Mar 07 2012

Roberts Station to the Microwave

Published by under Trampers

Distance from car-park: est. 30 km.
A good walk through tussock country. Summer tramp
29/2/2012. Both. Roberts Station.

A not very clear map of the tramp, I'm afraid, and reversed left to right. (Experimenting here with my Nike app and computer camera.) The route starts at the homestead at the top of the pic. A distance of 11 km return.

On a drizzly day, 8 hardy hopefuls elected to do the tramp, under the leadership of reluctant leader Lex, who, like most of the rest of the club would have preferred a warm dry stay at home, but eventually confessed he had enjoyed the day.
Yes the day was drizzly. Windy fronts came across from the south from time to time. But there were dry spells too. For morning tea the shelter of tussocks made for a very pleasant stop-off. At the top, we lunched in a beautifully sheltered gully, in the tussock, and with no rain. The Hikers said this had been their lunch stop last time. Great. Returning the weather was much the same, off and on, places more sheltered from the wind, others not, until towards the end the weather did clear and the sun was making an encouraging attempt to break through.

We wanted to show just how dressed up we were in our wet weather gear, prior to disrobing and getting back into the cars for going home. But see how clear it had become.

One of us said, near the end, just how much she was looking forward to a nice hot shower. And that went for all of us. – An ardent anticipation those of you who stayed home will have denied yourselves. – Ian.
20/7/2011 Hikers. Leader: George, Dorothy
27/1/2010. Trampers. Beyond the Maungatuas. Allendale to the Microwave Station. Leader: George.
It was an anti-clockwise  tramp from the Roberts homestead. George led us to the right from behind the stock yards and down a track across a small gully to turn left across paddocks towards the Maungatuas.

Down from the home stock yards. Hazel, Ria, Angela, George.

Turnip paddocks ahead.
Ahead lay a number of ridges sown out in turnips. We took the one second from the left although George’s original plan had been to take the next narrow one. But he did not pursue this as he was uncertain of the terrain across a gully.
Instead, we descended ahead into the gully directly ahead of us and down a track that emerged. We crossed the small stream there and climbed out out onto the foot of the steep turnip paddock that we were to later climb, for morning tea, looking back the way we had come.

Tea break.. George, Ria, Sabina, Angela, Hazel.

At the top of the paddock, we turned left along the tops of the paddocks towards the Microwave. Nearer it, we joined onto the old bullock track and lunched in rocks just below the Microwave.
Returning back, it was important to choose the gate just to the left of the clay bank apparent in the photo and turning right, descend on a parallel track on the other side of the fence.

Selecting the track back down.

The track was very clear, short open grass free of the crowded tussocks everywhere else. We made our way down this for ever such a long time.

On and on down.

Still going on and down. Hazel, Angela, Ria

At the bottom the track veered left along a paddock margin to eventually reach the cars again.

At last, a left turn to get back to the cars.

Thanks to George for organising a tramp the club had neglected for a long time. – Ian.
7/12/1988 Beyond the Maungatuas. Allendale to the Microwave Station. Leaders: Ria L, George, Dave & Jean M. A
28/4/1993. Foothills of the Maungatuas. Lake Mahinerangi Road. A good walk through tussock country. Medium. C Tither, R Lippers, D Pearce, Robertson.
18/11/1992. Foothills of the Maungatuas. Round trip. Average. Leaders: Ria L, Catherine, Jean, Ria H.
6/11/1991. Foothills of the Maungatuas, nearer to Mahinerangi. Another good tussock tramp. Average. R Lippers, C Tither, Maslin, J Waugh
3/4/1991 Foothills of Maungatuas. Lake Mahinerangi Road. A good walk through tussock country. Average. Leaders: Catherine T, Ria H, Arthur H, Ali

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