Turakirae - Mukamuka - Orongorongo Loop

This always promised to be a big day. We were largely following the course of the "Mukamuka Munter" run, but extending it to make a complete loop. We started at the carparking area on the Wainuiomata South Coast, walked around Cape Turakirae into the Wairarapa, up the Mukamuka Valley, over Mt Matthews South Saddle, and then down the Orongorongo River to the start. Total distance was 39km.

We started out nice and early and made our way around the coast. Most of this section was on a rocky 4WD road and relatively straight forward. Every so often we might see the odd an orange triangle to indicate that we were on some sort of DOC track, but they were few are far between.


Part way up the coast is a big shingle fan where a river runs down to the coast after heavy rain. We could have gone straight across the fan, but carrying packs we decided to go for what seemed to be the easier option and follow the 4WD road as it climbed up the side of the fan and then twisted its way through it.

Looking at the ocean from on the shingle fan

Looking south back where we have come from

View up the Mukamuka Valley. Mt Matthews rears up to the right, and the South Saddle is obvious to the left of the ridge.

We came to what we guessed was Windy Point and the start of a wide bay with the Mukamuka Valley at the other end. Reaching the valley we were greeted with a nice grassy flat and a clear view up to Mt Matthews and the South Saddle. A stop for some lunch in the sun and then it was time to head up the valley.

The "track" up the Mukamuka Valley

The Mukamuka Valley has no marked track. In some places there was the impression of where others had possibly travelled before, but in large part it was guess work at most of the stream junctions.

At last we came to an orange triangle - easily missed - at the last of the stream junctions. I would have taken the wrong junction this time, so it was good to have it there. The track was obvious in some places, less so in others. And then we got to the last steep climb up to the saddle. The track was even less obvious here, but we made the saddle with no dramas. The view on the saddle was superb: to the east we could see down the Mukamuka Valley to the Pacific Ocean; to the west we were looking at the Orongorongo ranges.

View from South Saddle

West to the Orongorongo Ranges	East down the Mukamuka Valley to the coast and the Pacific Ocean

It was a long trek back from here. First we had to follow the track part way around Mt Matthews, and then follow the notoriously steep descent down to the Orongorongo River. And then it was a very long walk down the river to get back to the coast.

Heading down the Orongorongo River

Near the end of the day and near the end of the Orongorongo River

Maps

Northern Half

Southern Half

More photos are available on Flickr.