It was a small group of seven who met at the Badminton Hall in Richmond planning to depart for Canaan Downs by 8.30am. Fortunately we had been spared a frost that morning., and the forecast was for a fine sunny day…perfect. BUT……one of the group made a comfort call to the local public loo and woops-a –daisy, the floor had been just washed and it was very slippery. It was a very bad fall that badly wrenched a knee (later confirmed as a broken patella). ‘Murphy’ had intervened.
After picking up a delicious coffee in Riwaka, we had an easy drive to the CD carpark and started walking soon after 10. The injured ‘V’ stayed at the car with the option to drive out to the roadside café for company and more caffeine. There was frost on the ground as we headed up the forest-edged track to Pages Saddle where we stopped briefly to soak up some glorious sunshine & sustenance. This was followed by a quite steep climb of 150 m before easing off then a further 50 m up to Wainui Saddle. An easier track then took us to the junction with the Inland Track.
Recent heavy rain had washed the track to Moa Shelter clear of any litter, so it required careful footwork to not trip or slip on the roots and to avoid the many puddles and slushy parts of the track. There were several diversions off track. After three steam crossings requiring further care, we arrived at Moa Shelter for another short break in the sunshine. We were entertained by two attentive wekas.
It was another half hour to Porter’s Rock where we enjoyed more sunshine and unfortunately limited views as a bank of cloud spread along the coastline.
After lounging around for a while and finishing off lunch, we returned the same way. It was a slightly quicker walk out. As we descended towards the car park, we could see an Emergency Vehicle parked near the cars. It was a real "Uh Oh" moment. But it left just as we finally arrived to find V’s beaming smile waiting to greet us.
Statistics: 13 kms; 553 m climb; 4.15 hrs walking; 5.30 total time.
Trampers: Linda, Philip, Era & Graeme ;Visitors: Emma & Anne; Patient (in every sense of the word), Veronica