By Robyn Surcombe, 06 June 2026
Day 1 - Poads Road to Te Matawai Hut
This had been somewhat of a long time coming, having gone through several reworks by myself and Daniel and Patrick. What had started out as a funky winter crossing plan was now a loop, but this didn't make it any less of an epic in my eyes. There was rain on the forecast, but it held off as we made our way up Gable End Ridge. A pretty chill first day just trudging on up the track, with one major downpour and the last hour or so spent in the dark. A notable moment was seeing the most obscenely gigantic worm I have ever laid my eyes upon. I reckon it must have been at least 30cm at full extension. As we gazed upon it laying pitifully in a puddle on the ground, Daniel explained to Patrick and I the ins and outs (pun not intended) of worm procreation. As always, coming across the hut was a joyful moment. There was a group of four friends already in there, and we all gathered to cook dinner and then whip up a shared 'dessert platter'.
Day 2 - Te Matawai, Arete Biv, and North Ohau
Day 2 began at 6am, followed by 13.5 hours of almost continuous tramping for myself and Daniel. The plan was to visit Arete Biv as a day trip, return to Te Matawai, then head to North Ohau. I'd had my eyes on Arete Biv for a while, having heard many good things! At Pukematawai, Daniel and I parted ways with Patrick, who headed back to Te Matawai to do general hut maintenance, whilst we headed along the ridge towards Arete Peak. We saw a circular rainbow, and the morning sun caused the few surrounding clouds to glow. It was truly beautiful, and the wild views up on the tops there have really become the thumbnail of the Tararuas in my mind. We ate vanilla rice pudding on the peak (texturally confusing IMO), before taking a slightly premature path down to the biv. We had some food and ran up to the tarn, just taking in the views. We could not have asked for better conditions. I accidentally left my terrible rain pants there, which I think ultimately has done me a favour - if you find them you can keep them. On the return, we meditated on Arete Peak. It was so still up there that even sat a couple of meters apart we could still hear the other breathe.
Back at Te Matawai, we had a tea break and packed up our stuff. The next chapter of the day begins… with one of the original intentions of the trip being to visit some of the more remote/small huts in the Tararuas, we were setting out to North Ohau. The three of us took the track towards Girdlestone Saddle, before walking straight on into the bush. A proper bush-bashing ordeal has been on my to-do list for a while! It was a fair slog up the ridge, with a pleasant golden hour. It was tough work - this second day, especially combined with the third, was probably the most physically challenging tramp I had done to date. We descended down to North Ohau in complete darkness. We worked as a group to find the occasional piece of tape and short stretches of track - my knees were taking a bit of a hit, but Daniel kept up morale whilst Patrick navigated. I think it was a pretty awesome team effort, and sort of exemplified how most of what constitutes a 'good' tramper is simply having a positive attitude. It took us about 6 hours to reach North Ohau. I can't recommend that hut enough - it is SO cute! 4 bunks, a cosy fireplace, and lots of reading material and bits and bobs. It feels like its own little corner of the universe! I tested out my home-dehydrated lentil dahl, which was hoovered up in seconds by each of us. We all slept well.
Day 3 - North Ohau to Poads Road
The third day was a river day. Since the heavy rain earlier in the week, the river had lowered a lot and made for a few pleasant hours of river travel. We found some great swimming holes and slides - definitely something to make a summer day of in the future! We were mostly walking knee-deep, but did some crossings in a chain. Thankfully, no unanticipated swimming. Nothing significant to note from me other than simply how lush and beautiful it was, but this goes without saying for the Tararuas. We had a break shortly after the river confluence, before deciding that the wintery water was getting a bit cold. We climbed - pretty much literally - up a spur to the sidle track, before marching back to the car. I was sad to reach the road end. To me, this tramp had it all (bar snow)… a 'Tararua Smorgasbord', if you will. It encapsulated the spirit of the Tararuas and what I personally have come to understand to be the essence of Kiwi tramping. Ridge-walking, hut-bagging, bush-bashing, river-travelling; all met with outstanding keenness and morale. The full extent of my exhaustion didn't hit me until we reached the Levin New World carpark - Patrick commented on how when out in the bush our bodies find a way of simply keeping going because they have to! Something about being out there stops your mind from fully realising just how much you have been pushed. This turned out to be my last Tararua tramp, and last NZ tramp, whilst away on my exchange. It couldn't have been more fitting.