I have done various trips into the Kaimai's over the years; a few years ago when i realised you could walk the whole park, it became a dream of mine to do so.
Day 1, Sunday 5 June 2023
This tramp started from SH29n near Matamata; at the start of the North South track, at the southern end. We stayed in Matamata the night before and tramped in the 4 hours to Hurunui Hut. I was with my partner, Tall Sports Guy (TSG) and my 11 year old son, The Kid; they were 'dropping me off' on my journey.
They both carried food for all 3 of us for the day/night, which meant I 'only' needed to carry 6 days of food, as TSG was meeting me next weekend at the last hut too.
There was home made pizza for lunch, went down a treat at a track junction stop.
We were hoping to stay in the (4 bunk) hut but 3 guys were there when we got there, well set up for a few days, there to chill and hang out together. We set up our tents and collected firewood and got a fire going outside.
That eve we cooked in the hut and chatted to everyone (1 other tramper showed up, he tented too), then went down to the river to see the fresh water crayfish. Climbed into our tents, then were shown a crayfish one of the guys in the hut had caught.
One more pic of the great fire the kid and TSG built.
It rained hard during the night. The Kid was in the Dyneema 1 person tent I was planning on taking, Durston Xmid 1 person Pro, however he said when the rain was hard it made the condensation from this single wall tent fall down on him.
I couldn’t risk getting my sleeping kit wet as was planning on two consecutive nights camping after this night, and it was cold. Down is difficult to dry when the condensation is high, so I took the heavier double wall tent, the thinking was it's much easier to stay dry in it. It's a Durston too, a 2 person double wall tent that pitches fly first, meaning the inner can be carried separately, dry, and clipped in when the fly is pitched. The weight of this is only around a kilo; around 500 g more than the small tent though. I had put a large effort into trying to 'ultralight' my gear so this was a tad annoying but i got over that pretty quickly as I was just excited to be doing this trip.
As it was, my sleep system, the Zen Bivy Light Bed 10 F, got quite damp that night due to two of us being in the tent and in the pack up in the rain the inner of tent got a bit wet too, so I planned at the least to stop to dry it at the next hut Te Whare Okioki “3” hours from this one.
Inverted commas as the track signs are at best wildly apocryphal these days due to the amount of tree fall on the track that needs climbing over, under, or navigating around.
Day 2, Monday 6 June
After packing up, I kissed the boys goodbye back at the track junction, in the rain, and set off for Te Whare Okioki. On the way, ran into a group of 11, parents and young kids, coming back from that hut. As we were chatting we could hear the thunder. The rain started coming down hard as I was walking to the hut. I got super hungry and cold around 11:30 and was super happy i had the Xmid 2p with me being able to pitch fly only meant I could have shelter from the rain and wind, which meant warmth.
I chucked this up on the side of the track to be make a lunch shelter. It pitches surprisingly well on uneven ground. Made a warm meal and drink and this was kind of a lifesaver. It was cold and super wet and being able to get warm and stay out of the rain was awesome.
I got to Te Whare Okioki hut at 1:30, thinking I would carry on once the sleep kit was dry. Unpacked my bag to find that EVERYTHING was wet. My new Gossamer Gear Mariposa bag leaked like a sieve and acted as a water carrier…there was a big puddle at the bottom AND my “dry bag” inside, a Tatonka 70L I was using as a pack liner, leaked too.
Basically the worst luck any tramper can have.
By the time I’d gotten everything out, lit a fire, and got some hot drinks into me, it was really too late to carry on. Plus is was raining heavily and the thunder was still booming. At 3 pm I decided to stay and figured I would deal with the boredom of 'nothing to do' all day in a hut by myself. I was, however, surprisingly busy, keeping the fire going and making sure everything was going to dry by rotating it around the fire.
The hut has solar power, which means lights and a charging station. This is Extremely Flash for a backcountry hut. This would be amazing on the second to last day of trip if doing it North to South as I'm pretty sure any power bank you carry would be low by then.
In the end it was a nice warm night with a good hot meal of a home made noodle mix.
Day 3, Tuesday 7 June
The rain stopped just as I was leaving (around 8:40 am; man it took a long time to pack up). I was really grateful for the Sea to Summit dry/compression sack I had packed the Zen Bivy in to compress it down, as this was clearly the most waterproof thing I had. I stuffed all essentials in there and set off. Tried to make up for lost time as lost half a day by staying at that hut. I was meant to stay at Wairere Campsite on night 2. Hoofed it as much as I could and got to the campsite about 12.
Pushed on and came across a bit of a head scratcher.
The track from there was delightful for a bit and not underwater like the track the day before. I took some video of the different track conditions. Then I came across some Hidden falls…
The track dragged on and on, got more and more overgrown and difficult but I still wanted to make up time. I was aiming for PouPou Stream campsite but got to the Aongotete crossing about 4:30 and decided to stop.
