How to get to the start of the track

We did the Daly’s Clearing Track loop over two days. It’s a 7.5km loop, and a popular day hike which takes around four hours. Our group walked in from Franklin Road, Waihi. The road is sealed all the way and the car park is almost at the end of Franklin Road. I say ‘almost’ because even though the road just continue past the car park, there’s no parking beyond that point. You can also get to the hut from Dickey’s Flat campsite along the Mangakino Pack Track.

Saturday night was pretty special - it was warm enough to spend a couple of hours looking up at the Milky Way, telling bush stories and laughing at life. We even spotted a few shooting stars that I later learned were the tail end of a meteor shower. There was a fire pit in front of the hut, but with all the recent rain there just wasn’t any dry wood around. One by one people started going to bed, and I seriously thought about sleeping out on the deck. But I knew rain was coming too. I was pretty happy by that decision when I heard rain dancing on the roof at 5am.

This was the biggest group I've hiked with ever - four newbies and my regular adventure buddies, Katri and Tia. I organised a beginner’s overnighter for the weekend - an idea that came from some followers on Facebook who I knew through different circles. Whakatāne is a small town with two degrees of separation after all. I have hiked most of the Kaimai-Mamaku Forest before, and Daly's Clearing Hut is definitely the most accessible for beginners. The quickest route is less than two hours from the car park.

Life’s too short not to have new adventures - even if they seem a little scary and are w-a-y out of your comfort zone. What are some of my wins? Telling myself, “Yes, I can do this!” because often, just agreeing and committing to doing something different is the hardest part. This kept me going when I fell from the deck of the hut on day two and sprained my ankle. I was very determined (and stubborn too) to walk myself out. With encouragement from the group and some codeine, I did it! I’m really proud of myself for that.

Corrine

Our group met at the Franklin Road car park around midday. The plan was to walk alongside the Waitawheta River, the same track I’ve taken to Waitawheta Hut previously. It's lovely flat terrain that's really more of a walking track. You can see remnants of the historical tramway, which were used to transport the giant Kauri they were milling. We walked for about an hour through farmland and bush until we reached the Daly’s Clearing Track junction.

From the junction, the track heads steadily uphill. There are more roots and a few sections of slippery clay. Katri, Tia and Tracey took the lead up the hill, and I hung out with Sam, Zoe and Corrine. Hiking with a pack takes time to adjust to, so we walked at the pace the women were comfortable with. Even though it was mostly overcast, I didn’t feel rain coming in my knees so I wasn’t worried about our pace. As the track started going downhill, I could hear a nearby stream. “There’s a stream crossing down here,” I heard someone call out. I wasn’t worried, there hadn’t been much rain during the week, so at best it just meant wet socks. I even surprised myself that I managed to keep my boots dry this time.

We got to the hut well before the rain fell - it took us just over 1.5 hours. It was lovely to sit on the deck with a hot cuppa and listen to the excited voices around me. After seeing the fire pit in front of the hut, I optimistically walked around the hut in search of some dry wood. Of course there weren’t any, but it was nice to recharge my introverted batteries amongst the trees. Tia and Katri ended up having a nap, while the rest of the women were still chatting on the deck by the time I came back.

I thought we might have had the hut to ourselves that night, but a couple joined us a couple of hours later. Then a couple of guys turned up around 7.30pm when we were playing Skipbo. They ended up camping instead, but we did get to catch up with them as we sat in awe of the Milky Way.

Turning 40 has made me rethink life. Having anxiety is not easy and can hold you back, it’s like having your hands tied behind your back. I want my children to remember their māmā as an adventurer, not someone that just stayed home and cleaned the whare (house). Time to step out of your bubble and start enjoying/ exploring LIFE like I've always wanted.

Tracey

I woke up to heavy rain around 5am, which eased to a light drizzle by sunrise. My thermal sleeping bag inner was a bit overkill to be honest - waking up feeling like steamed rice wrapped in a banana leaf. I joined Tracey out on the deck after my morning toilet mission. Sunrise was a disappointing pinkish scattering of clouds amongst the grey, but we did get glimpses of sunshine throughout the morning walk out.

I had planned for the group to leave the hut by 8.30am, which was probably too optimistic on my part. I thought 9.30am was a pretty good effort though. After a group photo in front of the hut, I let a few of the women go ahead to head towards the Mangakino Pack Track. Then it happened. Corrine was suddenly on the ground, clutching at her ankle. Oh shit! We got Corrine back on the deck, then I went in search of the other women. 

Corrine had been recovering from a fractured ankle before the hike, but this was now the other ankle. She heard a loud crack as she fell, so we had to assess how severe her injury was and if she could safely walk out. There’s patchy reception by the hut, and even though I had my PLB, I didn’t want to activate it unless she couldn’t walk out or in a life threatening situation. It was approx. two hours to the car park (around three hours in the end), so we strapped her ankle, taught her how use my hiking poles for balance and gave her codeine for the pain. Katri took some of the pack contents and I strapped the pack onto mine. After a karakia to calm the nerves, we walked towards Dean’s Track.

Tracey and I walked ahead so I could keep an eye on the track conditions and any windfall. This section of the track was under the canopy which kept us mostly dry and sheltered from the wind. Katri walked with Corrine most of the way, coaching her and keeping her focused on the walk out. That’s definitely a great strength of hers. After 2.5 hours, we popped out onto private farmland. We were greeted with sunshine and warm enough that Katri and I took off our rain jackets. Unfortunately it didn’t last and we had to put them back on just 10 minutes later. The rain eventually turned into sunshine as we walked into the car park. Sunshine on the walk out is definitely a bonus on any hike.

Tracey’s husband, Robert and their son were already at the car park by the time we arrived. We had made sure to have a whakawātea before everyone headed home. A whakawātea is a way to leave the energy there and not take it home, and we did this by sharing what made us want to be a part of the weekend. We also finished our hike with a karakia whakakapi (finishing prayer).

Another hut bagged in the Kaimai-Mamaku Forest and now I just have two more to go! Thanks Tracey, Sam, Zoe and Corrine for saying YES to adventure and giving hiking in the backcountry a go. A big shout out to Katri and Tia too, for sharing their knowledge and bringing their own leadership and strengths over the weekend. Thanks ladies for an awesome weekend in the bush - I hope you will join me again on another adventure in the future.

Ronna Grace Funtelar is a 40-something desk-fit creative, weekend explorer and cheese enthusiast in Whakatāne, New Zealand. She has a big butt, chunky thighs and shakin’ more jelly than Destiny’s Child. Her creaky knees discovered an appreciation for Type 2 adventures in the bush and mountains in her thirties, and she’s been hiking ever since.

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