MONDAY WALKERS
Last Monday our large contingent of walkers travelled to National Park to walk the Tupapakurua Falls track. The hot sunny weather of previous days deserted us but the kamahi forest over the Te Ponanga saddle and the brilliant yellow of the flowering lupins and broom brightened the view from the van windows. Our first stop on the track was at the Taranaki Lookout and loop track. Usually the view westward would be of Mt Taranaki some 170km away and Mt Ruapehu from the loop but today both were obscured by low cloud. The puzzle of half full buckets of gravel stashed along the walk was answered when we read that volunteers from National Park community assist DoC to maintain the track. Walkers are invited to shift a bucket, or two, to the next depot and eventually the volunteers use it to stop the track becoming too muddy. The native bush was beautiful but tangled tree roots, several small stream crossings and some steep descents meant close attention to footing was required. Erua Forest is a high altitude and rainfall area with a short summer season and trees need to flower and fruit quickly. Many were already flowering, some of which we Taupoites did not recognise. We did identify a toropapa with its fragrant tiny crimson trumpet flowers but failed to name the pittosporum-like bush with tiny flowers. The Tupapakurua Falls lookout is a peaceful spot to watch the water from the Tupapakurua Stream tumble the 50 metres over a reddish rockface to the river below. We clambered up the promontory for a clearer view of the falls. From here on in, the track is not maintained by DoC. An intrepid few braved crossing the narrow ledge supported by rope holds and then climbed down to the base of the falls.
Next week we are visiting an out of town nature sanctuary. For information search Taupo¯ Monday Walkers on Facebook, phone 027 592 2994 or email walkersmondaytaupo@gmail.com.