28/08/2026
Argyle track exploratory trip. 26 July 2026
Having discovered that there was an right of way connecting the road end to the Tararua Forest park in the Paihiatua district, It was decided that it would be worth a club trip to explore the area and to ascertain the degree of accessibility.
The Argyle track connects the Tararua district side of the Tararua range with the Sledge track, ToeToe track, and Otangane loop track which are usually accessed from the Kahuterawa valley in the Manawatū. The track has an interesting history which goes back far beyond the man it is named after, however Ian Argyle does deserve the credit for the current accessabilty of this most northern section of the forest park.
A short history of his deeds can be found at;
Sledge Track Yeti remembered for opening up the wilderness | Stuff
Three members and a guest signed up to join the trip, with a plan to be out on the track for about 4 hours. While it was tempting to try to complete the Otangane loop or reach the high point of Aruwaru, (767m), how good or bad travel over the tracks was, would dictate where we tramped to.
The drive for three of us from Masterton took about 50 minutes to the Naenae road end, (BN34 262 126 ), where we met Bruce. There was also another car already at the road end, with four younger people planning to complete the loop track.
We had a quick look at the signage at the fenceline where the track starts and noted that it crosses private farmland, but follows a paper road almost up to the ridgeline and the loop track.
We set off a few minutes prior to the other party, and immediately dropped into the
Otangane stream, which most of us managed to cross with dry feet, Josh not being part of that group! The “road” was a benched track running alongside a tributary stream. It was quite boggy after the recent rain, but able to be negotiated without too many mishaps.
While there was a couple of initial OT’s to mark the track, these became fewer as we headed up the track, and despite a footpad taking us to the opposite side of the stream, on a short detour, it was fairly easy to navigate. The climb from the stream to the ridge is reasonably steep, with around 400m of vertical ascent. The track is well created however, with steps, and even hand rails along all of the steepest sections!
We did explore some of the denser areas of the bush as we headed up towards the top of the climb, as there are multiple animal tracks, and evidence of pigs was quite obvious. Part way up we had seen the other party struggling with the conditions, and we guessed that they might end up turning back.
Arriving after about an hour and a half at the loop track on the top of the ridge, we stopped for a quick drink before heading south along the Otangane loop. The track is a bit overgrown in places, but generally provides good easy travel. We travelled 5 minutes until we reached a slightly more open area for a late morning tea, only to find a far nicer open grassed area 5 minutes further on after the stop! The ridge is at 500 to 700 m elevation, covered in mainly open shrubs and small trees with plenty of outlook over the surrounding area and beyond.
The weather was forecast for cool with sunny conditions, which was half right, it was cool!
We carried on south, and took the well-marked turn off to the lookout at .630.
Returning to the loop track we turned north west and by midday we were at the junction of the tracks Aruwaru peak and the loop track. We carried on to .664 on the Aruwaru track, where we found a place to nestle into hillside in the lee of the wind to have lunch. This was about 3 hours after leaving the road end, at an easy pace.
We had almost complete cloud cover, but most cloud was much higher that we were, which meant we had some good views particularly to the Tararua district side, down to Mt. Bruce and across to the Puketoi hills. To the north we could see a lot of the windmills, and as far as the southern end of the Ruahine, and across to the north west the city of Palmerston North.
We decided to head back from this point, retracing our steps along the loop track to the top of the descent. All of the tracks are well marked with directions and some distances, but not travel times, as the tracks are not DOC marked tracks.
The descent took a bit over an hour to the road end, some areas of the track had a
reasonable growth of ongaonga, and Peter managed to brush this for his first ongaonga experience. Advice from the party was generally traditional, in that it wasn’t sympathetic!
Arriving back at the road end the other party’s car had gone, and we assumed they had decided to turned around and headed home.
We were out for 5 hours and 20 minutes at a pleasant pace, having enjoyed the area that we had walked, and with plans to return with intentions to complete more of the tracks.
The potential for a key swap as a crossing was also discussed, possibly in collaboration with another club?
On a last note, at the road end parking is on the verges. There are several gateways to paddocks and sheds on the adjacent farm, all of which are in use, and after speaking to the owner of the farm, he appreciates if parking is kept well away from the gate area’s as he often has trucks and tractors requiring large turning circles to access the property. Be thoughtful of where you park, and be aware there are no toilets or facilities at the road end.
Thanks for an enjoyable day out to the rest of the party.
Bruce Mck., Josh, Peter, Conrad (Leader/ scribe)
