Shamrock Hut, about 1 1/2 hours north of Big Bend on the left bank of Orongorongo River
Soaked socks and shoes, and heaps of sand and gravel
Nicky and Julia preferred camping outside above sleeping in the hut
Sara, Julia, Kate and Mike
crossing Orongorongo River
wading upstream through Orongorongo river
A massive flood caused tremendous devastation last year, covering nearby forest with a 3m layer of gravel
A massive flood caused tremendous devastation last year, covering nearby forest with a 3m layer of gravel
a river of gravel that was deposited here after a big flood. Over years, the forest will slowly recover as plants, ferns and trees reclaim their territory
Kate
Kate
Nicky, Kate and Caren
This massive tree trunk shows how powerful the river can be.
Kate, Sara, Nicky, Mike and Julia, posing in Orongorongo River
Somewhere up a small side stream, a Grey Warbler was guarding its nest
clambering up a small stream
Searching for ways to climb further up this stream
It's hard to see, but this is where we climbed up
and finding our way back down again
minute flowers - the name has escaped me unfortunately. I'm not as botanically savvy as my fellow trampers...
Orongorongo River and Caren, to give you an idea of scale
me and Nicky
The rocks in this area are unstable and a faultline runs right through them. that's why you see these huge amounts of gravel, and this is where it comes from. Half of the hill slipped right down here