D42- Cattle Creek hut to Kiritaki hut

The winds still going for it in the morning. Climbing back up to the ridge, the track enters public land and is maintained. After a couple of kms it drops steeply to the Tamiki river, 300m downstream on the true right is Stanfield hut. Its architecturally simular to Cattle Creek tho gets a lot more use. The Tamiki river is only a small trickle over a wide shingle bed. The vegetation is mainly scrub with a few podocarps, occasional stands of pine and further downstream willow and poplar. Its an easy 4km downstream to the Tamiki road campsite. It would make a nice spot if you needed it. There's a shelter, toilets, a large fireplace and a barbecue. There's no vehicle access so it doesn't get too much use. From here I take the Roki track. More of a walking track id image its more popular with families than trampers. It heads through mature forest over a saddle to the Rokaiwhana stream and stops. The Roki is another broad shingle bed, and its an easy 2km downstream to farmland.
There's no obvious options for this next section. There's no track linking the southern Ruahine with the rest of the range and the tops are in unpassable leatherwood scrub. I decided to follow the park boundry south for 4 km. For most of the way its possible to walk along the doc side of the fence, keeping it legal, it crosses 3 gullys so there's a few up and downs. After the last valley the fenceline becomes steep and scrubby on either side and its necessary to cut east through farmland. It soon flatens out so I cross back over where its a short bush bash to the Mangapuaka stream.
The southern Ruahines are unlike the rest of the range, the main ridgeline is thick leatherwood and the lower slopes are furny scrub. Fortunately, theres a route from here to the end, consisting of well maintained tracks and boldery streams. There was once a network of huts but now only 1 remains.
Heading upstream against the wind i meet the start of the track to Kiritaki on the true right. It states 5-6hrs, given its 4pm already it beter be lying. There's no where to camp in the rocky river bed and with the wind it would be no fun at all.
It starts with a steep climb to a ridge which climbs gradualy to Matanginui (1074). There's good veiws east to Dannevegas and south over the endless leather leaf of the southern Ruahine. Wharite tower can be seen, only a small spike in the distance. From here it heads south before dropping very steeply down to a knarly creek whick is followed briefly before climbing steeply again to Kiritaki hut. 3.5 hrs sighn to hut.
A tidy 6 bunk, its maintained by local hunters in conjunction with doc. The woodburner,s 'condemned' due to a split in thr flue (im sure it would be fine), but theres a gas cooker instead.