The weekend with a wee tramp into the Orongorongo valley

 Hi,

Busy few days. And a huge apology to Sally for missing our dinner out last night to celebrate her birthday. We feel very stink that we missed such a great evening out with her and whānau.

Smudge enjoying the table on the deck

Cat walk

Scaife timber in the back of Upper Hutt

Friday saw me get a phone call from the timer place to say someone would be at the workshop today if I wanted to go get the timber for the top step. So I rushed to shower and throw my tramping gear into the car and headed off to Upper Hutt. Turns out it was over the hill in the Mangaroa valley.  I got there just before 12 and chatted to Reece.  He identified the existing steps as Oregon and said he could find a piece and machine it to the right size.

Around 12:15 he came back to me. Said he could take cash or eftpos. But I had no wallet (I was off tramping and never gave it a thought in my packing). Asked if I could bank transfer  but not an option. So I said I would have to go into Upper Hutt.  But once I negotiated peak traffic at lunch time in Upper Hutt and found a car park, I realised I still had no way to actually get money.

A frantic message to Andrew saw him and Sally ferret out enough cash between them. So I drove there, knowing it was a lot closer than back home. But it was still a full hour by the time i got back to Scaife with the cash. Sigh. Luckily there were people there and I handed over the cash and got the timber for the top step. Yay.

Headed to Catchpool via the Wainui Rd bakery for sustenance. Ate it at the car park and headed off at 2.30pm. Bit later than I thought. I had the track to myself, really. Met a few people coming out. Made good time. 30 mins to Midway. 1 hour to the tree. 1 hour 10 to the bridge.

Off tramping

The tree

At the bridge

Waerenga Hutt

Got to the hut and unlocked it. Seemed pretty tidy and clean. Read my book for a bit. Made some soup as I was still full from the bakery goods. And tucked into bed nice and early.

Saturday brekkie

Up to have brekkie. Overnight oats for the first time on a tramp. Not bad! Tidied up a bit (a few signs of mice around). Headed to the river to wait for Mike, Wally, Jason and Ange.

Gorgeous day

Looking up the river

Sour worm

Nice view - river looks ok too

Here they come

They got there at 12.30pm and I headed up to Turere Lodge with Ange as a wee side trip. Added an extra few ks to her walk.

Turere side excursion with Ange

Wally and Jason go to find Celia and her group

At 3pm or so Wally and Jason headed up the track to find Celia, James, Becks, Eva and Charlie. Mike was sleeping off his migraine from 3.30pm on Friday! Third one in 10 days.

They have arrived!

Time to prep for tea

The evening was jam packed. James had a huge steak that needed a fire to cook it on. So that was a priority. Wee Bob loved his stay there - and he was such a good boy. Not a peep from him overnight. Wow.

James flew his new drone when everyone had left the valley. He got some great shots from it of the valley. 

Card game in the hut

Hunting with Jason and Callan

Jason and I headed out with Callan to hunt. We went down to Paua Hut and up Green stream next to it. Plenty of sign - pigs, goats and deer. But nothing for us today.

Green stream looks so pretty

Off to bed nice and early for me. Up at 7am. Brekkie again was good - the overnight oats work for me. Bacon was a hit for the others.

Sunday morning in the hut

Bit of a tidy up was needed before we could leave. But we were away by 10.30 or so. 

Gorgeous tree near Raukawa Lodge

Walking out

Shoe change

Macs Hut

Nice touch

Halfway back

Punga glade

Back to the car park nice and early. I took Wally and Jason home while Mike took Ange home. When I got home, Mike was almost asleep. As was Moxley. Mike's post migraine lethargy was still evident.

Moxley sleeping on a sleeping Mike

Pic from Becks as we left the hut

Tidied up a bit. Got a wash on. Unpacked. And missed Sally's birthday dinner, as I said. Waaaahhh. 

Enjoy your day!

Love,

Angela