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| The Tararua Mountains Expedition 30th December 2005 - 4th January 2006 |
| A Wilderness Adventure Shoalhaven Gorge April 2004 |
| On a cool misty morning three adventurers set off into the unknown. The early morning fog hung in the valley and between the trees preventing us from seeing what we were letting ourselves in for. Our packs were heavy as we made our way down the steep slope. Gradually the mist lifted and we saw the beautiful tree filled gorge and the sparkling Shoalhaven River below inviting us to come and visit. An hour later we reached the bottom and headed off down river for 6kms. We struggled through thick bush, clambered over boulders, wobbled over stones and tramped through soft sand working out our own route as we went along. We then had to find the best place to wade across the fast moving river (sandals were advisable). Finally we arrived at our camping place and not a moment too soon. After finding a great camping spot with a lovely river view, we started to build the best camp site. We made use of the natural environment turning boulders into seats, finding the perfect stone table and a stone ring for the fire. We collected firewood and Greg put up the washing lines. With the tents set up and our gear spread out everywhere it looked like home from home. Then it was time to get the ‘Billy’ on and have some tea. Now the eating began and it continued until we got home. The next day we explored further down stream including a dry river bed that feeds into the gorge and had an Easter egg hunt. The eggs were all hidden in easy places, like our boots or the socks on the washing line, yuk! Then it was time to lie on the sunny beach and read or sleep or go for a swim in the river. I played on my lilo in the river, swimming up river and floating back down again. And then it was back to eating again and an early night. Next morning we were up bright and early, packed our bags, left our camp site clean and tidy and then set off to retrace our steps leaving only our footprints in the sand. We had lots of photo stops on the way and lunch at the base of the upwards path. We filled up on energy foods for the big haul up, luckily everyone’s packs were a bit lighter. Wow, was that steep, but we all made it! Then it was a quick drive to the Blue Gum in Waitara for beer and a roast dinner, Yum! Thanks Greg and Carmel for a great weekend, I was very privileged. Clare H |
| The 'Lest We Forget' Fun Run Fagan Park - Galston May 2004 |
| What a great atmosphere where it didn't matter who ran or walked, where just being a part of the crowd was fun. The beautiful autumn day began cool, crisp and sunny, ideal conditions for running, jogging or walking. At the start line everyone paused as the bugle played the ‘last post.’ Then the siren blared and a sea of competitors shot off down the track to begin a grueling 8kms. There was a brilliant turn out from the Bushwalkers. We were able to put together a male team and two female teams, plus many others who came along to be part of the day. The vibe from the other entrants was good - everyone happy and friendly happy to have a bit of a chat. Our strongest member was Ji-Young who powered home in 41min 55sec, a very fast time finishing near the front of the race. Most members of the group were involved in their own friendly competition either against the people around them or competing to make it up the next hill.. Unbeknown to Carmel, she was the pacemaker for another woman who then thanked her for helping her to finish the race. Anne-Marie was grateful for the motivating words from Ed which ensured she achieved her goal of finishing within the hour with a time of 58min 21sec and 58min 29sec respectively. Colleen was powering hard but Carmel constantly caught up with her on the hills - would she ever shake off Carmel? Clare, (the Fun Run editor) tried hard to keep up with Greg and Bruce but failed as they caught up to her each time. Eventually the male competitive edge took over as they sped off for the finish line, only to be out done by a 10 year old girl who came trotting past us all. Marion met up with a lady and together they walked and chatted their way around the course. Rob and Joyce made a surprise and welcome appearance. Corrie ran his own super charged race, far ahead of the rest of the Bushwalkers in a time of 47min 40sec. Other keen bushwalkers were Penny, Brenda and Ann who came in under the hour with a cool time of 59min 59sec. Everyone was pleased with their efforts. All the more so when Marion and Brenda won lucky draw prizes. In the teams event 'The Bushwalkers' (male open age) and 'The Benowies' (women open age) received first place awards while Carmel topped off the day winning her age group in a time of 56min 02sec. Amazing and congratulations!! This was well worth a relaxing BBQ and drinks in the sunshine afterwards which stretched into a long afternoon. Clare H Further results and race certificates can be found by visiting www.lestweforget.com.au |
