The aim of the weekend was made clear from the beginning. To nurture and provide the opportunity for
new and potential leaders to put into actual practice the skills taught in ABTC-Training Track modules,
under the watchful eyes of the instructors.
By 9.30am Saturday morning, all the participants had
arrived at the car park located at the end of Franklin Road. We were greeted with an overcast sky with
intermittent sunshine but fairly confident that the weather would improve as forecasted by the Met Service.
The first decision by the team for the training weekend was whether to take the tent along just in case
the Waitawheta Hut was fully occupied, being a school holiday and the number of cars seen in the car
park. As we were all prepared to rough it out, it was decided no tent thus less load to carry. A contingency
plan was also in place in case the rivers’ water level were high due to heavy rainfall of the previous
few days. Instead of staying in Waitawheta Hut we would detour to Dalys Clearing Hut if needed.
This
set the tone of the training weekend where the trainees were encouraged to exercise the perspective and
responsibilities of a leader and make appropriate decisions.
The total distance of the track one
way was about 8km and tramping time was 4hours. Tracks followed the Waitawheta River, passed through
private farm land before entering Kaimai Mamaku Forest Park and then met up with the historic Waitawheta
Tramline bed. Along the way, able to enjoy the incredible beautiful and soothing rock filled river view,
the newly opened swing bridge, spectacular gorge and sheer cliffs on either side. Sights to behold!.
This set the tone of the training weekend where the trainees were encouraged to exercise the perspective
and responsibilities of a leader and make appropriate decisions.
The total distance of the track
one way was about 8km and tramping time was 4hours. Tracks followed the Waitawheta River, passed through
private farm land before entering Kaimai Mamaku Forest Park and then met up with the historic Waitawheta
Tramline bed. Along the way, able to enjoy the incredible beautiful and soothing rock filled river view,
the newly opened swing bridge, spectacular gorge and sheer cliffs on either side. Sights to behold!.
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Track was relatively flat but with 5 major river crossings, several streams and a few bridges before
reaching the Hut.
Along the way, we had opportunities to put into practice the various techniques
of river crossings, choosing the most appropriate path to cross the river, map reading, navigation and
using DoC track markers along the way to calibrate trip progress.
One outstanding lesson learnt
was to keep our boots on when crossing rivers to protect our feet from injury. The chances of twisting
ankles due to slippery rocks, cut or crushed foot by submerged objects were good reasons to get the BOOTS
and SOCKS wet!. Another side benefit was you experienced water cooled feet with water sloshing inside
the boots as you walk!.
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After a relaxing lunch break at the Waitawheta campsite under a sunny sky, we reached the Waitawheta
Hut at 2.30pm.
Quickly settling ourselves in the hut, it was back to class again. Between Alasdair,
Peter and Val, very useful tips were shared for pre-trip planning, preparation and logistics. Some compass
and map reading exercises were also squeezed in.
For dinner, we had a three meal course, starter
of tomato soup, the main course of delicious minced meat with fresh broccoli, capsicum and onions on
rice. We finished of with dessert of fruit cake and jelly topped with custard and a choice of tea or
coffee to wash everything down. Burp! Well done, compliments to the chefs.
We retired to the warden’s
quarter for further discussions in the evening and closed off with devotions by Alasdair. For the night’s
entertainment, we tried our hands on starting small fires with bicycle tyre tubing in front of the hut
and end the day with a short walk to admire the glow worms in action, tiny specks of blue light against
the total blackness of the night. Incredible! Not to be missed.
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Sunday turned out to be another beautiful sunny day. After a nutritious/ yummy breakfast of porridge
with tea and packing of our individual lunches, we were all set to leave the hut. Before our departure,
Peter took time to demonstrate the Trangia stove and proper use of walkie talkies. Alasdair then led
us into the forest behind the hut to show us simple bushcraft techniques (eg. using fern leaves, broken
branches and cairns as markers) to avoid being lost in unmarked trail.
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Left the hut at 9.45am and retraced our path back to Franklin Road. Along the way, the trainees were
given further chance to hone their newly acquired tramping skills. Just before getting our boots wet
again in the first river crossing, under glorious sunshine and with the magnificent river scene as a
backdrop, Peter shared his devotions topic of our Faith / Trust in God and closed by reading Psalm 23.
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We arrived at the car park at about 2.30pm thus ending a highly educational and enjoyable weekend
outing.
COST: inclusive food, hut fee and transportation: $35.
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