Location: Kaimanawa Ranges
Author: Maxim Whatmough
Participants: Jayden Chapman, Will Griffiths, Alex Ward, Maxim Whatmough
Date: 5th - 8th February, 2025
Day 1:
A conveniently-timed Waitangi Day was our chance to visit Makorako, the highest peak in the Kaimanawas. With a trip report by some old codgers of ATC as our guide, an overloaded Toyota Fielder powered out of Auckland at 18:00 on a weeknight.
Inside, we listened to Will’s rants on urban planning and his beloved Fielder’s fuel efficiency. It took a Chinese takeaway joint in Putāraru to humble our club captain, where a choice of twenty-dollars worth of egg foo young did indeed turn out to be twenty dollars worth of egg.
On the edge of Lake Taupō, Max and Alex set up Alex’s alleged two-person, but decidedly one-person tent, while Jayden and Will “took a plunge in” (sat on the shallow bed of) the lake.
Through the night, road trains careered metres from our heads. Each reminded us of the fragility of life, and gave us all the more motivation to conquer Makorako.
Day 2:
The journey to the track the next morning was a bumpy one. The Fielder’s derrière, laden with Jayden’s food, and in Will’s words, saggier than a 70-year-old woman’s saggy ass, was exfoliated by Kiko Road.
Incredibly, we reached the track, but soon into the uphill plod, four became three. Alex decided that the tramp was beyond his ability, and sent it back to the bottom.
Jayden, Max, and Will soldiered on to the tops and reached Mangamiore Hut by the evening. Jayden sunscreened his pits, having left deodorant behind in favour of a front pack for extra food. Max made a lentil, carrot, and spinach stew to rave reviews.
On trips like this, there’s nothing like good company—to a point. We had an early night, ears still ringing from another day of Will’s yapping.
Day 3:
We set off at 05:00 the next morning with our sights set on a sunrise at Makorako. Cloud cover foiled the plan, but Will powered up the ridges nonetheless. Some took their time to enjoy the walk, but questions like “where the fuck is Max?”, and “what the fuck is Max doing down there?” could be heard through the fog, as though there would actually be a sunrise to miss.
We made it to the top at 07:30. Photos could do no justice. A thousand peaks lay before us. Will felt a spiritual awakening. Jayden looked truly majestic amidst the clouds.
Back at Mangamiore, the afternoon was spent playing cards. Max managed to rack up 56 points in a single round of Golf, and Jayden dominated in Exploding Kittens. The hut’s reading material ignited a love of literature in Will at 22:00, which made Max give up on sleep and train push-ups.
Day 4:
Mangamiore is a hunter’s hut, but with no firepower to exert our dominion over nature, we chose to embrace the environment. Our stag mating calls echoed through the saddle as we began the walk back.
Max mused on the likelihood of an indignant bushbasher to anti-conservation forestry lobbyist pipeline. Jayden and Will nearly dissolved their friendship over a dam building contest in the Rangitīki River. We all marvelled at the rugged expanse of the range.
Our trip finished on a high note, with a fast pack march down to the Fielder, exquisite burgers in Taupō, new friends, and Jump Jam throwbacks all the way home.
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