2010-10-07 -37 174

Location

On a west coast beach

Participants

Plans

Damn this cool hash landing on a week day.

This would be the ideal weekend mission, big drive out to Whatipu beach, and a long meander up the beach. The hash is actually near the end of two track so access shouldn't be a problem. I will assess my workload at lunch time today, and consider nipping out.

Life's too short to pass up good hashes like this!

Expedition

Of course I couldn't pass this one up, but am I annoyed that I was so under-prepared for it.

I ended up coming in from the north east utilising the Buck Taylor track, to avoid an arduous meander up the sand from Whatipu in the south.

I had intended for this to be a trail run so I packed light, with running shoes and no gaiters (mistake one and two). It was an amazing run down - down being the word, and im thinking about how much up there will be getting out - deal with that later. I arrived on the beach, and there was infact a river separating me by 70 m to the hash... Now ive been here before, and I knew there was this river - I even know its name - Pararaha - and I remember how swampy it was, and indeed, it was still very swampy. (mistake three, forgetting the terrain)

Okay, i have some time (well I didn't really but I made some) so I ran back inland to the reentrant where the river flows down to find a crossable section, intending to get on to the ridge. River crossing was okay, knee deep water, and now I have to make my way back around the toe of the ridge. This task seemed doable - while I was looking at it from the other side of the river (mistake four - not bringing a topo map) - and it was easy going for the first bit as there was a bait trail leading along it. After awhile that petered out and I was left bush bashing on an every increasing slope. Oh and the gorse, the gorse ripped me apart, im sure there will be scars. I got within 80 m to the hash and called it a day, I could tell that the hash was a bit further along and below me on the slope, but i had gained too much height on my traverse and there were rock faces that needed to be navigated. By this stage i've had enough of the gorse and was starting to have mental images about falling. I made it back to the river where I was initially thwarted and seriously considered swimming across had it not been for the fact I didn't have a proper plastic bag for my camera :( I really didn't want to let it go, my kingdom for a boat, or cliffs of despair - take your pick.

The run back up almost killed me.