16 November, 2025
The annual Cairn Trip is a long-standing HTC tradition, visiting the rock cairn on the summit of Kaweka J that commemorates club members who lost their lives in WWII. The trip is held each year on the weekend closest to 11 November (Armistice Day).
We departed Havelock North at 7:00 am with seven in the van, picking up three at Puketapu Park, one at Whittle Road, and meeting a further two at Makahu Saddle car park. Conditions were perfect for tramping: 10–12°C, light winds, clear skies, and warming to around 18°C by afternoon.
Our group of 13 set off from the car park at 8:45 am, climbing steadily up Trial Spur and reaching Dominie Hut at 10:45 am for a brief break. From there we continued on to the top of Kaweka J, arriving at 11:30 am. The views were spectacular, with Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe, and the sweep around to the Bay clearly visible, although Taranaki stayed hidden.
A short ceremony was held at the cairn to honour the HTC members commemorated there. Brian S shared the history of the cairn and spoke about several of the individuals named on the plaque, information that was greatly appreciated by many newer club members. A wreath, made by Pam, was laid on the cairn by the eldest and youngest members of the party, being Brian and Sumara.
A minute’s silence followed, after which Peter B played two tunes on his pipe, Hector the Hero and Battle of the Somme. Joan R then recited a poem:
With the weather being considerably kinder than in 2024, we enjoyed lunch by the cairn before departing at 12:30 pm.
The group then split into two parties: eight followed Peter B down Dons Spur, while the remainder retraced our steps to Dominie Hut to reunite with another team member before heading back toward the car park. Just below Dominie we crossed paths with members of the Taupō Tramping Club who were continuing on from two days at Te Puia. (We later met the rest of their party at the car park; having the same model of van as HTC, they were keen to inspect the shelving setup in ours!)
The Dons Spur group arrived at the car park roughly 40 minutes after the Trial Spur group, with several commenting that they preferred that route down, despite initial expectations that it might be steeper.
From the car park we drove to Pam’s place at Balls Clearing for coffee and tea, where a generous table of sweet and savoury treats awaited — including the now-traditional chocolate-coated strawberries. We were joined there by Randall and enjoyed a wonderful hour and a half before departing en masse, taking care not to upset the bull in the front paddock.
We delivered the Puketapu trio back to the park and returned to Havelock North at 5:45 pm.
Party: Anton D, Joan , Glenda H, Peter B, Paula K, Selina C, Donna W, Peter Mc, Connie F, Jude H, Brian S, Kathy & Sumara E and Rocko (the Kiwi aversion trained dog)