What not to do

Like many of the people who visit this forum i am sure Waynowski had good reason to suspect the group he encountered on the Tongariro was unprepared or inexperienced. However his message could be interpreted differently by others. Daywalkers aren't necessarily going to become incapacitated as the sun sets. We shouldn't send the message that it is wrong to be out after dark. I am sure that was not the message that was intended.

it was an easterly wind, mangatepopo carpark didnt have much wind, get up to south crater and it hit you then. one did have a torch, one of the old absolutely massive yellow Dolphin torches....

I remember tramping with one of them. Used to be the only way to get decent battery life.

The old man always used to carry one too. Was a red one - same one we used for everything on the farm. I think it was indestructible.

The handle/lamp that bolted onto the battery or them new fangled that carry batteries internally ?. https://thumbs.worthpoint.com/zoom/images1/1/0118/01/eveready-commander-lantern-flashlight_1_eda0dcf4fd7834a7f27f54e9d949760f.jpg

and they floated.

weigh half a kg could be a new trend, get into it... https://www.officemax.co.nz/Tools-Hardware/Lighting/Torches/Eveready-M08MK6-Dolphin-Waterproof-Torch-2362759

Hey !. We could be onto something here ?. https://c8.alamy.com/comp/AHHD0A/night-fishing-with-head-torch-for-flying-fish-beyond-the-reef-atiu-AHHD0A.jpg Night fishing with head torch for flying fish beyond the reef Atiu Island Cook Islands South Pacific

Does anyone remember the original add for these things. They gave one to some dolphins to play with. Original one had a real bulb so even though the lantern could take the knocks Im not sure the bulb would

This time of year we're doing a fair bit of tramping by torchlight to attain our objectives. Last weekend we got back to the car when it was still only dusk and I said I think that's a first to get to the car without using the torches on the shortest day of the year. However one time we went down an untracked face in the forest in the dark and I suddenly stopped and said, "I think we're in the edge of a bluff". We headed right and reached the valley floor. The next day we went past that point and I'd been standing at the edge of a 100m vertical cliff. I often wonder what would have happened if I'd gone one step further. It gives me the chills. I do so much tramping in the dark that I've started sticking the wee reflective squares on the DoC markers. A year or so we came down in the dark and there was actually a party travelling behind us so I ressured them that there were reflective stickers to follow. A couple of times we've been travelling tracks in the dark and been very grateful to use them, e.g. Hanging Valley track and one time coming into the Spurs (Tautuku Biv) where there was a dog leg which ran under a bough. Luckily there was a red sticker on the bough. That saved us a bit of grief, I'm sure.