| Mid afternoon on 31st December we would start our trek out of the tiny locality of Craven that is situated several kilometers south of Gloucester. Our walk would eventually take us across a diversity of terrain from dry and drought stricken to the lush Myall lakes region then down the coast to Hawkes Nest at Port Stephens. This 130 kilometer trek would eventually be the ultimate test of each walkers endurance with the mercury rising into the mid 40s most days. Day one was an easy walk 8 kilometers to our New Years Eve camp at 'The Glen Nature Reserve'. We decided on the short walk for day one so that we could slowly adapt to the expected high temperatures. On arrival we would freshen up in the creek before retiring early with an 8.45pm New Years Eve celebration and drink. "I can't say that the warm vodka and orange gave me any excitement for making resolutions". Next day we broke camp at 8.00am and followed the Wards River east for several kilometers before turning southward. The walk now would undulate for a while then climb along a ridge for most of the day. By mid afternoon we were up at 620 meters where it would undulate one last time before descending to the Little Myall River where we would collect more water then cross several fords to our second nights camp. Next morning would see us ford the river another 6 times before reaching the Myall River which would become the days low point at just 50 meters. From here our walk would ascend Manning Hill into the Bulahdelah State Forest. At the top we would break for another well deserved lunch ahead of our descent through Andy's Short Cut to the Wang Wauk River. Here we would yet again take time out from the searing heat. At this point we recorded the track temperature in excess of 50 degrees Celsius. Through the grueling heat and on a trail with little canopy we pressed on to our next campsite at the historic Trestle Bridge. After three days walking we would soon start to realize that this walk would be no picnic. At this stage water was getting to be in short supply along with a water filter that did its hardest not to work. After several attempts to clear the filter the best we could achieve was a litre every 10 minutes. Our needs now dependant on in excess over two hours pumping every day. On the physical side we also had one of our walkers suffering from blisters that would see her having to withdraw from the walk within the next two days. Next morning we awoke to another warm day and before leaving we took some side tracks to explore the area where part of the historic railway once stood. From the Trestle Bridge our walk headed southward through a gorge and a number of railway cuttings to the Wang Wauk Forest Way. From this point much of the walk would go down hill to our next water stop at the Shorty's Camp Picnic Area. Again there would be a shortage of good quality water, although there would be enough to freshen up on. By mid afternoon we pressed on to Boolambayte Creek in our endeavours to eliminate some of the next day's 25 kilometer ridge walk. This day was to become one on the most enduring and hottest days of our journey. During the evening we sat down together and decided to call in our back-up team which would meet with us mid morning to take our injured walker out. By now her blisters where reaching a difficult stage to manage as she was unable to wear her boots. For the following morning's walk we substituted her footwear with sandals and re-bandaged her feet for the walk out. By late midday we were on our way again. Our back-up team had picked-up our injured walker and at the same time dropped off a fresh supply of water. From here we pressed on through more undulating terrain through the Bulahdelah state Forest. Within hours we had connected with the Koolonock Range Trail where we would finally descend off the end to a shore based camp on the side of Boolambayte Lake. Here our back-up team returned with our injured walker along with a celebratory dinner of prawns ,oysters, crab with the accompaniment of a beautiful fresh garden salad and many pints of an icy cold liquid. This campsite is called Korsmans Landing but, after dinner was renamed Graeme's & Lucy's Landing in honour of our back-up team. Day six started off, "you guessed it", with another hot one but thankfully with only a short distance to travel to our next overnight stop. This part of the walk eventually scrambled though the heath areas then around the lake before finishing at Bombah Point. Here we would pick-up more fresh supplies with an overnight stay in a shore side cabin. Staying at the Myall Shores Resort we were able to shower, wash and sit down to a wonderful evening meal along with consuming a number of fine icy cold ales. With an early start we crossed the lake by ferry where we trekked around the lake to Mungo Brush. Here we would meet up with our new car based member "The Blister Lady". She had caught a train back to Sydney and returned by car to be our new back-up member. She either didn't want to miss out on all the fun we were having or she just wanted to be in-charge of those icy cold hydration packs.! Before leaving Mungo Brush we sat by the water and shared a cup of tea with her and then headed south on our walk again. As we trekked back inland again we walked through kilometers of palm jungle before entering the small settlement of Tamboy. Tamboy is a small fishing village situated on the banks of the Myall River. Here we sat by the river for a while before heading down stream to Brambles Green. This area passes through more palm jungle until reaching the heath areas of the coast. At the Brambles Green trackhead we went onto camp the night at Stewart & Lloyd. Day eight we left camp and headed back north where we picked back up on the Mungo Brush trail. From here we walked the Wildflower Walk and continued across to Dark Point, an aboriginal oasis that sits in the middle of kilometers of white sandy beach. It is a bit of a trek to get there but is well worth the exercise. Dark Point is also known as the Little Gibber and is a 2 kilometer return walk through sand dunes. On our return we headed south again taking another side track to visit the old dunes which after many years are now grown over. From now to the end of the walk would see the temperature grow to the high 40s, the track now having little cover from the heat and the trail now becoming a soft sand base. After a number of hours of this we finally turned out onto the road for a brief 700 meter walk to the Hawkes Nest track that would eventually lead us onto the beach to lay the last kilometers of our walk. Finishing at the Hawkes Nest Surf Club we sat, we layed and rested as we reminisced the last eight days, the endurance that was required to see us through the heat and the team work that stayed with us for the duration. "That was one 130ks of inferno that we would never wish upon anyone. Like always, every walk has a happy ending. The next two days were spent frolicking around the beaches of Port Stephens. See you all again when we return for Craven to the Tops. Happy Trekk'n. |
