Warblings. November 2015 Newsletter no.425. Out West. West Auckland District Tramping Club. Warbles from the Editor. Contents

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1 Warblings 0 Out West Warbles from the Editor. I look forward to receiving notifications or reports from trip leaders, photographers and anyone who has taken part in the activities of the Club. Cut-off date the 10 th of the month please. Your December Newsletter will be produced by Louis Allerby Please send any material to louall@xtra.co.nz I would acknowledge those who have contributed to this newsletter Louis Segedin, Bruce Fletcher, Lynn Flood, Trish Hopkins, Peter Tuohy and the many who contribute behind the scene. West Auckland District Tramping Club November 2015 Newsletter no.425 Contents President s Report Calendar of activities Trip reports Advanced notices The Committee Tenting Weekend Kaimai Ranges 1

2 The Presidents report Hello Members I am pleased to announce Sandra has offered to act as Club Secretary. She was co-opted at the Committee meeting on 2 nd November (Rule 12, Casual Vacancies). Many thanks Sandra for helping us out. Tramping photos are always welcome for the newsletter and can also be sent to Peter who may update our website as he sees fit. Wednesday night walks have had a dismal attendance. Six, including the leader is the best number so far. Malcolm and leaders make an effort to organise this activity and more participants would be very welcome. The Club beacon is now back in the hands of Tom Wood. Jill Engle President. Activities 15 November PIHA VALLEY 8.30am Fare: $7 members, $12 non members Spend a day with Lynne walking the tracks of Piha Valley. The tracks & bush in the iconic area are stunning and involve just enough hills to ensure a great day out. Leader: Lynne Flood P: E: floods@ihug.co.nz 16 November Club Night 7.30pmKelstonCommunity Centre Cnr Great North Road & Awaroa Road Committee Room John and Lynne will give a presentation on their recent trip to Peru. This involved the Salkantay trek for three days up to a 5,000 metre pass, accompanied by cook, assistant cook, horseman, 4 horses and a guide and there were no other trekkers in sight and then on to the Inca Trail for four days followed by a brief trip to the Manu wilderness, which is an area the size of Wales. They stayed in Pisac, Ollanta, Cusco and Lima. 2

3 18 November Wednesday Evening Walk -New Lynn P Trail 7.00pm Meet in the park cnr Rankin & Clark We will do a trail of P around New Lynn and then back to my place for supper. You can park behind Les Mills or in Ambrico Place, turn right into Briar Way beside the old KILN, then right again & there is a carpark there. Leader: Louis Allerby P: M: E: louall@xtra.co.nz 21/22 November Waiheke Island Fare: $36 Ferry $10 Bus, Accommodation $10pp The intention on Sunday the 22nd is to do the Waiheke "Cross Island Walk" combined with the "Te Whau Coastal Trail". If going for Sunday only you would need to catch the 9.00 am Ferry from downtown or the 9.10 am ferry from Devonport to Matiatia. NOTE: NO GLEN EDEN MEETING. Make own way to the wharf that suits you best and advise Ralph of your intentions. We will get to the start of the walk by catching a bus heading for Rocky Bay and getting off the bus at the third bus stop after Onetangi Sports Park. (i.e. at the corner of O Brien Road and Te Whau Drive). You will see Onetangi Sports Park on your left after the bus goes across a causeway having continued from its detour in and out of the bus depot. Val Mitchell has kindly agreed to accommodate people at her bach and if you stay there you will have to walk to the nearest bus stop to catch a Rocky Bay bus leaving Matiatia at 9.45am. I will be travelling down on Sunday so Peter Tuohy is co-coordinating the group wishing to stay at Val s bach. Please contact Peter for that option. The walk on Sunday will be in the vicinity of up to 6 hrs total with quite a few hills and finish at Onetangi where there is a good beach for a swim, an icecream shop and is handy for catching a bus back to the ferry. Likely arrival time at Onetangi is around 4.30pm Saturday coordinator/leader Peter Tuohy P: M: E: tait@slingshot.co.nz Sunday Leader Ralph Lyon P: E:longacres2@woosh.co.nz Waiheke Walking Festival "For those retired (or due a little break from work), why not consider the huge range of walks on offer at the Waiheke Walking Festival on from November. For the really adventurous why not tackle the 5 day 100km around island challenge? Event fits in nicely with our proposed club trip to the island November". 25 November Wednesday Evening Walk- Oratia Stream & Opanuku 7.00pm Meet at the Sunnyvale Train Station car park at 7.pm for a walk along the Oratia Stream, then over the hill to Henderson Valley to join the Opanuku for as far as we feel like walking; then through the park at Corban Avenue to return to the car park over the rail bridge. Should be an hour and a half but can make it shorter or longer depending on the weather and how we feel. Leader: Trish Hopkins P: M:

