Kaweka weekend

The Kawekas deserve a visit before the end of the year!

There's so many interesting huts and tracks in this area, so I'm proposing a weekend of mucking around in the general area and seeing how far we can get. Currently, we're going to run a medium-hard difficulty group, as well as a medium difficulty trip. If we can get another leader then we could also run an easy trip!

We will all leave Wellington at 5pm on Firday evening, and arrive quite late at the roadend, followed by a walk in the dark (getting to the hut around 11pm).
Depending on people's availability on Friday, we might be able to leave earlier!

The medium trip plan is:

Friday - do the long 5hr drive up to the Kawekas (Lakes rd end, currently closed for logging which adds an extra 500m road walk) we would walk to Mackintosh Hut in the evening, 2.5hrs total.

Saturday - Full day across the Kaweka tops (up to Kaweka J - 3.5hrs) then down to Black Ridge hut, a 5-6hrs total. This may require snowcraft experience, but it's unlikely.

Sunday - Walk back via a slightly different route, with a slightly longer distance, but mostly downhill, 6hrs total.

The medium-hard trip plan is:

Friday - the same walk in to Mackintosh Hut in the evening, 2.5hrs total.

Saturday - Big day across the Kaweka tops (up to Kaweka J - 3.5hrs) the down to Kiwi Mouth hut, a 10 - 11hr day total.

Sunday - Walk back to the roadend via Kuripapango, 6hrs total.

If someone else is keen to lead it, another easier option would be to all stay in Mackintosh Hut on Friday night, then do the much shorter walk to Makahu Saddle hut and explore the nearby area (like Domine Biv)

Some of the possible spots to visit:

Dominie Hut

Black Ridge biv

Mackintosh hut

Kaweka main range