14 – 15 December 2024

Five of us set off at 6 am from Te Aute road on a sunny Saturday morning heading for the Mackintosh Car park off the Napier Taihape road. Going down into the valley towards Mackintosh from the car park is straightforward, however the new track up the other side is another story. The track upwards has very steep sections often with little in the way of handholds or things to grab onto, however once up the hill and back on the original track to Mackintosh it becomes significantly easier again until you reach the hut. 

We stopped at Mackintosh hut for a break and to refill water containers, the forecast for the day said it was going to be a hot day and the temperature had definitely gotten the memo. Leaving the hut we followed the track to the junction and we started to climb up Mackintosh Spur. The track mainly passes through a large number of pine trees as we climbed which, while generally providing shade, only did so much to mitigate the heat. Our climb up the Mackintosh spur was a slow one. While the track itself is easy to follow, its steepness, combined with the heat (around 25 degrees based on a small thermometer I was carrying) and a the complete lack of wind, meant it was slow going with some needing regular stops. 

We stopped for lunch about ¾ of the way up Mackintosh spur in a shady spot to gather energy for the final climb upwards. Once at the top of the Spur and out of the tree line on to the exposed tops we were greeted by a light breeze which we were extremely thankful for, it made the continued climb upwards along the ridge easier and more enjoyable.

Once we reached the junction that points to where Studholme Biv used to be (now the location of Studholme Hut) our party split, with Anton and myself deciding we wanted to try climb to the Top of Mad Dog Hill first, before descending the track past the old hut site and then down to its new location. The only source of water at the hut are the 2 small streams running along either side which were thankfully slightly cool despite the heat. 

The next day we climbed up the track the others had come down the previous day, back onto the tops and along to the junction that would take us back down the Mackintosh spur. The previous day’s heat still lingered as we walked downward, however progress was much smoother heading downwards than the previous day’s upwards. We once again stopped at Macintosh hut for a short break to refill water bottles before continuing onwards.

Once we reached the new track where we needed to descend back down to the Tutaekuri River things once again slowed down. The issues with the steep slope and lack of hand holds we had going up was considerably worse heading back down the new track, (thankfully I guess?) due to the heat the track was very dry as if the dirt had turned to mud, I am not sure if we would all have been able to make it down in one piece.  

Once at the bottom we took a moment to rest before climbing back up the other side, the heat of the day once again decided to make itself known and a complete lack of wind meant the climb back upwards wasn’t fast. We did all eventually reach the top, and walked the final half a kilometre back to the van along the forestry road, looking forwards to its air conditioning and a reprieve from the heat for the drive back to Hastings. 

Party: Anton & Monte D, Jude H, Marie T, Nic W.