Set up the (large footprint) tent on a tiny site, cooked dinner, had a bush shower and hopped into bed.
For those wanting to know, a 'bush shower' is using a Personal Bidet (and there are lighter weight versions of this I found out on this tramp), some warm water (not hot, I learned this the hard way) and a drop or two of Dr Bronners soap, and you can get cleanish and normal smelling again before jumping into your bed.
Day 4, Wednesday 8 June
I had a rough nights sleep, then woke up at 4 am, so decided not to attempt to go back to sleep; I got up and started my day. Boiled some water and made (instant) coffee in the tent with my luxury item: my Thermarest Armchair, that turns my sleep mat into an arm chair. I LOVE relaxing with a coffee in it in my tent in the morning.
I had to dry the Zenvbivy out a bit; so glad to have hung a ridge line up in the tent, its great for just that, making sure things are dry before packing away.
Got all packed up with a Backcountry Cooked Breakfast made up and in the pack and was away by 6:30am. I love the Cooked Breakfast and carrying it with me, I find it way easier to digest it when only having a few mouthfuls and a stop on the track.
Needed the headtorch for an hour or so and it was a first for me tramping in the dark. Took an unrelated tumble into some water and hurt my little finger but was fine.
Walking into the lightening bush was a lovely experience, with lots of pretty views and I enjoyed seeing the sun making its way into the bush.
I made it to Poupou Stream campsite at 8:30 am so was happy that I was now back on schedule as such, as I guess I would have been leaving that campsite around then, if I had made it there the night before.
Lovely old signage made by.....someone.
The day was going be a long one, and yes did go on forever. Lots of steep bit with some helping stairs. Took me a minute to work out these ones needed to be back climbed.
My initial thought was, wow, those handrails are low, and started heading down face first. Cue very awkward turning around at the top when I worked out it was a ladder, and not stairs.
View from the bottom.
There were so many rocky river crossings.
And a fair bit of climbing coming out of Kauritahi River.
The track was incredibly rough in parts, so many massive trees down, to climb over or under.
This did make for some stunning scenery though.
Then things eased up a bit. I started looking for a campsite around 3 as I was shattered and my pack had fallen in a river, a deep waterhole in fact, when I had stopped to filter water, and I was worried about things being wet.
A quick check and things seemed ok so I pressed on a bit as did want to get as close to Motutapere Hut as possible, as that was my schedule and very importantly, I needed to wash some and dry some clothes there, as I was stinky.
Then i ran into a runner who said he’d been at that hut an hour ago. I figured (at 3:30pm) it would take me two hours and that the energy used to walk to the hut would be less than that of setting up the tent and getting possibly another bad nights sleep. He omitted to tell me the bulk of his run was downhill and there were some sketchy climbs to do. Most of which I needed to do with a headtorch as it took me 3 hours and was really really tough.
I saw the runner near a grassy peak and there were some great views.
Finally made it to the hut around 6:20 pm. A 12 hour day!
Got a small fire going as the hut was freezing. Cosy as if somewhat smoky. Dried out my pillow which was the only thing to get wet in the pack swim event.
Day 5, Thursday 9 June
It was a super cold night and I was too cold to go outside for water, so woke up headachy and parched. However, being able to se the sunrise from the made it easier to get up and get moving.
The sunrise, as always, just got better and better. There's a look out a short walk up from the hut; the perfect spot to watch the sun rise and drink a coffee.
Remembered I had a Hydralyte in my First Aid Kit so took that. Instantly felt better. Like, a LOT better. Got busy lighting the fire, making coffee and prepping to wash and dry as many of my viscerally dirty clothes.
There’s a difference between ambient dirt and visceral dirt when tramping. Ambient dirt is the stuff that shouldn’t bother you - dry muddy hands, sweat smells in merino, muddy pack, shoes and gaiters. Visceral dirt is the stuff that is worrying; wet sleeping bag, wet socks when there are no dry socks, clothes that have been made to smell like Hades after constant weeing in the bush without toilet paper.
At this stage I only had one pair of dry socks and no camp shoes as i thought I’d try plastic bags over dry socks in wet shoes on this trip. That worked on day one and two, however the bags got wet through and ripped after that. Note: do bring bread bags if this is your option, not the thin supermarket vege bags. Bread bags may have lasted longer. I thought this may mean i could’t do my washing mission as couldn’t risk getting my only dry socks wet. Back at Hurinui Hut one of the trampers had scoffed at my paper sellotaped together giant park map, saying “it wouldn’t last the distance” (even though it was in a map locksak) and made me take his two, have laminated maps. They turned out real handy!
