I've just been on my first official tramp in a remote adventure area. What is even better, I was getting paid for it. I work for the Department of Conservation in Wanganui monitoring forest health. I observe and record any improvement in forest condition after pests, such as possums and goats, have been reduced. I've only just started with DoC and being a JAFA (Just Another F.....g Aucklander) I still have a lot to learn about the region,

I met up with the others just outside work. NM, RS and a volunteer had a mission up the same valley, blowing up some oversized fallen trees that blocked one of the tramping tracks. NM had this unholy gleam in his eyes as he plastered 'Warning, carrying explosives' signs over the truck while muttering "This should keep the tailgaters away". NM is a delightfully wicked man, and blowing things up is right up his alley.

I got into the other truck, much safer, with JC my guide and mentor for the trip. The entrance to Waitotara Valley is about 30 km North of Wanganui, but to get to our starting point you have to travel another 57 km along one of the longest dead-end roads in New Zealand. We offloaded the quadbike (four-wheeled motorbike) on a nearby farm, strapped the packs on the back and hooted up the hill.

It was my task to open any gates in our path. JC has a great sense of straight faced humour and pointed out that the farmer puts all the gates in the muddiest places. Ha ha ha, the scientist in me just had to explain the real reason for muddy gateways, I fell for it again. The trip up to the bush edge was pretty uneventful, other than some aerobic sheep, seeing a genuinely black sheep in a flock of white, and some hair-raising corners and river edges. JC pointed out what appears to be a huge (1km long) old slip that partially blocked the stream and created some lovely lakes behind it.

We took the quadbike as far as we could, before the mud got the better of us, hoisted packs onto shoulders and sloshed our way across a wetland into the bush. The sign at the entrance to Waitotara Valley says it all 'Remote experience area'. Bridges consist of slippery logs across streams, and sagging ponga logs across creeks. A shortcut along a stream cliff has convenient notches cut into the slippery mudstone just above the water and a braided wire pegged into the cliff as a handhold. Great fun !!!! and JC didn't manage to unsettle me enough that I went for a swim while doing log acrobatics.

This area of forest is relatively easy territory because it has a flat river terrace. Most other places in the Waitoraras and Matemateonga's are generally only up or down, or if you are lucky you can make your way across ridges.

I guess the walk to the hut is just over 2 hours, I didn't really pay too much attention at the time. I was enjoying my first close up view of ongaonga (Urtica ferox) the stinging nettle tree. All the guys at work think I am mad going into raptures over a fiercely stinging nettle tree, but the tree doesn't get up as far as Auckland. I think that they are wonderful, because even the flowers have stinging hairs on them! I was determined to get stung before the end of the trip, if not accidentally then on purpose on the way out. I did manage an accidental brush of the fingers, it didn't hurt that much but tingled for the rest of the trip.

Our purpose in coming into this area was to monitor rat and mouse numbers and to check on the North Island robin population (Maori name: toutouwai, Latin name: Petroica australis longipes). Rats and mice are monitored using run through tunnels with inkpads. The rodents run through the tunnels and leave their footprints on the convenient bits of paper we put on either side of the inkpad. JC set that up on the first night, while I got to grips with monitoring robins.

Walt Disney doesn't have to do much to make robins look cute. They are twice as big as sparrows with a large head and an inquisitive nature. Perhaps all that Disney could do is to enlarge the eyes a bit.

The robins have been trained to come to a handclap, and in reward they get fed wriggley mealworms. It is great watching these birds come right up to you (sometimes less than a metre away), they sit on a branch and flit down to the ground to stuff themselves with mealworms. If they have a partner on the nest they either cram their beaks with as many worms as will fit (about 6 was the maximum before they started losing their grip on the worms) and either go to feed her, or call her in for a feed. Once they have filled themselves up they start stashing worms in convenient places and come begging for more.

These birds all have coloured bands on their legs so that we can tell which birds have come in for a feed. Each bird has a unique set of colours. I had great fun watching their antics.

I also really enjoyed the Robin Hood aspect of it all. JC (in my opinion anyway) looks just like Robin Hood when walking around in his raincape. The muddy gators (leg coverings to just below the knee) look like leather leggings. The only thing that was out of place was the rifle slung over one shoulder rather than a bow and arrow. The rifle is used to pop off pesky pesty goats whenever we chance across them. Sadly we didn't see any deer, because venison for diner would have been lovely.

The forest itself is very wet. Mosses and ferns cover the ground (but only those species that goats don't eat) and lichens and mosses festoon the branches. The hut was remarkably sophisticated. A 30 year old tin shed with water tank, fireplace, bunks and a portable gas stove. JC stoked up the fire and we cooked diner and heated up some water for a shower each. Roughing it in style.

The next day we collected all the incriminating papers with rat and mouse track on them. Checked for some more birds and sloshed our way out of the bush again.

I couldn't keep the smile of my face for the entire two days. This is life as it should be, mud, wet bush, interesting plants and animals, amiable companion and a new adventure every day.