65. camps and tramps. after degree, 1951 - mt egmont. camps... · 2013-11-03 · after degree, 1951...

CAMPS AND TRAMPS. 65.

AFTER DEGREE, 1951 - MT. EGMONT.

I t seems a long time now since F i e l d Club was at Egmont, and f o r many the memory w i l l he dimmed by our t r i p to Mayor I s l a n d . This i s one small disadvantage of the change of p u b l i s h i n g time f o r "Tane" (which i s explained i n the e d i t o r i a l , but which w i l l no ;doubt have escaped n o t i c e ) .

Rewi and I a r r i v e d the night before the b i g i n v a s i o n , to s e t t l e i n t o the " s a l u b r i o u s " quarters of S t r a t f o r d Mountain House— a b i g h a l l with f i r e p l a c e to match, bunks, hot showers—luxury! But r a t h e r a change f o r F. C. we thought. So d i d the main party who a r r i v e d F r i d a y morning by bus a f t e r (we were t o l d ) a g l o r i o u s t r a i n journey. Around f i f t y hungry bods, cloud s l i d i n g over the peak, and the h i s s of primuses under porridge i s about a l l I remember of that morning. The l e t h a r g y of the aternoon-after-the-night-before was too much f o r most, but dormancy would c e r t a i n l y have f l e d had the e x p l o r e r s of C u r t i s V a l l e y returned e a r l i e r with s t o r i e s of kamahi f o r e s t , the stream 'splashing through boulder studded Raoulia ( a p o l ­ogies!) and g l o r i o u s views of the mountain. I remember a b i g f i g h t that n i g h t between the upholders of s l e e p i n g out, and the admittedly more p r a c t i c a l s l e e p e r s - i n . One t h i n g about s l e e p i n g out i n a f r o s t — y o u c e r t a i n l y don't sleep i n , e s p e c i a l l y when b e l l b i r d s s t a r t gonging at 4 . 3 0 a.m.

Saturday's plan was to see i f C u r t i s . V a l l e y was what i t was made out to be. The caravan set out e a r l y from the Mountain House to the v a l l e y of d r i f t i n g R aoulia seed and Red Admirals. We photographed our way up the v a l l e y , lunched at Maunganui Hut, and had the i n e v i t a b l e snow f i g h t . Games and food that night i n a place eminently s u i t e d f o r games and food.

But the weather (F.C.'s meteorologists haven't much i n ­fluence).' — w e l l — t h e r e ' s no need to d e t a i l the m e t e o r o l o g i c a l deg­eneration. S u f f i c e i t to say that only a few amphibious bods d i d anything on Sunday. The piano (a courtesy t i t l e f o r a condemned harp i n a c o f f i n ) got i t s f i r s t r e a l punishment on Sunday—so d i d the rain-imprisoned bods.

With Monday came Dr. Woodward with the l a s t of the p a r t y , and bundles of c o l l e c t i n g gear. J u s t i n time f o r the a l t o g e t h e r memorable t r i p to Dawson F a l l s with the a l t o g e t h e r mythical lunch. A few were so i n s p i r e d by the F a l l s that they climbed Fantham's Peak i n a b l i z z a r d on the way home.

A f t e r Monday much bad weather dampened operations, and each day small p a r t i e s went i n various d i r e c t i o n s , the l a r g e s t one u s u a l l y to sleep. F a v o u r i t e d e s t i n a t i o n s f o r the a c t i v e were Tahurangi Hut, S t r a t f o r d Swamp, Jackson's Lookout v i a the "Enchanted Walk" with i t s b e a u t i f u l Fuchsias, and the e x c e l l e n t Dawson F a l l s Track.

A c l e a r Wednesday morning was enough f o r John Hennessy of the Mountain House to lead Colwyn T., George M., C a r r i c k C, Rewi and I on a t r i p to the peak, but b l i z z a r d c o n d i t i o n s , which became im­p o s s i b l e by the time we had reached the L i z a r d , f o r c e d a r e t r e a t to Tahurangi Hut i n a 2 , 0 0 0 foot g l i s s a d e . So wet was Thursday that Berlese funnels, running under the e l e c t r i c l i g h t s of the Mountain House, were about the only a c t u a l a c t i v i t y .

But F r i d a y , a b r i l l i a n t l y c l e a r day, was a r e d - l e t t e r day f o r five., John Hennessy l e d Pat D. , Ian A. , Les T. , Hanno F. , and Noel C., to the summit where threatening weather forced r e t r e a t a f t e r a few minutes triumphant view.

