By Robyn Surcombe, 01 May 2026
This was a long-awaited trip for me. Since moving into my Kelburn flat, I have been eyeing up Mt. Matthews in the Orongorongos each morning and night. 'One day, I will stand there'. The trip started off with great excitement as our 7-strong team realised that Daniel had a 7-seater car. About 20 minutes was spent playing pack jenga, and we were delighted when we managed to fit everyone and their pack inside of one car. We set off via Jack's place, where we sampled an array of his recent pickling enterprises… red onion, cucumber… banana..? Finally, we were on the road, albeit smelling like vinegar.
The weather was absolutely serving us - mostly clear blue skies on both days! On the river flats we met a nice older guy and his dog. He showed us photos of the private hut that he and his friends have stayed at over the last few decades and we discussed the surprisingly complex politics of hut ownership in the Orongorongo valley.
We arrived at Baine-Iti hut (Patrick's recommendation!) after dark, and it took us a minute to find it buried in the bush. It is made of green, corrugated sheets, and is home to many weta and quite a large spider. Definitely worth a visit! Small with lots of history. We set up a fly outside (there are only 4 bunks), built a campfire, and made pasta. Shout out to Daniel for bringing some pretty excellent banana bread, too. We spent hours and hours sat around the campfire telling stories of varying depth and wisdom, and also of great misfortune. Some of those tales are best left at Baine-Iti.
It was cold overnight, and we got up fairly early for breakfast and to tackle Mt. Matthews! The track was nice - steep at times and a bit scrambly. It became cold and windy towards the top, and we took shelter on some exceptionally comfortable moss under a 'tree bivvy'. At the top, I had wanted to try and spot my flat. But alas, the clouds did their typical thing and covered the view. Oh well, I know my flat was there somewhere.
We made quick time back down to Baine-Iti, had a swift lunch, and set off down the river flats. At 16:15, whilst we still had some way to go, we were informed by a passerby that seeing as it is now 'winter' the carpark gate would close at 18:00. This was not something I had considered, so Jack and Jack honourably ran ahead with the keys to save the car from being trapped in Catchpool Carpark. Thankfully, the rest of us actually made it with 9 minutes to spare! I guess we were a speedy bunch. This was a fab trip, and I will be reminded of it every time I look out of my window at Mt. Matthews.