NINE NIGHTS IN THE TARARUAS

Shannon News, 10 March 1925, Page 3

NINE NIGHTS IN THE TARARUAS

Missing i rampers round by Levin * any iiAir'd AKu kVcU. There was a general feeling of rebel jjjoali .oh the W<airarap.a ana Manawatu sides qi the lararuas wuen it became knpwn yesterday tnat me missing iranijju-is, ivir ana Mrs r . u. hi oketi, of Masteiton, had been located by the Levin search party and weiu sale and well, little tne worse lor tnthr trying experience, They had neen eight nights in the open when met by tiie searchers, and the two parties spent another night on their return journey. During most oi that tune the w.eather was on its worst behaviour, heavy rain failing frequently, the wind raging with hurricane force at times and fog and mist veiling tne mountains sq that all sense of direction was lost. It is a matter oi surprise that, after being soaked by the rain for a week, Mr and Mrs Brockett should have been in such good physical condition. They had had a very trying experience but, except for the difficult passage down the Ohau river, were still able to travel by themselves. They also had sufficient food for a day or two—well by the rain, of course—but still ' palatable. These facts dq not, however, detract from the achievement of the searen party for with the difficulty country between Levin and Dundas and the flooded Ohau to pass down, it is very doubtful whether they would have got out unaided by the local knowledge of the Levin party. The searchers were astonished at the endurance displayed by Mrs Brockett .and her determination and pluck. After getting free of the hills, the Mastertonians were taken to Mr G. L. Adkin’s residence and after a change of clothing and meal neither of them seemed to be any the worse for a very exacting experience.

THE EARLY STAGES. A “Chronicle” representative got some account of. the adventure from Messrs Brockett and Adkin last evening, the former having kept a journal np till the Thursday, and the latter as. is his custom, making notes of his expeditions to the ranges. Late on Friday afternoon Mr and Mrs Brockett went out by car to.the pipe bridge at Gladstone road and with packs tip, set out on their expedition. They got as far as the water supply intake and camped for the night. Their equipment consisted of a special tent and fly, blankets, a small primus spirit stove, and supplies of bacon, butter, peas, rice, bread, cheese, dried fruit, chocolate 'and condensed milk. The trampers got an early start on Saturday morning and ascended the bed of the Ohau river, making their second camp at the confluence of the two branches of the, river known as “The, Forks.” THE TRACK LOST.

On Spnday, they got on to the dividing ridge between these two branches of the Ohau, and here they had‘to make a choice between following the shorter route explored by Mr Adkin and involving a sharp descent it/ the Mangahao, or file older but much more difficult route known as Girdlestotne’s track. They decided °n the former, but came to a point where a tangled mass of logs seemed to bar progress and prevent them picking up the blaze. The fog came down and blotted out the peaks, while the weather conditions became bad, so a return was made to “The Forks” and the third camp made there again oq Sunday night. The conditions were so unpromising that Mr and Mrs Brockett decided that night to return to Levin next morning. However, on Monday morning the weather lifted and the sun shone through the clouds and they resolved to make another attempt to carry out their programme. They put in the day drying their clothes and equipment, which had been wet since Saturday morning, and stayed in camp that night. They, decided to try the alternative route via Girdlestone’s Track.

Tuesday morning broke fine / and from the ridge overlooking the Mangahao the mountaineers got a splendid view of the peaks of the High Tararuas—the only time they saw the mountain, tops in the course of their journey. A rising glass encouraged them to push on, and, leaving camp at 8 a.m., they reached the Mangahao late in the afternoon and camped for the night. ASCENT OF DUNDAS.

The ascent of ML Dundas (4944 loci) vyas commenced on Wednesday morning They could not see file peaks nor the top 01 Mt. Dunda.s lor thei fog and mist, though it was bright and sunny passing through file bush. They pushed steadily, tup the ascent, but dense fog enveloped them and to make matters worse very strong winds were encountered. At 5 o’clock they could go no further and made their camp at a point—though they did not know it till two days later—only 40 feet below the summit ol the mountain, which was still veiled in fog. The tent was pitched behind two big rocks, and as an additional precaution against the violence of the wind, the edges of the tent wag weighted down with rocks. Fortunately there was no rain, but the gale did not abate all night, and in tiie morning it was found that the tent had chafed through on the rocks and was ripped to ribbons. The fly of the tent was still intact, however.

EXHAUSTED IN POURING RAIN. %e" trampers’ worst experience was still to come, and if at any time then' confidence wag shaken it was by the ordeal they went -through on the Thursday. The violence of. the wind had iy>t decreased and it was impossible to stand on the ridge, let alone make any progress. It was therefore decided to return to the Mangahao.

Mr Brockett was misled by what appeared to be a fairly practicable jOuie along qie river beu, but encountered broken country and a succession of watenalls. A number of tnese were negotiated by the simple process of suumg uo.w.u them, but when falls of V 0 or TOO feet in height came m their way, tne trampers realised imat wnat loaned a fair prospect, from a distance was nopeiess at efose quarters, ine only purer way out, however, fay through a dense mass ai tangled scruo —a variety of oleuria—practically impenetrable. Sq dense was the scrub that it was impossible to force a way through it. Mr Brockett tackled it with an axe and forced a passage until he was practically exhausted. Rain had been failing and at 10.30 in the morning the travellers could go no further. Soaked to the skin, exhausted by their efforts, and disconcerted by the long succession of bad weather, they crawled in under the scrub, and sac ' down under a couple of blankets; Here they remained in the pouring ! rain all tnat day and night, their only food during that time being a little chocolate and condensed nulk. Strangely enough there were no bad physical effects and except for a little stiffness they suffered no disability.

