The Southern Crossing of the Tararua Range can go from a fairytale Lord of the Rings style hike to a literal deathtrap. Andrew Bonallack sets out to experience the three-day crossing from Otaki Forks to Kaitoke.
Day one
Otaki Forks to Kime Hut
- 5 hours
My brother-in-law helpfully drops off our tramping party at Otaki Forks on December 27, on his way to a golf game in Otaki. It's the four of us: my father John, brother Dan and Dan's partner Jen. We've opted to advance our three-day timetable by 24 hours, in anticipation of bad weather approaching Wellington. Right now the whole thing seems like a fairy tale: no wind and painfully hot. Trampers who start late in the day target Field Hut as their night spot, three hours away, but it's 10am and we're aiming for Kime Hut, five hours and about 1300m of climb from where we're standing. We're all fit and have all the right gear, apart from a GPS that has suddenly decided not to work. I'm more worried about getting hungry. Dan and Jen worry about water, although the weight of our packs reminds us we have plenty. Not much worries my Dad.
Field Hut is an uncomplicated but hot bush hike along Judd Ridge, and a useful spot to top up on water. Daytrippers and a couple of dogs are chilling out on the porch of the elderly hut when we arrive. I fill in the hut's intention book while we eat a packed lunch.
One comment remarks: "No wind - is this the Tararuas?"
We get moving as another five trampers show up, also heading for Kime. We have a tent, but we'd rather score some early mattresses. In moments we reach the bushline, and suddenly it's an alpine gardener's dream, if you're into North Island edelweiss or mountain toatoa or that sort of thing.
The views span from the Otaki River to Wellington harbour to the South Island. More sobering is where the track splits off to the east, along the main Tararua ridgeline.
In 2009 Te Papa chief executive Seddon Bennington and his friend Marcella Jackson wandered in that direction in a winter storm and died a kilometre short of Kime Hut.
Kime Hut is tied down with cables, a testament to the weather the Tararuas can dish out.
We do get our mattresses at Kime, but in the end we have squash up a bit, with 16 trampers and two well-behaved dogs taking up residence for the night (dogs are technically not allowed in huts).
Stoves are unpacked, with everyone studiously concentrating on their cooking while checking out what others have brought.
Ours are the expensive but quick freeze-dried meals, while one family has packed a load of chilli con carne.
Another guy is cutting bacon and carrots. Kime has no stove - there's no firewood at that height - and a reputation as a very cold hut. But 16 people in the summer turns the short night into a sweat box. My brother breaks out the earmuffs as the snoring starts.
Day two
Kime Hut to Alpha Hut - 5 hours
It's like the lights have gone out on our idyllic hike; it's cold, foggy and blowing a serious wind from the north. We opt to hold off for a bit, hoping it'll lift. Most of the hut is heading back towards Otaki.
"Have you done the Southern Crossing before?" someone asks us. There's some doubtful looks when we say it's our first time.
We don't get far before unpacking and breaking out the heavy clothing and windbreakers. The ridgeline path meanders like a thread among a jawline of jagged teeth, with steep drops on both sides.
Visibility is about 20 metres. I'm thankful for the warratahs and the rock cairns marking the trail, and I dutifully place extra rocks on the cairns as I pass.
In snow conditions it would be scary.
The wind is nearly gale force, but it could be worse; there are stories of people almost crawling the route. Incongruously, we pass a pair of home made snowshoes, lying abandoned on the side of the trail. The war memorial cross at Mt Hector, the highest point on the crossing and the second highest peak in the Tararuas, is passed with indifference, with no chance of the famous view.
But shortly after Alpha Peak, about half an hour from Alpha Hut, we drop below the clouds and suddenly the Wairarapa Valley, from Masterton to Paliser Bay, is visible. We drop into a moss-covered beech forest, and discover the hut is moderately palatial - it has a deck and only two other trampers for the night. It also has a stove, which is fortunate, because we've just realised we've left our gas cooker, billy, coffee, tea and tube of condensed milk behind.
There's cellphone coverage at Alpha Hut, and I update my wife. In fact, there was cellphone coverage for much of the day, owing to the height.
While we wait for the stove top water to boil, we discover the provenance of the snowshoes in Alpha Hut's intention book. Mike Jacobson of Porirua explains how he had camped out on the south side of Mt Hector in July after "a fairly epic trip of waddling and plodding and crawling and face-planting" in heavy snow. He had abandoned the shoes when he encountered ice. Other comments describe how they encountered snow up to the cross bar of Mt Hector's monument, which would be about a metre in depth.Day three
Alpha Hut to Marchant Rd - 9 hours
Blogs frequently describe this as the "boring" part of the crossing, but it's a very pleasant way to finish. It's basically a long downhill journey, mostly along Marchant Ridge through mossy beech forest. The ridgeline occasionally pops its head above the bush, giving views of Wellington and the Hutt Valley. For this leg, we make sure every spare water bottle is full, which is just as well - we end up consuming three litres each on the last leg. The reverse journey would be a tough way to start the Southern Crossing, and it's clear why people prefer coming from Otaki and finishing here.