4 May

The tramp was supposed to be to Don Juan, from either Lotkow or Lawrence Roads, but the flow in the Tutaekuri River and an unpassable ford  (to 2WD vehicles) on Lotkow Road meant the easy options were out.  Instead we parked at Littles Clearing and headed up the Black Birch. This gave a faster party the option to access Lotkow Road, and thus Don Juan,  from the track that descends half way along Black Birch and then return along Lotkow Road to the ford that was unpassable for our van.  They declined this offer and kept the rest of us company as we made our way to the bivvy.  

The nicest part of this track is at the beginning where we walked along a mossy track  through the  beech forest.  This opens out into a swampy tussocky area, also pretty but  quite wet underfoot.  As you climb higher the Pinus contorta dominates.  Contorta was  initially planted at a number of  locations in the Kawekas (including Makahu Saddle) to control erosion but it is now considered a weed as it out competes the native vegetation and forms dense groves.  DOC have management plans that try to stop the contorta spreading into the western side of the Kaweka Range but little is done to eliminate the contorta from the Black Birch.

We had left Littles Clearing around 9 AM and were at Black Birch bivvy eating our morning tea by about 10:30. After a short break we return back to the ridge track and carried on along it for another 30 minutes to a spot about 400 m short of high point 1050.   We then turned around and headed back to Littles Clearing, removing  rats from 3 of traps along the way.

We had lunch in the sun beside the van at Littles Clearing and then decided to drive down the road a bit and check out the access to Ferny Ridge. In 30 minutes, following an obvious track, we reached the boundary fence.   Where the track went then was not obvious but on a previous occasion we had bashed our way downwards and refound it.  No one was keen to do this today though so after a good look around we headed back to the van and home.

Party: Selina C, Lou C, Judith M, Christine L, Peter Mc, Robyn W, Murry A, Minh N, Peter B and Glenda H