This article was first published in Tararua Tramper, March 2025, pp. 8-9, with a map and photos.
Marchant Stream spur
M - Wednesday 15 January
For some years there were trips down Marchant Stream spur led by now-retired leader Lynne Pomare, but they seem to have dropped off the fixture card. Time to re-visit the route, I thought.
Five of us set off from the DoC Kiwi Ranch Road car park at 9 a.m. in unexpected drizzle that turned to proper rain. Bugger. But it did slacken off once we were on the main route up the Marchant. Not so the mud, which was still sloppy as after a wet start to summer. However, we were up at the Dobson’s site in good time, where I went over the planned off- track route on the map and set my compass.
Down to pt 656 and there was still a clear gap off the track indicating the start of the spur route, but oh dear it was overgrown. It took two forays to find the first of a handful of white markers to get us going on the spur. But we were underway and there was still a rag-tag of a foot pad to point us in the right direction. Further down the spur, it became more of a battle and at times a bush bash as the windfalls piled up, blocking our passage and reminding me how useful a compass is in these situations to keep orienting us in the required direction.
After the 560m contour, the spur swings around to the east and with it more piles of windfalls, but happily a compass re-set was again very helpful as the plot thickened.
The last section down to the Tauwharenīkau Valley track is remarkably steep but with enough to hang onto. It was useful to recall the trips with Lynne as I had a fair idea how to negotiate the various spur offerings to get us to the bottom and – aha! the track, and some flat ground just after 1 p.m.
After lunch we still had a long way ahead of us along the valley track and up over the saddle. Mary and I were going at a good pace in front but I was puzzled the other three did not seem to be behind us. So, after negotiating the big orange DoC triangle route over a slip, we sat down to wait for the other three. And waited. Where were they? What we didn’t know was that they had shot through the slip itself and managed to forge ahead unnoticed while we were going over the DoC diversion. We were out of cellphone range so I decided we needed to go on and get up to the saddle where we could phone them, which is where we learnt they were actually ahead of us and almost back at the car park and waiting for us, rather than and wondered about the other three. Over a the other way around. longish day, according to Google Earth, we
The trip took close to eight hours, minus the half hour while Mary and I stopped and waited covered 15.7km and climbed 1,102m.
Marg Pearce (leader and scribe), Bob Buckle, Mary Perkins, Louise Slocombe, Pete Smith.