Bad weather was excuse enough f o r sedentariness, but i t didn't stop t r i p s to Kahui Gorge, H o l l y Hut, B e l l ' s F a l l s and Lake Dive. A l l were home by Sunday evening f o r Judge Sumich's Mock Court, with Mr. Mason f o r the crown and Mr. T u r n b u l l ably s e a l i n g the f a t e of each Innocent he represented. Monday was a rush of l a s t minute t r i p s , and a f i n a l h e c t i c rush to S t r a t f o r d and home by Tuesday morning.

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Egmont's kamahi, i t ' s g o b l i n f o r e s t , i t ' s composite scrub, i t ' s snow—everything but i t s bad weather c a l l us back. Por Egmont i s an i d e a l after-degree s i t e f o r a l l but the marine b i o l o g i s t , and the f a c i l i t i e s at S t r a t f o r d Mountain House are excellent. Any party would f e e l , as we d i d , thankful to the Hennessys. S p e c i a l thanks are due to Mr. and Mrs. Hennessy and John f o r the assistance they gave to make the camp an a l t o g e t h e r memorable one.

— J.S.E.

NEW YEAR, 1951-52 - SWANSON.

The t r a d i t i o n a l New Year Camp at Swanson was as unorgan­is e d and uproarious as ever. The r a i n poured, the heat rose and competition f o r the l a r g e s t number of mosquito b i t e s found on one person was keen indeed (can anyone beat 9 3 ? ) . A f a i r percentage, i n s p i t e of the weather, s t o u t l y d e c l a r e that t h e i r two-day t r i p to the West Coast was 'wizard'. A small m i n o r i t y (The Chapmans and C a r r i c k ) also v i s i t e d the West Coast i n cars,

— M.S.L.

WEEK-END VACATION TRIPS. Several week-end t r i p s were organised during the long

v a c a t i o n and were w e l l patronised by members working i n the F r e e z i n g Works ( c l a i m i n g they were i n desperate need of a change of scenery). One week-end c o n s i s t e d of a round t r i p from L i t t l e K uia, up the Huia-Whatipu road, F r i d a y n i g h t at D e s t r u c t i o n G u l l y ; down to Whatipu on Saturday v i s i t i n g Mrs. Muir's cottage at the foot of the Pararaha that night, r e t u r n i n g Sunday v i a the t r a c k up the c l i f f s over the o l d r a i l w a y tunnel to Karekare-, catching the Piha bus home.

— T.C.C.

FEBRUARY, 1952 - FAR NORTH.

For the f i r s t r e a l l y f u l l - b l o w n club camp t o be held i n February we were ambitious and t r i e d a new area. A l t h o u g h only a dozen were able to come, a f t e r some had become members of a more h i g h l y d i s c i p l i n e d type of camp, others s t a r t e d at T r a i n i n g College, and so on, t h i s was a very good h o l i d a y — w e must r e v i s i t Northland i n the f u t u r e .

Our gradual entry to K a i t a i a was due to the many means of t r a n s p o r t — f e e t , motorbikes, cars (and almost aeroplane). By heaven sent luck the problem of reaching Te Paki 60 miles f u r t h e r north from t h i s f u r t h e s t north town was solved almost d i r e c t l y when we found a truck from Te Kao j u s t about to leave. Soon wa wore j o l t i n g along with a j o v i a l Maori d r i v e r , Dave Wells, l e a v i n g Los to gat supplies and l a t e a r r i v a l s . A pause at the northernmost pub, i n N.Z. (at Houhora), and then the land became more desolate* with o c c a s i o n a l Maori c h i l d r e n on shaggy horses, the dunes of 90 mile beach to the west, and a magnificent sunset.

Once through the gates of Te Paki S t a t i o n we were welcomed by Mrs. Keene at the Homestead. Nearby on the side of t h e Reinga Road we found our H.Q. — two P.W.D. huts with a stream nearby.' Darkness came, but no Les, ao we t r i e d f o r sleep s p i t e of mosquitos. Les a r r i v e d at Te Paki at 4 a.m. a f t e r a g r u e l l i n g 4 hours at 15 m.p.h. Unable to f i n d us, they spent a miserable few hours huddled i n the car t i l l dawn broke.

