Whispering Falls/Malita. Organiser: Anita Robertson
Eight Mt. Malita-bound trampers departed from the Hackett carpark on a dull overcast Saturday morning and after mumblings about the unreliability of the weather forecast, set off along the well travelled path to Whispering Falls. On reaching the grassy clearing above the Falls it was decided a morning tea break would be welcome. Then it was into the bush where the start of the track was identified with ease owing to the good work of the Tuesday tramping group who had been in a week before, clearing and marking the track. Grahame took the lead as we clambered up the gully. Several stops were made to admire the stands of the magnificent towering Matai while Dan helped identify various trees and berries. Emerging from the bush after a steep and slippery climb, views of Starveall, Rintoul, Bishops Cap and beyond were admired before ascending again through bush to an area of forestry roads. A short detour was made to avoid a clump of impenetrable gorse and the ever resourceful Jim produced some bright pink tape to mark our exit point and continued to do so where deemed necessary.
Walking along the ridgetop we took in the views over Tasman Bay, Mt.Arthur and Farewell Spit until drops of rain began to fall which saw some of us make a mad dash for the pines. Fortunately the rain was short lived and we heeded the call of Grahame who had discovered the track returning to the shelter of the bush.
We proceeded to climb a well marked track and we soon reached the slopes of Mt.Malita. Trudging to the top a search was made for a sheltered lunch spot out of the cold wind. We huddled down above the bush edge, not lingering over lunch as the group was feeling the effects of the cold despite adding a few layers. A hurried descent was made to the bush edge where Jim's pink ribbon guided us to the track down. As we progressed the sound of boots sliding followed by the occasional thud accompanied us, produced by a group member who claimed it reduced the number of steps one had to take on the way down. Most of the party opted to avoid this form of descent.
Out in the open again, on surveying the large clump of gorse, Grahame was keen to try and find the old track which would avoid the descent down to the forestry road and a climb back up to the bush edge. Following his lead the party plunged into the bush and cries of "I've found a track" could be heard from all directions as the group scrambled amongst pig fern and undergrowth. It appeared the many tracks were made by animals as pig sign was abundant. We did spot an orange marker but the bush beyond was so dense we rejected that idea and pushed on, eventually emerging beyond the gorse. The final downhill section back to Whispering Falls was uneventful as everyone carefully picked their way over the slippery ground underfoot.
At the swing bridge, three of the party decided to cross the ford to avoid the traffic jam. Unintentionally one of the group elected to cross at the deepest point and managed to slip and become submerged up to the neck more than once until footing was regained, much to the hilarity of those who witnessed this display.
By 5pm all had returned to the Hackett picnic ground, goodbyes were said all around and it was agreed that a fun day had been had by all. A welcome to Richard, a recent migrant to Nelson who joined us on this trip.
Our tramping group included: Mike Grasser, Dan McGuire, Grahame Harris, Uta Purcell, Jim Maxwell, Jocelyn Winn, Richard Straw, Anita Robertson.