Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the leatherwood and you must use roots as handholds to descend. The track eases up for a
bit but then resumes its steep descent until you reach
Oroua River
. Triangle Hut is on the
other side of the river, an easy ford when water levels are normal. From the junction it takes
one to two hours to reach the river, depending on the weather and your fitness.
Built in 1966 to aid deer cullers, Triangle Hut (six bunks) overlooks the upper waters of
the Oroua River from the bottom of a deep, narrow valley. You feel as if you're in the heart
of the Ruahines, isolated from the rest of the world…and for all practical purposes you are.
This hut is in good shape and has a wood stove; water is from the river.
Day 3: Triangle Hut to Rangiwahia Car Park
5-7 HOURS, 12.5KM, 723M ASCENT, 753M DESCENT
Return to the track junction. Most trampers do not find this stretch so daunting the second
time; you are hitting it first thing in the morning, while you are fresh and, as is so often the
case, climbing the steep track is easier than descending it. Still, if it took you two hours to
descend to the hut, plan on three hours to climb back to the junction.
At the junction, continue south along a poled route, and after 20 minutes climb easily to
Mangahuia Trig
(1583m). If the weather is clear this is a great spot for lunch, with views in
every direction - including east to the Sawtooth Ridge and northward to the Hikurangi
Range.
Snow poles lead west from Mangahuia, along
Deadmans Track
, a route that begins as a
steady descent off the high point and then skirts a very steep edge of
Deadmans Ridge
. In
poor weather and whiteout conditions this section is dangerous, and well worthy of its
name, but in good conditions it's an amazing place to tramp. You can see more than 700m
straight down into a steep-sided valley. At the bottom is a stream that flows into the rugged
interior of the Ruahines.
From the edge of the ridge you descend to a saddle with a tarn just off the route. There are
a number of these small pockets of water in the area, and for the most part they are the only
source of water above the bushline.
You climb 60m out of the saddle and follow snow poles along the crest of the ridge, re-
maining in the tussock for 1km and then dropping into leatherwood for the next 2km. At one
point the ridge is so narrow you can easily peer into the valleys on both sides. As might be
expected, the views are excellent on a clear day.
About 4km from Mangahuia Trig you reach the bushline, where Deadmans Track enters
the forest. It's a gentle descent at first, then a rapid one as you drop 300m in the final 2km.
