Tararua Tops Day 3

Thursday 3rd March 21 kms 10 hrs 45 mins Ascent 2130m Descent 2760m

An early start from Te Matawai hut had me walking through and then above the early morning cloud to the junction near Pukematawai and from there it was a regular up and down along the Main Ridge track, that runs on a ridge along the middle of the Tararuas. So past Butcher Knob, Dracophyllum Knob / Hut (3.5 hrs), Puketoro, Kelleher, and then up to Nicholls (3 hrs). From there seriously on open ridgeline to the top of Mt Crawford.

From there views in all directions - Ruapehu, Mt Taranaki, the Wairarapa, Kapiti Island, and peaks in the northern South Island. And of course closer to hand the dramatic peaks and deep valleys of the Tararuas in all directions. I have never been here before, so really thrilled to be here on a good day. Most of the time you are walking along the top of a fairly narrow ridge, and very strong winds are frequent, so it is just not possible if the weather is bad.

Then down, down, down (arrggh!) to the Otaki River and the warm Waitewaewae hut. Ideally this day's section should be done in 1.5 days, but time and weather forecasts meant that it was prudent to have one long day and get off the tops. In the event, given Froday's weather, that was a correct decision - I could easily have been stuck up in another hut for another couple of nights waiting for the wind to go down. Anyway - a really trmemendous, if long, day.