A breath of fresh air

It's said we're a "small country". Despite the tag, there's plenty of expansive open back-country superbly suited for trekking, if you know where to look.
Open-country trekking is hugely satisfying. Apart from anything else, it's great to be able to see where you've come from and to be able to see your goal. One such place, not too far away, is in the southern end of the rugged Kaweka Ranges.
For experienced trampers, the one-day Kaiarahi circuit is a favourite, and one that 12 club members recently tackled.
This test of fitness takes about 7 1/2 hours at a steady pace and includes a good variety of terrain. Access is from the The Lakes carpark off Napier-Taihape Road. The day begins with a stiff climb up Mount Kuripapango (altitude. 1250m) over to Kiwi Saddle.
This section of the track is through a mix of bush, kanuka and then open grassed areas.
Like any mountain area, weather conditions can turn marginal quickly. Several of us recalled how last year we were forced back by a blizzard on a day that had started out reasonable.
Beyond Mount Kuripapango the track continues up and through a mix of typical bare, eroded, craggy ground and low vegetation. The land is fascinating; the track weaves around and over the contorted rocks that are such a feature of the Kaweka landscape. It's from this high point that the ridges, dips and rises leading over to Mount Kaiarahi in the distance can be distinguished.
Beyond Kaiarahi, the last section of the tramp, comprising The Tits and the gradual incline down Rogue Ridge, is easy to see. (The back-country is peppered with quaintly-named features, some named for obvious reasons, others for a past incident).
All around the region the colours on the exposed tops are subtly subdued; pale browns, soft greens and reds of the alpine grasses and ground-hugging plants, and the light greys and fawns of the exposed rock and clays.
About 2 1/2 hours from the start, Kiwi Saddle Hut, tucked down in a stand of bush in the saddle itself, is reached. After the climb up the other side the trekking is on moderate terrain. Then, it's a drop down through a stand of beech trees to a DOC work-site called Castle Camp.
Here we redistribute our weight, that is, have lunch before tackling the incline up Kaiarahi, an unrelenting post-prandial half-hour pull. From an altitude of 1498m, there's a sweeping view of the landscape, including Mad Dog Hill and Kaweka J (the highest point in Hawke's Bay) in a northerly direction.
Away due south below are the twin peaks of The Tits and beyond them to one side, the pale grey track leading to Rogue Ridge can be seen.
Soon we sidle round The Tits and overlook the spectacular, steep-sided and eroded Cook's Horn Basin to our left with the rock of the imposing Horn standing guardian-like at the top. We traverse the typical loose shale of the top edge of the Ridge, gradually descending until suddenly we drop steeply down a demanding dry scree littered with the invasive pinus contorta, before eventually coming out onto the Kaweka Track.
With the hard part done, it's across the Tutaekuri River, little more than a stream here, and up the long gentle gradient to the vehicles to conclude a hugely satisfying day.
* Napier Tramping Club contact numbers are 845 3122 or 844 7070.