the roof done, it was time for some play. Most of the team went to climb on Mead’s Wall. Although it was occasionally spitting and cold on the hands, we managed to knock out a couple of routes and two of us did a quick traverse along the length of Mead’s wall before heading back to the lodge for dinner.
There’s always time for a little fun on a work party. Dinner was little late because the chef (and author) played outside longer than he should have. However, everyone took the delay in good spirits. We were introduced to a card game, Coloretto, which is equally frustrating and intriguing. With full stomachs, we hit the hay.
We awoke to the promised torrential rain. Glad to be inside, we set about scraping and priming window sills, inventoried the current food and completed odd jobs. Kobus led the charge, braving the rain to get the filters cleaned and ready to go for the winter season. With the lodge tidy and ready for the winter season, we retreated down the maunga and made our way back to Wellington, stopping for eclairs on the way. A huge thanks to Andreas, Bill, George, Kim, Kobus, Nigel and Tom for their excellent work!
- Party members
- James Gilbert-Milne (scribe), Andreas, Bill, George, Kim, Kobus, Nigel and Tom.