Party: Anna, Lesley and Elizabeth
Distance: 14.5 km. Time: 4 Hours 45 min.
Notes: Apparently this is the first trip in the Waitaks that the three of us have managed to do together this year. So there was much to discuss. This is a circuit we have done several times before and it provides a good stretch of the legs with much mud, many tree roots and a couple of very steep ascents and descents. It doesn't have the stand-out views of some tracks but there are lovely glimpses through the bush of harbour, bays and valleys along with a couple of very pretty streams to cross.
Just for variety we parked by the locked gate on the Huia Dam Road and set off up Parau Track from the West. This track is now well marked as the temporary route for the Hilary Trail while the Lower Huia Dam Road remains closed because of a slip. It is well sign posted but definitely one of the rougher sections of the Hilary Trail. It was a gorgeous, hot, sunny day and we were very happy to have the shelter of the bush for virtually the entire walk. At various points along the way there are groves of young kauri, nikau and tree ferns, all of which were looking splendid in the dappled light.
We were trudging back along Parau Track at about 12.30, looking forward to lunch [left overs for me which had leaked all through my pack, left overs for Elizabeth too I think, but more artfully presented than mine. Lesley on short rations due to an empty fridge, produced a scratched together Vogel's sandwich with a smidgeon of lettuce and tomato by the look of it]. Anyhow, while we were still in anticipation mode we happened upon a group of three women who fell upon us with enormous relief declaring they were completely lost! Such excitement, especially when we learnt there were nine more souls a little further down the track including a 71 year old. That is not old in my books, as was borne out when we met her at the end of the day. I felt ever so important being able to flash my phone with GPS in operation plus an old fashioned paper map and point out exactly where they were. Their relief at suddenly not being lost any more was tempered by consternation at the news they were about an hour and a half's walk away from rescue. I tried to cheer them up by alerting them to the beauty of their surroundings and the flutter of kereru wings in the branches above us - Lesley was more sensitive to their complete disinterest in anything other than escaping the Hell they found themselves in. It was meant to be a gentle stroll from the Arataki Visitors' Centre followed by lunch on Waiheke Island for the group of foreign visitors here on a company junket. Oh well, I am sure the experience was great for team bonding. We came upon a park ranger at the end of the track who told us it is a not uncommon occurrence. It certainly made the back end of our trip go quickly as we speculated on the whys and wherefores of it all.
After all that excitement we repaired to the Huia Foodstore for refreshment and were just making our way back into Titirangi when we came across our lost souls, no doubt asleep, in their very large bus. I am not quite sure why but we ended up taking a wrong turn and following them, so it was our turn to be lost. They turned [that's a lot of turns] into a vineyard, we dug out the GPS on the phone and headed for the motorway.
