By Caroline Walmsley , 18 July 2026
As Trimester 2 began to collect momentum, the increasingly pressing weight of unread readings did too. And so 40 of us packed our packs, grabbed our snacks and headed into the Ōrongorongos - bound for Waerenga hut.
The rain and wind seemed to also be taking a much needed break and we were rewarded for our uni-avoidance with two full days of warm sun in the middle of July. The walk in was fast, straight to the point, taking approximately an hour for the group. And as we trickled into the valley we split off into activities with many of us stripping down and jumping into the freezing Ōrongorongo river. Basking on warm river rocks for the first time in months felt like magic.
Finlay and Sean returned to their Paleolithic roots; smashing rocks together to make arrow heads and carving wood into various “tools” while a few others on a small island in the river practiced headstands.
Once the sun dipped behind the hills and the air cooled again we returned to the hut and began to build the fire. Shoutout to Gracie and Max for one of the most beautiful rock-ring-and-stick-teepee set up for a fire I have ever seen.
The meat bag got brought out and the fire became a culinary escapade with pointed sticks stabbing this way and that, vying for prime spots amongst the flames (noted that hot coals are best for cooking but we were impatient). Meat turned to marshmallows and the sun began to set. 6 litres of mulled wine began to brew (shout out to Mia and Grace it was so yum), music got started and the party began.
Upon everyone becoming sufficiently lubricated with grog we adjourned to the hut for a luxuriously opulent potluck dinner. Equal amounts of dessert and savoury were brought, featuring 3 coleslaws! A feast by candlelight.
We split into two groups for thieving santa with gifts featuring, kewpie mayo, random sunnies, a homemade kaleidoscope, lego sets, toy trucks and best of all an orangutan keyring (I brought it). The evening descended into scrambling for the final scraps and scampering through the bush as the party went on. I went to be at a super late 9pm (crazy party girl I know) so I don’t know what happened after that but I’m sure it was fantastic revelry and campfire deep convos.
We enjoyed a slow morning with a concerning amount of porridge and burnt coffee ingested and split into different mission groups: those who wanted to go straight home, those who wanted to go the harder way home and those who wanted to do some hut bagging before splitting into easy and hard ways home. My group of hut baggers continued on to Raukawa Lodge, Boar Inn and Paua hut (finding multiple security issues) before the collective desire for pies overrode the drive for further bagging. We split our ways and somehow all ended up at the carpark around the same time, driving out to “DAILY BREAD BAKERY” , home of the Greatest pies in the lower north island. We gorged ourselves and left the footpath looking as if a war of the pastries had occurred with excessive bloodshed.
Concluding with an efficient trip to the gear shed to return gear WHICH EVERYONE SHOULD DO ASAP AFTER A TRIP LIKE A GOOD CLUB MEMBER we split off home to clean boots and post on instagram stories.
Merry Midwinter Christmas xoxo