Mt Thompson Geocache

Pleasant stroll on a sunny day to a handful of caches in the Waikawa valley.

The road was in resonable condition, but the passes through two gates (with no obvious DOC or walking markers). There is a small parking area at the end of the road with a toilet and enough room to pitch a tent or two. Better, was the Waikawa recreation area, a few K's back down the sealed road, which was a free DOC camping area.

The trip up to Mt Thompson gave us plenty of views of the Kapit Coast, from Palmy to Paraparam. 1.5hrs up, 1hr down.

Tunupo-Iron Gates, Ruahine FP

A sweet overnight tramp in the Ruahine's with Chris and Kelly :)

In from Iron Gates carpark, up and over Tunupo trig, then via the Ngamoko range to Iron Gates Hut. (7hrs) The weather was amazing, extremely hot, with huge thunderstorms over Dannievirke and clear air just to the west of the ridge tops.. We walked the transition zone between awesome and terrifying weather.. ;0)

Next day, a lovely stroll down the gorgeous middle reaches of the Oroua River. We saw a pair of Whio (Blue Duck), several small Trout and two MASSIVE Eels as well as some delightful pools and gorge sections.

 Sweating up to Tunupo trig 1568m

Tunupo in the background

On the transition between weather systems

 Dinner time at Iron Gates hut

 Iron Gates hut

Wildlife, 2x Blue ducks (above) and a giant Eel (below) 

A quick visit to Heritage Lodge on the way out..