Mount Holdsworth

Mount Holdsworth Circuit - 5/1/10

Nick and I set off at 7am from Wellington with the promise of a good day ahead from the weather forecasters. With a stop for petrol and refreshments at a French bakery (pain au chocolat, yum) we were ready to walk by 9am. The start was Holdsworth Lodge with a simple campground by the river. Lovely spot.
From the first look out point we could see the summit, the rounded bump to the left of the picture. Just below it is Powell Hut which you can see if you zoom in.


Here I am at the look out with the summit and Powell Hut in the background. The cloud still clearing, but this was good as the sun didn't beat down on us too much on the way up. Also we were well shaded by the trees.


Here's the view looking back down from just above Powell Hut. Imagine waking up here and having a cup of tea with that vista in front of you! It has gas cookers and a wood burning stove, plenty of fresh water from the rooftop collection system and 32 bunk spaces with mattresses. The DOC (Department of Conservation) maintain these huts for walkers. There are nearly a thousand of these across the country and 3 on the 24km stretch we covered. So you can really go at a leisurely pace if you need to. This is rated as an easy tramp by the DOC for that reason. I prefer the guidebook designation as moderate-demanding for the one day circuit. We met a few other people at the hut, on their way down or like us having a break. The next up was a young couple - he was belting along and she toned down the expletives on seeing us!


At the top! A 900m climb from the start point. Don't worry, that is a sunhat I have in my hand and I did use it most of the way! Virtually no wind up here - we certainly picked the right day as it is 1470m above sea level. The final 50m walk to the summit is a small spur off the main track. As we came back down the young couple arrived at the junction and true to Nick's prediction the conversation went like this:
Him - Are you coming to the top?
Her -Do I have to?
Him - No.
Her - Well I'm not doing anything I don't have to!

We were soon overtaken by the couple and watched them recede into the distance as we marched along the ridge. Up above the tree line the views were impressive. We could see across to the sea and Kapiti Island on the east coast and here back towards the summit.

Here looking down to the west and the Hutt Valley where we started from. Both felt a little light headed at one point!


Here looking back towards Jumbo where the path plunged back into the trees and we made a steep descent meeting a few people heading up to the Jumbo Hut. Didn't envy them the climb but it was hard work on the knees going down and continually looking out for the little orange markers as the path petered out here and there.


The last hour and half was following this path by the river, very happy to be on the flat again.


Lots of bridges to cross (and many rivers).


Here is a link to Google map of NZ - we were near Masterton NE of Wellington.

http://maps.google.co.nz/maps/mpl?ie=UTF8&moduleurl=http:%2F%2Fmaps.google.co.nz%2Fintl%2Fen_nz%2Fhelp%2Fmaps%2Fholidays%2Fmapplet.html&mapclient=google&z=6

A quick video panorama of the view from the look out below Holdsworth.



We were back at the car by half six - nine and a half hours of tramping with minor stops!
The next stop was the best - a cold beer and some chips in Greytown. They don't ask you what you want on your chips here, so if you forget no vinegar or sauce.
A fantastic day and a great introduction to tramping. A few sore muscles the next day but no lasting damage. Have just found this site:
http://www.tramper.co.nz/?
which lets you look for people to walk with. Will give that a go and see what transpires. Planning a trip away to the Napier/Gisborne area next week.