| On leaving Otaki Forks we commenced our walk crossing the Waiotaru River via a 30 meter cabled swing bridge. From here our itinerary would take us along 10 kilometers of Penn Creek where we could get an early summit on day two to the Tararua Peaks. Well, it wasn't to be… With less than two hours into our walk we came across a severe land-slip that made negotiating the track not only difficult but also quite unsafe. As we anchored ourselves in the scree we discussed the situation before making a decision to backtrack and make an ascent to near the tree line via Judd Ridge (870m) for our first night's camp. After climbing for the remainder of the afternoon we arrived at our position only to find nowhere to camp so took shelter in a nearby hut. After a good rest we woke for a hardy second day breakfast before recommencing our walk. Day two was looking good as it slowly cleared to a fine day for our ascent to the Tararua Tops. However the day's progress became slow as a result of one of our party members suffering from blisters. After walking a number of kilometers we reached one of the high spots (1200m) where we had lunch and enjoyed some of the fantastic views that this walk was starting to offer. Before moving on we revamped our water supplies from a nearby bog as our water supplies were diminishing quite rapidly from the ascent onto the mountain. 'We were also very glad we had the purifier to assist in filtering out the previous walkers boot treads'! Another ascent would take us to the summit of Bridge Peak at 1421m. With some members tired and exhausted we decided to call it a day taking early shelter at Kime Hut near a pleasant little tarn. This decision to rest would allow us to make a fresh assault on the Peaks on day three. One important item we nearly forgot was that tonight is New Year's Eve, and out of desperation for a good night's sleep we turned our watches forward 3 hours to allow us to see in the New Year at 9.00 o'clock (Kiwi time). Someone said 'This is the new bushwalker's New Year's Eve time for weary trekkers'. Day three opened to a magical day with still winds and clear skies. Views extended all the way to New Zealand's south island and westward to the coast. We were packed ready by 0800hrs for our assault on the Tararua Peaks, which were just 6 kilometers away and set squarely in our sights. We allowed 6.5 easy hours walking time to achieve our goal and later learnt that 12 hours would have been more appropriate. What looked to be good soft grass underfoot would turn out to be uneven and rocky with many parts having deep bog holes and many areas covered in tough leatherwood scrub. This was not the only problem that would hinder our crossing. On approaching the Peaks we came up against a mere 4 meter rocky out crop that stood upon the near razorback foot pad that we were standing on. Although two of us negotiated our way to the top it was a jaw dropping and heart pumping experience. If you were to fall to the left or the right you would have had no choice other than to learn to fly in a bloody hurry. 'If the fall didn't kill you, drowning in the creek at the base of the mountain probably would'. We had now been walking for nearly nine hours and with some members of the party becoming quite tired we decided to call it a day and retreat about half a kilometer and regroup at the only available campsite on top of the ridge. Further discussions took place as we deliberated over what could be, what could have been and what may not be. Whatever the decision we filtered water for the evening and the next day from the only tarn available to us. Within minutes of securing our water the weather crept in from the west and a decision was quickly made to back peddle to the last peak and drop off the ridge some 200 meters to the safety of the tree line. Before reaching this peak the wind had picked up quite considerably with visibility now down to 20 meters. A compass bearing was quickly made for our descent to ensure that we did not drop off on to any false spurs. Upon reaching the safety of the tree line we camped the night in the wet understory of a hobbit like forest while listening to the howl of the wind through the trees. As morning broke the wind had increased to around 120kph with less than 10 meters visibility above the tree line. It was now evident that our assault of the Peaks was not to happen. Breaking camp we sidled down the Pakihore Ridge for the safety and warmth of the Penn Creek Hut. Shame we had to negotiate the creek to get there! Getting colder feet was very invigorating, and how unfortunate that one of our party failed in an attempt to 'swim' across! Day five was to see us climb once again above the 1000 meter contour to the open tussock grass areas above the tree line. Here the temperature would drop substantially as the mountain took the brunt of the fowl weather coming in from the coast. With a quick photo stop we traversed our way down Judd Ridge to the safety and warmth of another hut. That evening our shelter shuddered as the rain and wind worked their way back up to extreme gale force. With a good sleep-in, day six would give us an easy 900 meter (3 hour) descent back down the ridge to Otaki Forks for lunch and our transfer back to civilisation. Quote from one of the party - "A truly wonderful wilderness experience, BUT not quite f_ cking long enough!" |
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