Sylvester Lakes. Organiser: Marianne Hermsen
We set off from the Cobb Dam carpark at about 9.30am and it was already sufficiently hot to see us hug the shade at the side of the track. A pleasant and easy 2 hour walk to Sylvester Hut where we unpacked our gear, some of us pitching our tents. As we settled in for lunch, Jim and his team arrived looking rather hot but in very jovial spirits. Their day was a bigger mission than ours so they had a hurried lunch and left us to casually sling on our day packs and set forth to conquer Iron Hill. At the large tarn at the base of Iron Hill we paused to discuss which way to climb the hill, during which time Steve decided he needed to fully test the temperature of the water and moved away to discreetly take the plunge behind a large rock. There were no screams but he assured us it was "bracing".
We climbed up through patches of soft snow and over rock to reach the more western end of Iron Hill's ridge. We then walked along the ridgeline to the east, pausing for the good photo opportunities (yes, Dave really did lie down in the snow). Back at the hut we consumed lots of water/cups of tea and applied cream to sunburn: it had been a very hot day. The weekend's newspapers were read, dinners eaten, and we all turned in for an early night.
Leader Marianne must have tempted fate because when she pitched her tent earlier in the day (she was testing a new tent) she had asked if her chosen spot was too exposed. Well, only if it was windy. And it was: the wind came up very strongly during the night and its noise meant many of us did not sleep well. Sunday dawned clear and sunny, but still very windy, and no-one felt like being energetic so the planned walk to Diamond Lake was abandoned in favour of returning to the cars and doing the Takaka Hill Walkway on the way home. Before leaving, we again admired the view: Mt Taranaki could be clearly seen, Tapuae-o-uenuku with tons of snow on it, D'Urville Island seemingly just right in front of us. As we were about to depart, we saw bright flashes from the Lockett ridge - must be the others - so we waved and, not having a mirror handy, attempted to flash back using our watch faces.
The Takaka Hill Walkway was an enjoyable 2 hour walk, but very hot. In fact we were so dehydrated we had to stop at the Naked Bun at Mapua to refresh our souls. A very pleasant weekend and many thanks to Marianne for organising it, from: Dave Familton, Beverley Muirhead, Steve McGlone, Ian Pavitt and Lindsay Twiname (scribe).