Saturday 29 November 2025

Leader: Matt Freeland

Nine of us set off in two cars from the school carpark shortly after 8am. At the Ngatiawa Road end we geared up and began the 11 km track with several unbridged river crossings — the water was still running high after the heavy rain over the past few nights. We snapped a quick photo for our 30 Peaks, 30 Rivers challenge before heading up.

By around 8.40am we had reached the start of the “real” tramping section: a steep climb through the bush toward the open summit at 1102 metres on the southwest corner of the Tararua Range.

The track was wet, muddy, and beautiful, just as always. The goblin forest was at its best, with vibrant green mosses and ferns thick on the tree trunks (though not many fungi to be seen). We stopped a few times for short breaks before reaching the summit just after midday, where we had lunch and took more photos for the challenge. The views were exceptionally clear — some of the best a few of us had seen on this track. The sun came and went throughout the day, with a bit of wind but nothing too troublesome.

About 45 minutes later we arrived at the hut and enjoyed another quick break in the sunshine. We met a few people heading up and others walking the loop in the opposite direction.

From there we began the steady descent, eventually tackling the classic steep drop of Kapakapanui’s final section. Once we heard the river, we knew we were close. After a few more crossings of the Ngatiawa River, we arrived back at the cars.

We completed the 11 km Kapakapanui loop in exactly eight hours. Another great trip with Parawai members — this was the first time up Kapakapanui for a few of the trip crew. A big thankyou you to Matt for leading us on one of our favourite local tracks.

Those on the trip were:

Chris Keating, Clive Kayser, Glenda Robb, John Peterson, Matt Freeland, Nisa Promchot, Shuana and Petr

Currently there is no photo album for this trip.