High Achiever: Track maker honoured and the Tararuas re-crossed
Recently the Manawatu pioneering track maker, Ian Argyle was awarded the Queens Service Medal (QSM). Ian was delighted and humbled by the award, which also gave recognition to the many volunteers who had shared his vision. He paid tribute to mayors and council staff from Palmerston North and Horowhenua who had seen the area’s potential and encouraged his efforts. Ian Argyle, at 83, still works on tracks a couple of days a week as he has done for many years.
The Sledge Track was the first of his tracks to be completed; when opened by Prime Minister Helen Clark in 2003 it was one of his proudest moment. Other tracks followed including Burton’s Track, and the Mangahao-Makahika Track. This later track was tramped by the MTSC several weeks ago and forms part of Te Araroa Trail.
The most recent of Ian’s tracks is is the Naenae Track, which completes an east-west crossing route over the Tararua Range and so creating a link between Wairarapa and Manawatū.
The new track up from the Naenae Road in the Wairarapa, links to the existing Otangane and Sledge tracks in the Manawatu and follows part of an old paper road leading up past several waterfalls, over the top and down to the Sledge Track.
The April 2017 issue of “Walking New Zealand” magazine reported that trampers of the Manawatu Tramping and Skiing Club, {MTSC} had made their first crossing of the Tararuas on the new route.
Recently the new track has been recognised by the {Palmerston North City Council} PNCC and the Tararua District Council after PNCC staff plus SAR personnel walked through to check it out. It is a public way but trampers should stay on the marked trail.
This report is about a return tramp by MTSC members to check out recent improvements, appropriately, it also took place a few days before Ian Argyle was formally presented with his QSM.
Wednesday 9th May dawned overcast with light drizzle and low cloud on the tops of the Tararuas. Undeterred, twenty six trampers converged on the Summerhill car park above Palmerston North for a slightly frenzied bout of car and key swapping! Nothing at all unsavoury about this as this was all in the cause of healthy, outdoor exercise!
Two groups of vehicles were formed with each intent on one or other end of the track. This account will follow the trampers making their way from the Kahuterawa Valley, starting with the
Sledge Track along the purple route from the top of the map.
Starting from the Black Bridge, the first few kilometres of the Sledge Track are well developed and family friendly as the route sidles along the Kahuterawa Stream. The track then climbs past a view point known as the Lookout and becomes steep and more demanding as it heads into Hardings Park past Ross Creek to the ToeToe junction.
The rule followed by our trampers was to keep right at junctions. This led us on to the western branch of the Otangane Loop in the direction of the local peak known as the Nipple and through attractive bush.
The track is sheltered with a few view points and on the day of our tramp relatively mud free. There are many side tracks so care is needed to stay with the main track. The short side excursion to the peak of the Nipple gives exhilarating views into country that, until the era of Ian Argyle’s track cutting, was rarely seen and visited.
Beyond the Nipple the loop track turns north for about a kilometre before the junction with the Naenae Track down in to the Wairarapa. The canopy is dense much of it best described as goblin forest. The track makes short zig-zags to rapidly loose height. It was quite muddy on the day that we tramped it but nothing unusual for a Tararua track.
As we lost height an increasing level of track work in the form of steps and rails was evident, some of it best described as “work in progress” in difficult country.
Eventually the track leaves the stream to follow an old paper road into open country then down and across Otangane stream to a small car park at the end of Naenae {Sandfly } Road.
The two main groups, W-E and E-W both completed the tramp at a leisurely pace in seven hours, A quicker group took under six hours. Small groups also did “walk-in” tramps from both ends. The Naenae Track was found to be much improved from our previous visit but remains as work in progress to be traversed with care. The crossing makes a satisfying day tramp that now established will gain in popularity but let us hope not on the scale of the Tongariro Crossing!
One final thought, given Ian Argyle’s huge contribution to opening up the Sledge track, Hardings Park,the Otangane Loop and the Naenae Track how about calling the traverse “Ian’s Crossing”?