8 May
A full van set off for the Whirinaki Forest Park, turning onto Waipunga then Pine Milling Roads to the start of the tramp. The van went exceptionally well along the pumice roads and DOC has placed new signposts which made navigation easy. We parked the vehicle alongside the old Matakuhia Saddle Hut, only the concrete slab remaining.
After signing the hut book we began a gradual descent through predominately beech forest with mountain cabbage trees , toi toi , horopito, lancewoods, some podocarps scattered throughout. This area was probably milled at some stage and the bush is regenerating well, especially after the snowstorms a couple of years ago – evidence of snow damage was the mass of fallen trees across the stream.
The track is in reasonable condition, with several areas of very boggy ground where someone ‘s boot ended left in the mud! Alas no whio seen this trip, although the birdlife was prolific- birds seen or heard were robins,rifleman, tomtits, warblers, tui, bellbirds, kereru, yellowhammers,finches, waxeyes and fantails.
The hut is a basic DOC hut nestled in a grassy clearing , a pleasant spot to spend a couple of hours on a sunny day after two to three hours easy walking time and is maintained by some hunters. I had a wander past the hut heading towards the lower hut, initially the track was easy to follow then it became totally overgrown. Years ago when DOC was maintaining the old Waipunga Forest, the club made many excursions into this area, visiting both huts and three pairs of whio were present in this catchment.
We retraced our steps, enjoying the bush, marvelling at the different fungi, as we looked down on the Matakuhia Stream and slowly made the ascent back to the van. One of the leaders got severe cramp about 50 metres from the van- quite spectactular, from an upright position to a supine one – lesson to be learnt from this was to eat more and drink plenty of WATER, of which she did neither.
Party: Anthea C, Nick W, Glenda H, Peter B, Janice L, Anne D, Daniel H, Paula K, Susan L, Karl J, Simon W and Kjelsty H.