Mt Royal - Organiser: Ian Pavitt

From the carpark at the end of the Wakamarina Road, it was a very pleasant and easy tramp to the Devils Creek Huts. We had our morning tea here, enjoying the sunshine. Some of the group had taken the opportunity to look over the old wooden slab hut that stands behind the newer hut. It is great to see how the old huts were constructed, skills that are being lost perhaps? The easy part of the day over, we descended to the Wakamarina River, crossed Devils Creek and started a very steep climb. This continues for approximately 400m and then eases to a slightly less acute angle for the rest of the climb. The bush is very open, probably due in some part to feral grazing. We stay on the main ridge and although some of the old markers are missing, it is a straightforward ridge to follow. As we get higher up we finally see Mt Royal summit from a clearing and in less than 1 hour we reach the top. Good views of Mounts Fishtail and Richmond, the surrounding hills and down to Blenheim, but a cool wind on top. We have lunch and afterwards retrace our steps and arrive back at the cars some 9 hours after we had departed. Including car travelling time, it is a long day, but as we had good weather the trip was most enjoyable. 
Many thanks from Ian to: Yvonne Kyle, Arthur Jonas (now in the digital camera age), Grahame Harris, Uta Purcell, Dan McGuire, Ruth & Skye Hesselyn (paper bags are now available in Ian’s car), Megg Hewlett, Alison Nicoll, Mary Honey, Gretchen Williams, and Jim Maxwell.