This article was first published in the Tararua Tramper Volume 96, no 8, September 2024
Taratahi (‘one peak’) / Mount Holdsworth
June 2024
In the months and weeks leading up to the Taratahi tramp, countless hours were spent in careful preparation - planning, sorting out volunteers, and collecting gear - to ensure that the trip would go perfectly.
On the day of the tramp the students, teacher and volunteer parents met in the morning at the Wellington High School parking lot. We were briefed on what our next two days would be like, from going up the mountain to coming down. There was a feeling in the air of nervous excitement and anticipation.
After packing the vans we left Wellington High School at 9:00 a.m. and headed towards Taratahi. The kids were split between two vans and cars driven by two teachers, Bharat Pancha and Jordan Hallas. We stopped in Carterton to allow the kids to go to a supermarket for much needed snacks.
When we arrived at the base of Taratahi, we gathered at the car park. The weather was clear with a few scattered clouds and no wind. Maps were handed out and we were told where the stops would be. The tramp would total 7.4 kilometres, with 1.2 kilometres of elevation. We began our tramp to Powell Hut with one teacher at the front, parent volunteers in the middle, and the other teacher at the rear.
Halfway up the mountain we stopped for lunch at Rocky Lookout, our last stop for the next five kilometres. We were given a final brief at Mountain House Shelter, where we replenished our water and waited for all the group to convene before commencing the final leg up the steepest section of Taratahi. That leg, with its large number of steps, was by far the most gruelling and challenging section of the whole tramp.
The last students arrived at the hut at 3:30. Once everyone had arrived, a small group of kids, parents, and teachers made their way to the peak of Mount Holdsworth. Once they returned, the kids, parents and teachers started cooking their dinners.
It was lights-out at 9:00 but the kids’ boisterousness dragged on for a bit. Good thing that the entire hut was booked by the teachers four months before.
We were woken up at 7:00 in the morning to begin cleaning the cabin and repacking our packs. At nine o’clock we left the hut. Unfortunately the weather had taken a turn for the worse. It started spitting, later turning to heavy rain. The first and only stop we made was at the Totara Creek Track turnoff, to make sure no one went that way. Then we continued along the last 6.2 kilometres and met together at Mount Holdsworth Lodge. Although everyone had been drenched we still enjoyed ourselves and realized that a good raincoat is very important.
A huge thank you to all the parents and teachers who made this trip possible. It is such an amazing thing that our school is able to do.
Thanks from Eddie and the other WHS whanau.
- Party members
- Eddie Jameson-Mann (scribe).