Dry socks maintained while I washed clothes and checked out the amazing sunrise from the lookout point above the hut. I took a coffee up there in a hut mug. Coffee from ceramic tastes to much better after days of drinking it out of a collapsible plastic one.
There is a great drying line at the hut so got everything up to take advantage of the sun and wind.
A special mention needs to go out to my brekky: Backcountry dehydrated eggs. They were so delicious I had to make have a second breakfast. Fitting, given I am reading LOTR on the Kindle app on my phone as entertainment on this trip.
Collected a couple of bags of firewood and dragged a heavy log to the hut in case someone has the energy to cut it up for firewood (not me).
Finally got things dry enough to put on (so, only comfortably damp) and set off for Te Rere a Tuakahia hut.
My Topo Maps app map shows a ridgeline walk with (well, at a cursory glance, which I have now learned is never enough) not a lot of climbing other than the first section.
I got the first section done, and started enjoying the views. Then saw what was coming.
This was the mountaineering section of the trip. Quite technical, lots of climbs, but lots of assistance too.
I dropped down off this section on to grass and sun and ran into some more people. Chatted for a while then set off.
What I handn't noticed on my cursory glance at the map was that this was a section of the track with no running water. At all. I ran out of water about an hour out from the hut. That was a tad grim, after waking up dehydrated, I needed more liquid.
One last grim moment of that day was noticing that I lost my Kula Cloth, somewhere on the very popular Thompsons Track. To the person who finds it, I am truly sorry.
I knew I was meeting TSG at this hut as I had had some cell reception that day and he let me know he was bringing in some supplies. There was such a nice care package for me when I arrived around 3 that day. Chocolate fingers, steak, chapstick and the now all important toilet paper.
Te Rere A Tukahia is a lovely hut, with a wood supply and great fire place, that super heats the hut. It was a warm, lovely night.
Day 6, Friday 10 June.
TSG and I set off around 8:30 both walking down the Te Rere track to the Wharawhara Road end, where TSG was parked, and where the North South Track carries on to Waitawheta Hut. 4 hours the sign said....At first the track was lovely, going alongside the Waitawheta River.
Also, I re-earned my Instagram name, twice.
Then the crossings started, again, no real problem. Until the crossing was set at a place where the run out, over slippery slippery boulders, was a very deep and aerated pool. Nup, no way, I chose the wet feet crossing further down.
The track from there crossed the river a few times, then headed straight up, vertically. It was a fairly big climb, but not technical. The track clearly was being worked on at the top; lots of planks and bags of gravel about the place. But it was super boggy and hard to walk through. Then the track headed down, with long technical back climbs, steep sections that were unpleasant and it became obvious I wasn't going to make it to the hut. 4 hours after I left TSG, I saw a sign saying 'Hut, 2 hrs away...
I decided I needed to camp out another night as I was really tired and sore.
I worked out that there were much much nicer tracks to the hut than I was taking. Ones with lots of bridges, after looking closely at the map at what was ahead.
The track I was on was not an easy one to find a flat spot to camp. It was steep down to a river, then there were no flat spots near the river. I saw that there was a Kauri Dam marked on the map, so I made the decision to head up to it, thinking that if there was men working up there a 100 years ago, they would have needed to sleep somewhere...surely there would be a flat spot.
I was wrong. I forgot to take a photo at night, so here's what I got in the dark in the morning. Yes that's nearly a drop off on one side of the tent.
Day 7, Saturday 11 June
Guttingly, this is what I came across when I first set off.
The day did get better for me though. I got to Waitawheta Hut around 8:30 and cooked breakfast and had my hot coffee there, outside on the coffee table. The hut was pretty much full, with a large school group getting their Duke of Edinburgh awards. I ended up walking back down the stunning Waitawheta Track with them and had the most enjoyable chats with the group leaders and some of the kids. The scenery was truly stunning, I see why that hut is so popular.
A big genuine smile as hanging out with those guys was an invigorating and lovely experience.
From there I waked to Daly's Clearing Hut, an easy uphill walk, and met TSG on the sunny deck. Lots of other trampers showed up and we all had a great afternoon and evening chatting away; discussing gear and our modifications. Of course the other gear geek had the same brand tent as me.
In the morning I got to ask a few of the guys there about an invention I came up with, a layering system for 'on the go'. Got their advice on how to make the top more masculine as I would love to go into production with it, One happy camper modelled the current version for me.
From there, TSG and two of our new chums from the hut walked out together, mostly together until the track diverges one way to Franklin Road, and one way to Dickey Flat, which was the end of the trip for me.
One last river crossing.
We did not fall in.
Finally finished that day around midday and was very emotional and happy to have finally finished this massive tramp. Around 60 km's all up, give or take, as I forgot to hit 'record' on my Map app some mornings.
One last silly video to suss out how well my home made merino top actually worked:
The End.