A trip into the southern Kaimanawa Range...
Way back in 1987 I visited the Kaimanawa Forest Park as a part of an Army exercise I was a part of at the Army Training Ground (ATG) in Waiouru. During my basic training my unit was dropped by truck on the eastern boundary of the ATG and we had to walk out to the Desert Road over five days.
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| Mt Ruapehu from inside the Waiouru ATG |
We started at the end of Moawhanga Bridge Road in the Stowman Range where we walked along the range before dropping down and staying the night in the vicinity of Bobs Hut. This was an old musterers hut just inside the ATG used by the farmer who managed the land in the southern part of the training area. We weren't allowed inside the hut itself as this was officer country and the unit HQ.....we slept in the forest and tall tussock outside.
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| Map: Waiouru ATG, near Bobs Hut |
Sleeping in tussock is an interesting experience...it keeps you warm and reasonably dry but you do get uncomfortable sleeping on the hump of roots at the base of each tussock. You can make a nice little rats nest under the tussock with just your head and shoulders outside so you can observe, brew up or cook some food.
Nice!!!
It is best done with a bivy bag or cover for your sleeping bag to keep it dry and free of bugs...give it a go sometime.
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| Typical terrain in the northwest of the Waiouru ATG, from Zoomology.com |
Over the next two days we patrolled along a series of old tank tracks to the remote north eastern edge of the Waiouru ATG. This is an area of low rolling hills and tussock lands seldom visited by anyone including the Army and criss-crossed with a number of creeks, streams and rivers. There are a series of swamps in the low points but we tended to walk around the worst of them on the low sides of the surrounding hills.
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| Tussock valleys in the north east of the Waiouru ATG, from Zoomology.com |
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| Late 1980's early 1990's Kiwi soldier patrolling... |
This corner of the ATG is home to the famous Kaimanawa wild horses. We often used to see the horses in the distance when in this corner of the ATG. Beautiful animals...they are the descendants of escaped farm animals which have lived in this area since the late 1880's. They are super cautious about humans and will try to stay at least a kilometer away from you at all times.
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| Map: Waiouru ATG, Motumatai Range |
At one stage the herd was as big as 1500 horses but it has been reduced now to around 100 as they are hellishly destructive on the environment. Some were rounded up and sold or given away but unfortunately some were also put down. There is a group dedicated to maintaining the breed called
Kaimanawa Heritage Horses who work with DOC and the Army to manage the herd.
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| Some of the wild Kaimanawa horses from Kaimanawa Heritage horse site |
We conducted some live fire exercises around the Motumatai Range from dug in positions on Pt. 1470 and Pt.1454. These are a couple of flat peaks here which dominate the surrounding area...perfect for a live fire exercise!!!
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| View from the Motumatai Range, Waiouru ATG |
Then over the next two days we moved along the northern edge of the ATG using the well known Kaimanawa Forest Park Walkway and Southern Access Corridor on both sides of the ATG boundary.
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| DOC sign along the Southern Access Corridor, Kaimanawa Ranges from Geocache.com |
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| On the border of Waiouru ATG and the Kaimanawas's |
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| Army tarp set up in bush in the Kaimanawa Mountains |
The
Southern Access Corridor is a right of way open to civilians so they can access the southern Kaimanawa Range from the Desert Road. This area is more mountainous and covered with bush, forest with open tops along the dry crests of the ridges. It is mostly on the northern side of the ATG boundary but does cross into ATG land at a couple of spots.
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| Map: Waiouru ATG, Southern Access Corridor |
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| Scattered bush pockets along the Southern Access Corridor |
The walk along the Kaimanawa Range is one of the classic tramping trips in the North Island with views out over the ATG, north to Lake Taupo and the volcanoes of the Central Plateau. There are few huts along this track and camping is discouraged near the ATG border as the area is sometimes used by the Army for live fire exercises. Most tramping parties will walk the length of the Access Corridor over one day...it is about 20 kilometers or 5-6 hours walking.
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| Southern Access Corridor: the threat is very real, from Geocache.com |
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| Approaching the Desert Highway along the Southern Access Corridor |
We eventually arrived out on the Desert Highway near the Rangipo Desert where we were collected and trucked back the Waiouru Army Camp for a well deserved shower and some hot food. I actually enjoyed this Army exercise a lot as it was some beautiful terrain we were covering. We also got to fire off a pile of live ordinance which is always a lot of fun....
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The Kaimanawa Range from the opposite side of Desert Road
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| The Desert Road near the northern edge of the Waiouru ATG |
The Rangipo Desert backs onto Tongariro National Park and is a massive expanse of sand, stone, rocks and ash left over from when the Central Plateau volcanoes were more active. I did one exercise in the area and it is really like a desert as the poor volcanic soils will not support much life. It is not utilised much anymore as it is such a delicate environment but it is still part of the Army Training Area.
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| View towards Waiouru ATG across the Rangipo Desert |
This was the first of three trips I made into this area the second was a hunting trip with some of my Army buddies and the third another Army exercise but I might cover that trip separately one day. I can recommend the Kaimanawa's to you as a trip destination...it is good classic back to basics tramping terrain.
Cheers.....
