Andrew & Nic's Adventures: Kaweka J Circuit, Kaweka FP, Dec 2020 / Jan 2021

Dodging poor weather meant the first part of our Christmas break was limited to chores at home and a little bike riding. A planned three-day trip into the Tararua FP was canned just ahead of cold weather and snowfall on the Tararua tops, and a round-the-mountain trip was postponed due to an Alert Level 2 "moderate to heightened volcanic unrest" warning from Geonet. Plenty of time for that in the future.

So plans were moved to the eastern side of the Kaweka FP, and specifically a wander around the Kaweka J circuit over three easy days from New Years Eve. No dogs allowed due to Kiwi releases, so no Charlie this time.

The Kaweka FP spans a mere 59,000 hectares (compared to the Tararua FP at 115,000) however boarders the 134,000 hectare Kaimanawa Range, enabling some long tramps through to the Desert Road / Central Plateau.

Arriving at the road-end late, we pitched the tent for a comfortable night. The carpark is at around 950m elevation, so well up the hill compared to our Tararua tramping.

Makahu Saddle Hut is only 300m from the road end and would make a great late night stop-over for future trips. The hut was built in 1957 by the NZFS as a trial for what eventually became the NZFS SF70 hut.

Makahu Saddle Hut

Dominie Hut (1968) is only an hour or so up the hill, and more of a bivvy than a hut, with only two beds. It sits at 1,480m on the Makahu Spur and is the highest bivouac in the range. It's protected to some degree from the southerly and has great views out over Hawkes Bay.

Dominie Biv - Kaweka J in the cloud

Another half an hour on we reached Kaweka J (also known as Mt Kaweka). At 1,724m K-J is the highest point in the Kaweka Range. A light breeze and mist hung around but didn't show much sign of wanting to stay for long.

Kaweka J - highest point in the Kaweka FP

We met a French girl at the summit, the only person we met all day, although did see a couple of blokes in the distance.

Kaweka J - WW2 memorial

From the summit the route to Back Ridge Hut heads west, dropping around 440m. The ridge starts very broad but narrows quickly meaning very easy navigation (if the weather was bad) along the spine of the ridge.

Heading down the southern ridge toward Back Ridge Hut

Back Ridge Hut (1957) is a cute little four-bunker located just inside the bush edge and next to a small feeder stream for Rocks Ahead Stream to the west.

Back Ridge Hut

Back Ridge Hut water supply - couldn't be handier!

As we'd made Back Ridge before 1:00pm a walk SW further along Back Ridge to Back Ridge Biv was in order. This 3km or so took an hour, with the biv only five minutes off the ridge on the eastern side. Nic stayed behind to progress her current cross stitch and nurse a recovering sprained ankle.

The biv is well used by hunters chasing Sika, with reasonable success if the Hut Book isn't full of tall stories.

Back Ridge Biv

And back to Back Ridge Hut for a New Years Eve evening where we enjoyed a hip-flask of port together and a hut to ourselves - perfect.

All is good with a fire to dry the sweat soaked clothes and boots and warm the hut

New Years day started with a one and a half hour grind up the northern ridge to hit the main range mid-way between Kaweka J and North Kaweka.

Climbing from Back Ridge Hut

The weather on the top could not have been better, little wind and a clear sky.

The tops north of Kaweka North

We spent around two hours walking north, past the turn-off to Ballard Hut (next time) and Whetu to the turn-off down Camp Spur. We were surprised at having not met anyone today, New Years day.

Camp Spur. Spot Nicola in there . . .

We stopped for a beaut lunch at the bush edge where we met a bloke carrying a rifle all the way to Ballard Hut for the night. He was a great bloke but I can't figure all that walking with a rifle!

We'd made the bottom of Camp Spur by around 2:00pm and Middle Hill Hut by 2:30pm.

Middle Hill Hut (1963 and upgraded in 2003) is a beaut six-bunker with large deck that would accommodate more bodies should the need arise. Surrounded by Kanuka, Manuka and Red Beech, Middle Hill is the quintessential Kaweka hut.

The bush surrounding the hut was alive with bees and smelt like honey.

Middle Hill Hut

As there was plenty of light left and we still had fuel in the tank we headed off for Kaweka Flats Bivouac a little after 3:00pm. Kaweka Flats Biv (1963) is a two-bunker located at the base of Dicks Spur. Previously farmed, the area has reverted to Kanuka and Manuka.

After a superb weather day, the rain set in a few minutes from the biv, thereby restricting our smelly bodies to the small biv for the evening. Dinner was cooked with the door open to a light drizzle.