Finally, after several attempts, the weather gods blessed and gave us access to this stunningly beautiful area. The road and ford were easily driven and by all accounts of passing foot traffic, Granity Pass Hut was the des res for the festive season.

As we drove up the road it was difficult to imagine the once bustling Wangapaka Township of 250 residents at Courthouse Flat that sprung up during the gold mining era. Complete, of course, with courthouse and jail –still not a bad view. Maybe those miners were a rowdy lot; they certainly would have been dissatisfied with the pitifully low yields in the area.

We were on official cub business of course, that of tramping. Two hundred metres shy of the altitude of the impressive Mt Owen massif, we still got a grunty workout, with a 1200m climb. It was a beautiful day and the cooling breeze was welcomed. Some of us rekindled the memories of the horrendous bash up  Cullifords Hill — a somewhat epic adventure. Today was a garden stroll in comparison!

Some chose different options, so four of us arrived at the summit after around three hours. Grant declared it more of a mountain than a knob. (I recall similar discussions pertaining to Cullifords ‘Hill’ and on descent from Gordons ‘Knob’ (the birth of Knob Bagging) conversation turned  to what constitutes a knob. I muse that NTC members are quite an intellectual group.)

Thank you everyone for your lovely, high-spirited company. Those cheerful souls were: Sue Henley, Grant Derecourt, Graeme Ferrier, Chris Louth, Kath Ballantine and guest Sam Beale. (Scribbled by Andrea.)