D51- Dracophyllum hut to Andersons memorial hut

Im in a bit of a mess. My pants are ripped to the point of being almost shorts, socks are burnt, everything's thick with mud. Having not washed properly sinse the Ngaruroro im getting a bit feral. With a flat headlight and my only candle burnt ive got no way of seeing after dark, which is coming increasingly earlier each day. On top of that its still raining for the seventh consecutive day.
Continuing south along the ridge, it hovers around the tree line for what seems like forever. The drizzel stops and the clouds very slowly part. By the time i finally emerge into open tussock the suns out. Having not seen a blue sky sinse coppermine It's amazing. The phones soon back to life and i know exactly where i am, where im going and what the weather's going to do, which isn't good news. After one short peak, Nicholls hut is found on the east. There's 6 bunks a tank and a fire, but being above the tree line there's little to burn. It sits on the TA trail so gets a lot of use. The area south of here has been recently 1080'd and the absence of the usual hunters is noticeable through the book.
From here the ridge climbs up to Mt Crawford(1462). The clouds just about gone and i get my first glimpse of the west coast as well as good veiws out to the Wairarapa. Ruapehu pokes out above the clouds now in the distance north and a high range to the south has me confused for the longest time untill i realise im looking at the Marlborough sounds.
At the next peak, junction knob, the TA heads west leaving a less trampled, less muddy ridge. It an hours gentle descent to Andersons at the bush line- easy. Andersons Memorial hut is architecturally identical to Nicholls, being west facing, one would expect it to suffer the wind, but this evening it basks in the glorious evening sunshine.

D50- Mangahao Flats hut to Dracophyllum hut

Its not raining. Its grey and miserable and the forests saturated but its good to be moving. The well maintained track continues upstream, the sides become steeper and there's a few climbs around slips and bluffs. About an hour up the river forks and an unbridged crossing required. It's back to normal flows and the bolders are suprisingly grippy, having had a good sandblast. After a second forks, the main flow is crosses before a short climb to Griddlestone saddle.
At the saddle i take a left turn to
Pukematawai peak. With no maps to look at im just guessing from names that sound familiar. Its not too steep, but its a long slog with a heavy pack. Im treated to a white sky for 30min before the fog rolls in and visablility is reduced to a few metres. At 1432m, Pukematawai is well above the tree line and my first Tararua summit. There's a moderate wind and a light drizzel but its the best days weather sinse Woodville. From the summit i head south along the main range, its polled with a well worn, muddy foot track. Eventually the track dips beneath the tree line, an hour later Dracophyllum hut is reached.
There's only 2 bunks and its closer to a bivvi box than a hut, the difference is its higher and thr bunks are stacked, making room for a small bench. There no fireplace, so an external fire is required, in these conditions its again challenging and uses up my only fireligher and candle. If i could have any two things other than sun it would be fireligher and phone batteries.

D49- Bad Weather day

Its the same again. There's only about 10 days walking left but it could easily take me twice that with the weather. By mid afternoon it reduces to a drizzel and the river drops significantly. The tracks still flooded but at least im able to get out and pick up the driftwood left by the flood for the next lot.

D48- Bad Weather day

Its still pissing down in the morning thobit must of eased overnight as the rivers dropped well over a meter. There's not much to do other than dry out gear and watch it rise again. The highlight of the day is watching a fire circle on a grassy terrace above the river get washed away.

D47- Burton's Whare site to Mangahao flats hut.

I can't say im enjoying the Tararua's so far, tho today was worse than the last 2 combined. It's not actually raining in the morning tho it looks like it wants to. By 10-30 it gets it's wish. From the Whare site, the track continues south as a benched pack track.  It soon leaves the podocarp forest and enters scrub and grass. There's a rotting tin shelter here that could be used if you had to tho it'd be pretty grim. After 2 hours it turns into a muddy 4wd track which leads to the
Tokomaro road end. Its about a km to the Mangahao road which siddles the Mangahao river passing dams #3, #2 and #1, repectively. Dam #3 looks almost empty. From here the TA turns right down a tramping track but i continue to the road end which takes forever. Dam#2 is full to the brim, creating a long fingerlake, its hard to judge the river level between dams but it looks worringly high. The road ends at dam #1, the river level can't be seen beyond the resivour.
Crossing the levy wall i find my penultimate food drop after 40mins digging through mud and rocks in the pissing rain. Im ahead of progress and still have surplus food from Woodville, the result a very heavy pack but enough food for 2-3 days rest. Given the Tararua weather it may be worth the wait/weight.
Recrossing the dam, a track siddles on the true left. There's no sighn, and with my phone flat after 4 days of no sun, ive no idear of distance. What i do know is its now 3pm and with my headlight also flat i won't be walking after dark. I assumed it would be a riverbed route above the dam, however the siddle track continues to the hut. The muds in a different league, usually above the knees. A swing bridge crossesthe river a third of the way up, the rivers already in flood and fast becoming uncrossable. The next time i see it, it's a monster, a raging torrent carrying logs, rolling bolders downstream.  Waterfall spring from every surface, even out of the trees. The track itself becomes a river. A sign indicates a river route or high route, is obvious which i take.
Another bridge crosses the river and it seems to have dropped, until i realise it's a mere side stream. Finally upon dusk, the hut clearing comes into veiw, along with a final obstacle- an unbridged stream. It turns out to be only waist deep but theres no way of telling through the muddy flow.
Mangahao hut's pretty flash, tho anything would of been after that day. There's 16 bunks, a woodburner and a plumbed in sink, there's even enough dry wood for a fire.

