Cannibal Gorge/Gloriana - Organiser: Ruth Hesselyn
Saturday morning saw a party of five meeting with one Dunedinite visitor (a possible future N.T.C. member?) at the Maruia Hotel. We piled into one car to be dropped off at the end of the St. James Walkway, then Mike took the car back to the hotel for safekeeping and heroically biked back amidst cold and rainy conditions. Rain persisted all the way up the beautiful Cannibal Gorge track. Plans to camp by tarns above the bushline, so as to get a head start on Gloriana, were reluctantly (mostly) abandoned because of the weather so a retreat was made to the cosy Ada Pass hut. Ruth camped out to harden herself up. Ankle deep snow overnight was a surprise and, once again, forced a change of plans. Gloriana with fresh snow and dubious weather was obviously not on.
The Zampa ridge behind the hut seemed like a nice compromise so we headed up there, aiming to follow the ridge along to tarns. It looked promising for a while with great views over toward our original destination but strong winds, spindrift and deteriorating conditions meant a decision was made for a quick descent to the valley; this time by another ridge for variation. If anyone finds pieces of walking poles and a water bottle, they’re Dion’s. A short walk downstream found us at the Cannibal Gorge Hut by mid afternoon.
Various excitements filled in the rest of the day. Mark’s photographic pursuits took so long he almost had two rescuers. Dinner (thanks to our cook Ian) was once again superb. It was a draw with the ongoing, vocal Euchre battle, greatly assisted by Mike’s lucky heirloom card pack.
The next morning was a fast trip out to the road where Mike donned his biking gear and retrieved the car. This time it didn’t take as long (downhill). Five people, Ruth Hesselyn, Dion Pont, Mark Stevens, Ian Pavitt and Mike Drake headed north; and one, Pam McKelvey (scribe), took off for the south.