A l l present, the camp was soon ship-shape and we prepared f o r a t r i p down the Te Paki road to the north end of Ninety M i l e Beach. A l o v e l y swim i n the dune lake, and then our f i r s t glimpse of the r o l l i n g y e llow dunes at c l o s e quarters. This was one of our

Obviously u n i n t e n t i o n a l but too good to change. _ 2 . i t o r s .

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two c l e a r days with white cloud and blue sky. We returned over h i l l s of burnt teatree and dry sedge pasture to f i n d that P i e t had a r r i v e d .

Sunday we set o f f on an overnight t r i p . Slowed by the dusty heat of the road we plodded to Cape Maria where we ambled around the coast v i a Te Wherahi stream toward the i s o l a t e d f o s s i l dune of the Cape i t s e l f . There was much of i n t e r e s t so progress was slow. Toward dusk we climbed to the lighthouse settlement at Cape Reinga i n a hot misty d r i z z l e and from there were d i r e c t e d around the coast and down to a l i t t l e cove c a l l e d Sandy Bay. That evening, Doc. R., with h i s h i g h - c l a s s mouth organ, lead a pleasant sing-song with new d i t t i e s from him and P i e t , to the accompaniment of a brewing storm outside the tent.

We s t r u g g l e d a l l Monday morning along the top of the 500 f t . mist-covered c l i f f s toward Pandora and S p i r i t s Bay. S t r i d i n g along i n a blanket of fog wit h the unseen s u r f rumbling below, we could w e l l b e l i e v e i n the f a i r y people of the land of the Maori s p i r i t ' s departure. Though we had hoped to lunch at Pandora, the e a r l i e s t d i d not a r r i v e there t i l l 5 p.m.

A l l except two four-day e x c u r s i o n i s t s , returned to base camp l e a v i n g these w o r t h i e s to bed down i n a l i t t l e t i n hut where a l l the e v i l s p i r i t s from Pandora's Box gathered f o r a f e a s t . Next day they woke to f i n d a Paradise with r i p e peaches, n e c t a r i n e s , shady macrocarpas, a babbling brook, and peace. A climb to the ridge at the end of S p i r i t s Bay l e a d i n g to Unuwhao gave a glimpse of the u n a t t a i n ­able North Cape ("Next time w e ' l l reach i t ! " ) .

Prom base camp t r i p s were made to the l a k e s , the swamps and the coast. We spent a most enjoyable evening with Mr. and Mrs. Keene and t h e i r f i n e c o l l e c t i o n of photographs and Maori a r t f a c t s . The returned Pandora dwellers found that the f i r s t r e t u r n i n g party had l e f t by car. Next morning we packed and s a i d f a r e w e l l to Te Paki . Then to K a i t a i a on Dave's truck once more, where the tent was slung between goal posts on the l o c a l s p o r t s ground.

I t was l a r g e l y the generosity and many kindnesses of Mr. and Mrs. Keene of Te Pa k i S t a t i o n that made our Far North T r i p as enjoyable as i t proved to be. They deserve our a p p r e c i a t i o n .

— C.B.T. et a l .

EASTER, 1952 - MIDDLE CAMP, HUIA.

As u s u a l , a few members were fortunate enough to be t r a n s ­ported i n s t y l e on the jugger over the se v e r a l miles of bush r a i l w a y to the Camp. The only t h i n g worth recording about the f i r s t night was the la c k of sleep. The f o l l o w i n g day provided an e x c e l l e n t one-day tramps- down to Huia, up the Karamatura Stream to Nugget's Lookout ( 1 , 5 0 6 ' ) , lunch, Twin Peaks ( s l i g h t l y e l u s i v e ) and back to Middle Camp, coming down the steep Nugget's track and across the Huia dam. These tracks pass through part of the wettest area i n the Waitakere Ranges and consequently some of the most i n t e r e s t i n g f o r e s t . *

During the next few days sev e r a l p a r t i e s went on overnight t r i p s , v i s i t i n g the f o l l o w i n g places on the West Coast: D e s t r u c t i o n G u l l y , Whatipu, Pararaha Gorge, Mrs. Muir's Cottage and Karekare.

— T.C.C.

MAY. 1952 - WELLINGTON/ANAWHATA. Many F.C. members were present on the Botany Department

a l g a l excursion to We l l i n g t o n , where the Harbour was st u d i e d with V.U.C. Botany Department. A f i e l d t r i p with Prof. Chapman can always be r e l i e d on f o r i n t e r e s t , fun, and value, which were t h i s time heightened by our a s s o c i a t i o n with Prof. Gordon, h i s s t a f f and students. A r a t h e r h e c t i c week was f i l l e d with algae from the various Wellington

"Some Notes on the Vegetation of the Huia Region." - R.V. Mirams, Ph.D., and "Huia Species L i s t " - Tane, V o l . 3 , No, 1. p.43-50.