D46- Hardings park to Burton's Whare site.

There's a strong wind in the morning, but it's mostly dry other than a constant drizzel and a few regular showers, finally by 9am the rain sets in. At the end of the trap line is a PNCC tramping track, an area known as Hardings park. Its recently developed and again not marked on the map. From the junction signs lead to 'carpark' and 'loop'. Following my route guide of a previous trampers experience i left onto loop. It climbs onto open scrub and heads along the main range. Eventually it swings back north in a loop. A track or stoat line supposedly continues south here but in the poor visablility i dont find it. Im not bush bashing in this and continue north where i reach a junction and a map of Hardings park. After 4 hours of rain wind and mud im almost back where i started.
From here i change my horse and take the sledge track which drops steeply off the range to the Kahuterawa stream. Once off the range the rain stops. Here a benched track siddles the true right NW to the road end.
Its here that my route merges with the Te Aroha trail (TA). The TA is a continuous trail running from Cape Regina to Bluff. Whilst a lot of the route covers less interesting terrain, what it does provide is a marked route and legal access across private land. Crossing a bridge over the stream, TA follows 'Back track', a well maintained route through podocarp forest, instead i follow zig zig road though post logging wasteland, saving 30 mins. The area is PNCC owned, but sinse logging has been put aside for recreational purpose. There's a carpark at the end of Scotts road which is open for vehicle access. I follow this for a few days through farmland,  turning left at the intersection. A locked gate stands at the entrance to private forestry with a no entry without permit sighn, however being on the TA grants legal walking access. Markers guide the way through a series of logging roads then a muddy 4wd track to the 'Burton's track', and the start of the Tararua forest park. The rain reterns after a 2 hour drought.
The track winds its way through thick mud and podocarp forest before crossing a stream then siddleing the Tokomaro river. 2 crossings are required heading upstream, its discoulerd from the rain but only knee deep. Meeting a local possumer im told its rained all summer.
Shortly after the second crossing i reach the burtons whare site. The whare's long gone but left is a flat grassy clearing making a perfect campspot. The rains stopped but firelighting is no easier than the previous night.

D45- Manawatu gourge reserve to Hardings park

There's a light drizzel in the morning so i get in an early pack up just as it starts to rain. Time to tackle the Tararua's. I've heard the Tararua's described as the Ruahines on steroids. Theres potentially the windiest spot in the country and being on the west coast they get a wee bit of rain. On an average year they receive 40 fine days, but none are forecast. Being close to a large population base they're one of the more visited wildernesses in the country, they frequently take lives.
Im expecting no water supply for the first leg so ive scavenging extra bottles from the roadside and refill them from the tank. Im dubious about the supply, expecting it's from the effluent rich Manawatu, but theres not much choice.
Continuing on gourge road i turn right up Hall block which climbs steeply, siddleing a valley head. Crossing a small stream, i dump the cow shit and refill. At the top it turns into north range road, it passes through the Tararua wind farm but with the weather i can bearly see the top of the turbines. There should be good veiws out to Palmy, but with the Manawatu weather they're only theoretical. The road becomes privately owned by the power company and legal access continues along a muddy 4wd track first on the west then the east before rejoining the road.
North range road finishes at the busy Pahiatua road which crosses the range. South range road continues on the far side. Further down the road, a sigh reads 'permit required', tho I've read at the other end it says 'keep to the track'. The land is PNCC owned and forms the catchment area for the city's water supply. Contamination and public health are stated as the reason for no entry, as notice beside warns of poison dropped in the area- good look ah.
South range road seems to go on forever through ex forestry scrub. As the road turns west a trap line marked H1 continues south. There not marked on my map but are briefly described in my route guides. Frequent checking of gps is required despite diminishing battery power. Knowledge is power- Power is knowledge.
It crosses a tributary then Otangane stream, i was hoping to find a campsite here but no such luck. I had no idear how far id get today, the result- ive covered miles but end up at 7.30 setting up in a saturated muddy forest. A matress of ferns helps keep me out of the water. I had pretty much decided a fire was out of the equation, tho through perseverance, probably luck and the superior burning quality of tawa i blaze is established. It would have to go down as the hardest fire ive ever lit, tho with a good fuel stack drying its not too bad. I had condemned the evening to one of cold oats and and an early night in wet clothes, instead I've got boiled rice and burnt socks