Location: Kaimai Ranges
Author: Zoe Chambers and Ankia Van Zyl
Participants: Sean Thomson, Ankia Van Zyl, Zoe Chambers, Nick Mahon, Solomon Wilby, Jonah Dokman, Liam Wright, Angelica Morton, Miles Nicholson, Olivia Pugh
Date: 8th - 9th February, 2025
This whole trip started with the AUTC ultra-marathon along the North-South route of the Kaimais, when the runners stumbled across what must have seemed an oasis at the time; a swimming hole. With no time to stop, this trip was envisioned. The plan was to do a short tramp in from the Aongatete River entrance to the North-South route and along to the swimming hole for swims and bush camping.
The trip very quickly became a picnic, featuring a whole container of scones and jam, s’mores, home-grown grapes, two pizzas, chocolate (Whittakers Hazella- the best one), Tim Tams, bangers and mash with veggies, Sean’s mayo + more. Ultralight trampers we are not, a cast iron pan was brought out to cook a whole string of butcher-bought saussies. Or maybe it could just be our priorities, it was realized pretty early on that we had a 10 to 1 pooper scooper ratio - cheers Nick. We thought we had the perfect weather window, while setting up the tarps, there was constant talk of the construction not really mattering as no rain was forecast - famous last words (spoiler alert: it did, thunder in the distance and all). Swims were pretty epic, there are a few gnarly tan lines among the team as proof.
The real visionary of the trip was Miles, when discussion came up on whether to move to a spot back along the track, he was adamant that he had THE campfire spot. On closer inspection, we all saw the vision; a flat rock in the middle of the river - obviously for fire safety 101, not because it was gonna be sick or anything. Speaking of fire safety, it's pretty well known that rocks with moisture in them have a tendency to explode when heated. This was discussed, to which the response was a resounding “meh, she’ll be alright”. She wasn't. Some pretty loud guy-fawkes-level action started happening. Some very sharp rock debris was flying in all directions - some were phenomenal at being used to dig holes in the ground, easing the pooper scooper issue. Safety first, the dinner chefs thought, as they put their sunnies on - they totally count as safety glasses right??? The good news: there were no human casualties (RIP Sean’s puffer. An exploding rock sent projectile embers in his direction while he was standing a bit too close - some would say that his sleeve is so holey it is now ordained).
Other than the fireworks display, the fire was a success. And so was dinner. Dinner even consisted of two courses- a first course of: bangers, mash, a side of veggies and the return of Sean’s mayo from the ultra marathon trip (it surprisingly remained untouched, and Sean was severely disappointed), and a second course of wood-fired pizza - literally wood-fired. After this, smores were inhaled. Someone even decided to cook not 1, not 3, but at least 6? marshmallows at once (can't quite remember the actual number). Stick choices were an entertainment point. I (Zoe), quite liking my eyesight, had a comically long stick, while Solomon whittled a whole branch just so he could fit a marshmallow on the end. Said branch was then used as a pencil, using the charred point to leave some very original artworks on one of the rocks. Following the theme of safety issues, the question arose whether it was stupid to sling a hammock for another bed, attached to a ponga above other sleeping people? It was. We did it anyway (they only swayed slightly). Surprisingly, despite the rain, the crew stayed dry. Sleeps were solid - bar an alarm set for 6 that chimed for a few before the phone could be located and silenced.
After an in-depth discussion about the morals of brewing tea in the pot or separately in mugs (we have yet to reach a conclusion), it was time for brekkie. Everyone brought something a little different to the table- some went for the classic porridge, others for last night’s leftover saussies and others for something with a little more pizzazz- like rice pudding, Nutella and a solid amount of butter, but even though it lay invitingly near the breakfast supplies- no one went for Sean’s mayo.
With bellies full and the poop scoop morning traffic out of the way- we started dismantling our tarp home. It had served us well, and a special shoutout to the structural integrity of the pongas holding up the hammock- still grateful to this day. To get back to the cars, we had a few potential routes, many hours to spare and another swimming hole to visit. In the end, we decided not to river bash all the way to the swimming hole because, although safety issues have been a bit of a theme this trip, the safety issues associated with the potential waterfalls along the way were just a tad extreme. We settled for a walk along the tracks, where we got thoroughly hook-grassed, and I (Ankia) learnt how to tell the difference between grasses, sedges and rushes (for the right price, I can teach you too…).
At an intersection with the Aongatete, we dumped our packs and chucked our togs on- it was time for our tanlines to get more extreme. We waded/swam up what seemed like endless pristine pools framed by mossy walls and dense bush. However, eventually, the mini-waterfalls became a medium-ish waterfall which we couldn’t really get up, and so, we reached our final swimming hole. It was a solid spot.
After much splashing about, we sploshed back to the packs, had a snack and threw some rocks (because ooga booga). But, before we could head off, there was a river-bashing tradition to honour- guided by Solomon. Tim Tams were thrown at people ( a whole family pack worth of Tim Tams) and you had a chance to catch it with your mouth (no one did), or else the Tim Tam fell to the ground and could only be retrieved using your mouth while balancing on one leg. It was good fun and important stuff to keep the river-bash deities appeased.
On the way back, someone accidentally kicked a wasp nest and of course, the wasps attacked the person who was allergic (mildly thank goodness). Angelica braved 5+ stings- some even through her fleece! Suffice it to say, we got out of that part of the bush pretty fast. Thankfully we made it back to the cars with no more wasp ambushes.
Yes, we had made it back, our wet boots were off and packs stuffed in the trunk, but the trip wasn’t over yet! Our plan was to grab a snack in Paeroa. It had been a picnic trip so far- it would just be plain rude not to. We ended up grabbing a bit more than a snack though…. 5 large kebabs, a whole tub of ice cream and a box of waffle cones later, we lay, satisfied, on the local sports field. Sean’s mayo made another hopeful appearance, but again, no takers- maybe on the next tramp ;) Eventually, the time came to say our goodbyes, face the long weekend traffic and head our separate ways. It was a solid weekend- we saw the vision, and we made it happen (or maybe it happened to us).
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