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beaches, with Botany Dept., V,U.C. the centre, where i n the evenings a s e r i e s of l e c t u r e s f i l l e d up the minimum of twelve hours algae a day. Some food and l e s s sleep was obtainable f o r the g i r l s at Helen Lowry H o s t e l , and f o r the boys at Weir House.

The club was w e l l represented at the f i r s t conference of the E c o l o g i c a l S o c i e t y of New Zealand at Wellington by at l e a s t ten members, and a l s o f o r the f i r s t time a delegate attended the Annual Meeting of the Federated Mountain Clubs of N.Z.

Back i n A u c k l a n d again, migrants j o i n e d stay-at-homes f o r a d e l i g h t f u l few days at Anawhata. The West Coast i s always new— probably because i t i s t i m e l e s s — a n d as usual there was much to do. In s p i t e of the S l i p p e r y Drop i n t o Anawhata, George C. had h i s 4 " telescope (understandable enough) and of a l l t h i n g s , h i s ' c e l l o !

Though f l y i n g cloud and camp-fire smoke obscured the skies a b i t , we d i d manage to get some e x c i t i n g views of neighbouring planets. Few present w i l l have f o r g o t t e n the gentle game ( f o r most the f i r s t since primary school days) of 'Kingocenie'(?) on the beach where a contused spine was the l i g h t e s t of i n j u r i e s . Hank and a few of us d i d quite a b i t of c o l l e c t i n g i n the Anawhata V a l l e y . We broke camp on the 2 5 t h , a l l very pleased with another few days on the Coast.

Ted's great b o t a n i c a l dictum of t h i s camp must be r e c o r d e d — one of the most profound statements on F l o r i s t i c Botany ever made i n New Zealand. "There's three s o r t s of t r e e s — K a u r i t r e e s , Nikau t r e e s , and Other t r e e s . " He r e f u t e d a s i m i l a r charge against the M o l l u s c a — " A f t e r a l l — t h e y are animals." He has something there, I think.

— J . S . E .

AUGUST VACATION - LITTLE BARRIER.

A dozen club members, whose combined i n t e r e s t s covered a wide f i e l d of b i o l o g y , were fortunate i n spending a week on L i t t l e B a r r i e r . An account of t h i s camp, together with the r e s u l t s of the work done on the i s l a n d , w i l l be published i n the next i s s u e of "Tane".

NOTES ON TMESIPTERIS AND PSILOTUM - Miriam Aiken.

' • • During the past year F i e l d Club has had o p p o r t u n i t i e s of observing those i n t e r e s t i n g p l a n t s Tmesipteris and Psilotum. The f o l l o w i n g observations are worth of record; Tmesipteris tannensis Bernh. i ) Abnormal specimens from Huia, c o l l e c t e d by Miss R. De Berg i n May 1952, had 4-chambered sporangia. The normal 2-chambered sporan­gia were also present on the shoot but some f e r t i l e appendages had these curious 4-chambered s t r u c t u r e s i n the a x i l s of the b i f i d leaves. The extra chambers, set at r i g h t angles, gave a cruciform appearance. Aberrant forms of various kinds f r e q u e n t l y occur i n Tmesipteris but a 4-chambered s t r u c t u r e of t h i s form has not, to my knowledge, been reported before. i i ) An extremely l a r g e specimen 75 cms. i n l e n g t h , up to 5 times d i ­chotomously branched and densely f e r t i l e , was found at Hunue i n J u l y , growing i n a clump of Collospermum i n the fork of a V i t e x lucens. i i i ) George Mason repo r t s T^ from Mayor Is l a n d Nov. 1952 , growing s c a t t e r e d on the southern side of the Crater f l o o r . In humus on rock. Psilotum triquetrum Swartz. i v ) An i n t e r e s t i n g record of Ph. growing i n r e l a t i v e abundance on Mt. Maunganui, Tauranga, i s given by George Mason, No. 1952. I t occurs i n patches i n rock c r e v i c e s on the northern c l i f f s below the summit. v) Scattered patches of P. were noted on Mayor I s . , Nov. 1952.