Waitangi day hikoi to Back Ridge biv

It had been a while since my last solo wander in the bush, I definitely had itchy feet. So with the kids back at school the wife keen on some peace i started to think about where to go & decided that a return trip to Back ridge was in order!
I had been here a few times before but never solo & each time it was the easy way listening to the seemingly endless number of bad jokes and riddles from our unassuming pilot.

I left the Manawatu just before 2am and arrived at the Makahu saddle carpark just before daybreak, the carpark was pretty full and i had a bit of a nap in the truck before being woken up by the sound of another car arriving!
Lacing up my boots and shouldering my pack i started the trudge up the J, this is the highest point in the Kawekas and although its an easy walk it seems to get bigger ever year..... My fitness is not what it used to be but after a quick break & water top up @ Dominie biv i was at the summit admiring the view as there was not a single cloud in any direction.
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The walk down back ridge was plain sailing, although the sun by this stage was punishing! I had drunk a fair bit of water but decided to bypass back ridge hut & its very tempting stream to get to the biv asap.
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Breaking out of the beech @ the rocks ahead junction just above the biv
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Looking down the ridge
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Home for the next few days
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Looking back from where i came from
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Waiting for golden hour
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Ruapehu out to the West
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My humble lodgings
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Main range from Maminga
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Looking back towards back ridge on my way out
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Was a great trip that confirmed a few things about my fitness and gear & also a hunch i've had about animal numbers in the area pre rut, I had been looking for a particular stag in the area for the last 3 years & have very recently heard that the Duleys had a go at him as well after him being spotted from the air.

I had this stag in my crosshairs on the evening of day 2 and fired at him from 460yrds out and i suspect clean missed him, everything felt good about the shot and distance wise i'm comfortable at that range.
When i reached the area he was I hunted high and low for him or any sign of blood, I had expected to find a dead stag but found absolutely nothing........I had spent over an hour looking for him & went back the next morning to continue the search as i had replayed the shot over and over that long night in the little biv and was convinced he was hit - Hunting can be a hard pill to swallow sometimes.

The walk home was pretty uneventful, relentless sun & very little breeze!
Empty handed but saw around 17 animals for the trip, will be back :)

Awesome...... and well done. A beer when back home would have been hard earned.
We thrashed that area and Kiwi Saddle almost every weekend back in the early 80's
We also had a club called "The Back Ridge Club" no annual fee's but every member had to do at least one "walk in" trip in there annually
to retain their membership.

Yes the beer tasted good!
ha ha Mr Knight I presume?

Great report. Haven't been there since my taxi chucked it in. But I long to. Might be able to make it if I take 2 days. Would love to.
Rod, to walk into the BR camp site (not the biv) would you do it via Lakes and Kiwi saddle or the way that Sika 8 did it.

Over the top is quicker by far

I would have to say it’s far easier to get to camp Cottrill over the J than from the lakes, that’s a lot of nasty climbing.

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Originally Posted by Tahr

Great report. Haven't been there since my taxi chucked it in. But I long to. Might be able to make it if I take 2 days. Would love to.
Rod, to walk into the BR camp site (not the biv) would you do it via Lakes and Kiwi saddle or the way that Sika 8 did it.

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As the above two say..... over the top via the "J" for sure....... and talking about your flying in.... Did you use the Yellow R44 ? How about you Sika 8 ? If so, pour yourselves a whiskey and have a wee toast to her.
She fly's no more :oh noes:

Yep used the yellow machine many times, I heard it was doing AG work now?

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Originally Posted by Sika 8

Yep used the yellow machine many times, I heard it was doing AG work now?

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The new owner used it as a lease machine, and it was totalled recently during takeoff. Luckily the machine was the only casualty.

Mean. Well done on getting back there. Climbing high early - super hot. Shame bout' the stag. Hopefully it will be there during the roar

Oh what a bugger, Chris will be gutted as he loved that machine!

I have flown with him a few times since the closure of EKH, doing volunteer work with the BCT.
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The bugger even buzzed me in his gyrocopter once �� I heard he lands at Otutu in it!
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I looked down on back ridge hut yesterday morning

Just take your time one foot after the other and you run out of hill to climb soon enough

Avoid the heat of the day

An early start in the dark is wise

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Originally Posted by NIMROD

As the above two say..... over the top via the "J" for sure....... and talking about your flying in.... Did you use the Yellow R44 ? How about you Sika 8 ? If so, pour yourselves a whiskey and have a wee toast to her.
She fly's no more :oh noes:

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That was the one. Many times - like a lot of others.

excellent!

Brings back memories. You've got to beat the feet in there to truly appreciate it.

Yeah it is a lovely walk, just wish there were a few clouds around, was punishingly hot!

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Originally Posted by NIMROD

Awesome...... and well done. A beer when back home would have been hard earned.
We thrashed that area and Kiwi Saddle almost every weekend back in the early 80's
We also had a club called "The Back Ridge Club" no annual fee's but every member had to do at least one "walk in" trip in there annually
to retain their membership.

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Greetings @NIMROD and all,
There was an earlier club in Napier in the 1970's called the Black Stag Club. I remember a derelict hut in the Ruahines, downstream of Awatere Hut called the Black Stag Hut and often wondered if there was a connection. I have also wondered if anyone knows anything about the Stagger Inn hut on the Mohaka which I think dates from the 1960's.
GPM.

Enjoyed your report, thanks. I stayed in Back Ridge Bivvy for 4 nights in 2021 and it brought back some memories. I cheated and flew in though.

Just to keep the thread alive, here's a pic taken in 1985 on our way out from Back Ridge Bivy after we'd shot more deer than fingers on one hand.
On reaching the kaweka J on our way home, bets were laid over who could manage to do press-ups with the others pack full of meat.
Oh the joys of youth :thumbsup:

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Originally Posted by NIMROD

Just to keep the thread alive, here's a pic taken in 1985 on our way out from Back Ridge Bivy after we'd shot more deer than fingers on one hand.
On reaching the kaweka J on our way home, bets were laid over who could manage to do press-ups with the others pack full of meat.
Oh the joys of youth :thumbsup:

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I think I recognise at least one of those. Look at that bloody old pack.
Grandpamac.

@NIMROD classic pic. I remember that from many moons ago. Here’s a couple of likely punters at the biv about 20 years ago. I wish I was still that fit !
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Awsome spot

Cracker pic Nimrod!

I’ve never hunted in there, but I did run through/over the area doing a race called the Kaweka challenge.
Fuck it was hard, 60 odd km over 2 days. I remember the descents being a killer.