By Hannah Ellis-Ducobu, 02 July 2026
It was a sunny Thursday just before trimester started. Eight lovely ladies headed for the Tararuas, taking a bit of a gas/snack detour on the way (this was a beginners trip! plenty of time to dawdle, right...)
At the Holdsworth roadend, Caroline boldly declared we could make it to Mitre Flats hut in 3 hours if we pushed (remember this for later), and we set off at a fairly relaxed pace. By Atiwhakatu Hut, it started to become clear that we would not make it to Mitre Flats before sunset, but undeterred we pushed on. As the light began to fade, so did team morale. We were hungry, we were tired, head torches were dying at an alarming rate, we were moving painfully slowly in the dark (extra dark with only a few working torches), and some group members hadn't even been on an overnight tramp before so this was a bit of a baptism of fire for them. The name 'Mitre Flats' had misled some to believe the track would be flat...
Despite the less than ideal circumstances, the group showed admirable spirits and complaints were few and far between. We scrambled up a slippy slip (I had fun shuttling everyone's packs up by torchlight pretending I was in LandSAR), and though sometimes it felt like we weren't even moving on Topo we eventually made it to the hut, only 10ish hours after we left the carpark! After over 5 hours of walking in the dark one can imagine how happy we were to see that hut, with the full moon making the frosty flats look very pretty. Some poor men were trying to sleep inside so we had our (well-deserved) beans on the deck and went straight to bed.
Over porridge, we decided that the majority of the group would take the shorter route out to the Pines while Caroline and I boosted back the way we came to get the cars and meet them there. Despite injuries, little sleep, and dwindling food rations, we had a pleasant and efficient day walking, and it sounded like the others did too. Having to split up was a bit stressful, but we found the other 6 safe and sound (albeit a bit hungry) and making friends with chickens. A stop at the dairy in Masterton was certainly in order for pies and lolly bags.
I think everyone on this trip learnt something - trip planning, packing, leading a group with varied experience, bringing extra snacks (speaking for myself), walking in the bush in the dark, and pushing ourselves further than we thought we could. We all felt bonded by joint suffering and met up for hot chocolate a few days later to reminisce on our journey (no one was put off tramping forever!).