AGAIN ON DUNDAS. Friday morning was still marked by foggy conditions, but the wind dropped, and they chopped their way up tniougfi the scrub, reaching the top of Dundas again about midday. The log had cleared away, but they gave up the idea of going on to the Mitre peak and so through to Masteiton, as the weather was still most unfavourable. That night—the seventh spent in the open—was put in at the old camp just below the summit of Dundas, where they got plenty of tussock grass bedding and used the tent fly which had, been retained. It was still foggy on Saturday morning and the trampers considered they could get in one day to Eketahuna, but knowing their friends would be getting anxious, they were on their way back upon their tracks towards Levin. For the first time, since the previous Monday, they set out with dry clothes. Gun shots were heard during the morning, it being since ascertained that these were probably fired by one of the Mastertcui pames, who had a shot at some pigs. Just before 11 o’clock, when just on the timber line, coo-ee-ing was. heard, and replied to. Mr and Mrs Brockett decided to sit down on the track and wait for the searchers. After waiting about an hour, however, they resumed their descent and it was not until 3.5 p.tn. tpat the two parties met,

THE SEARCH PARTY’S EXPERIENCE

'At this point Mr Adkin took up the story. The search, party was organised in Levin oh Friday morning when the trampers had been out a week. It consisted of. Constable Greggan, and Messrs G. L. Adkin, E. S. Lancaster and Frank Routley, all experienced men in the lore of the mountain. They were motored down to the pipe bridge on Gladstone Road in the afternoon by Constable Bagrie. Starting off about 2. o’clock, they pushed up through the gorges to the Forks of the Ohau, where they found traces of Mr and Mrs Brockett’s camp. The party camped there just before 11 pun.,' and made an early start on Saturday, striking camp at 5.30 and getting under way soon alt or 7 o’clock. It was a calm morning and their route lay up to a sharp razorback ridge, covered with bush and later sub-alpine scrub. The top was. reached at 10.50 and then came the steep descent down to the Mangahao, which is really the key to Mr Adkin’s route. The slope puns down for 1200 feet at an angle of 45 degress and looks more forbidding than it is in reality. Jt was safely negotiated and the party enjoyed a dip in the Mangahao river, with lunch to follow between noon and 1 o’clock. According to their schedule they were to climb Dundas in their search and he there on Saturday night to look fur signals from. Levin recalling them in the event qi the missing trampers having been reported from Masterton or Eketahuna. So far the party had discovered practically no traces of Mr and Mrs Brokett, but they decided to keep strictly to the programme laid out, and after lunch, they commenced the ascent of Dundas. Before long they lost the blazes indicating the track and had separated a little trying to pick up the murks. Mr Adkin, who wag in advance of the others saw someone through the bush, whom he took to be Constable Greggan, but on coining closer it turned out to be Mr Brockett, who with diis wile, were then making their second descent from Mt. Dundas. They had heal'd tire calls of the searchers, but the latter hud not heard the answering “000-ees.” The missing trampers were not in wanij of food so much but .greatly appreciated supplies of hot tea which were prepared as soon as possible. On Saturday night camp was made on the banks of the Mangahao./ The weather, which had been fine on Saturday, broke in the night, there being two heavy showers, while . on Sunday morning a heavy downpour set in. It was decided to tackle the steep slope across the Mangahao, this being the first time that it had been done, Mr Adkin’s parties on previous occasions having taken more circuitous routes to avoid it. To the tv surprise, however, it was found not to be sio difficult as it looked and in a little over an hour the whole party had reached the top. Shortly after 11 a.m. they met the second search party, consisting of Messrs Harris, Honore, Doig and Ward, who had set out early on Sunday morning, and word was at once sent back to Levin of the safety of the Wanderers. On coming down to the Ohau, they found the river in flood, the current running very swiftly. Two people could never have come down it without mishap, and a, rope had to be used many times to effect a passage, one member taking Tt- across, and the others going over by its aid, the last man doing the best, (he could. The journey from, the Mangahao to the intake took seven hours, the water tunnel being .reached, at 2.10 p.m. Cars were in waiting at the pipe bridge,

and an adventure that had caused a great deal of anxiety on both sides of the Tararuas came happily to an end. A gratifying feature, was the readiness with which search parties responded to the call. No fewer than four parties from Masterion, two from Eketahuna, and two from Levin went out in quest of the wanderers, while there were several offers from Wellington and Palmerston. The main Levin party got away with commendable promptitude, considering that stores and equipment had to be collected at short notice. They had the satisfaction of bringing in the missing trampers, and though they had survived the unfavourable conditions with remarkable endurance, there were not Wanting signs that fiiei relief came at an opportune moment. It is very doubtful whether Mr and Mrs Brockett would have found their way through the difficult country that lay between them and safety, more especially in view of the ordeal they had gone through on the Thursday.