4 27 November Night at the Theatre-Last of the Summer Wine 8.00pm Come and catch up with our old friends in "Last of the Summer Wine" Little Dolphin Theatre, 12 Spring St Onehunga $22 for 10 or more To secure your seat pay direct to the club account ASB Please notify Trish, Hopkins, treasurer, or Joy Prebble when you have paid.. Cut off date Monday 23rd November 29 November Muriwai 8.30am Fare: $7 members $12 non members Meet at Glen Eden at 8.30am or at Muriwai carpark at 9.15am (please phone the leader if you want to meet at Muriwai). We will view the gannets, then head off up the hill and do a circuit through a private farm with lakes and a water fall and then head into the forest to climb Pulpit Rock where we can look across the pine tree tops to the Tasman sea and then back along Muriwai Beach. An interesting walk with plenty of variety. Leader: Pam Goldie P: M: E: myneverendingsummer@hotmail.com 2 December Wednesday Evening Walk Green Bay 7.00pm Meet at Green Bay beach, end of Portage Road. We will walk to Blockhouse Bay via the cliff walking track and back to Green Bay via parks and the road. Leader: Denise Vazey P: M: E: 4/6 December Rotoroa Island 6.00pm This will be our 2 nd weekend on the historic Rotoroa Island. 360 Discovery Ferry departs downtown Auckland at 6.00pm on Friday, returning Sunday afternoon at 5.15pm. Fabulous place to spend an early summer weekend, or just come over for the day on Sunday. Excellent accommodation at the Superintendant House. Leader: Val Ellis P: E: valerieellis44@yahoo.com 4

5 13 December Karekare-Pararaha 8.30am Fare $5 members, $10 non members Join Christine as she explores one of the most rugged and scenic parts of the Waitakere Ranges in the Karekare Pararaha Valley area. Leader: Christine Major P: M: E: 14 December Final Club Night pm Kelston Community Centre Cnr Great North Road & Awaroa Road Committee Room Come join us & enjoy nibbles, punch and mingling with fellow trampers & friends. 16 December Wednesday Walk- Christmas Lights 7.00pm Meet at New World Supermarket entrance, Victoria Park, 2 College Hill, Freemans Bay at 7.pm for a walk around Westhaven, Wynyard Quarter, Silo Park and the Viaduct. Then it is Yo! Ho! Ho! and off we go to visit the Christmas Lights in Franklin Road. Leader: Pam Goldie P: M: E: myneverendingsummer@hotmail.com 20 December Christmas Picnic - Kaipara Coast Sculpture Gardens 10.00am Fare $10 members + $8 admission New and exciting destination for this year s Christmas picnic. Explore the weird and wacky sculptures that can be found at the Kaipara Coast Sculpture Gardens at Kaukapakapa. Club will put on a BBQ and supply the meat. Please bring a plate to share and own drink. Under shelter so don't let any hint of rain put you off. Either meet at Glen Eden or go straight to destination (4 km north of Kaukapakapa Village). Please register with leader before the day. See: Leader: Leader: Peter Tuohy P: E: tait@slingshot.co.nz 5

6 Trip reports Cycling Ambury Farm 17 October Leader: Bruce Fletcher A group of 8 arrived at Ambury Park by 1.00pm for an afternoon s ride along the Watercare walkway/cycleway including Puketutu Island. The initial ride took us for a detour around the old sludge lagoons, past the treatment plant and then on the side path to Puketutu Island. We initially took the path along the northern side and then the longer southern side where we paused at the end of the path for a few minutes. It was too windy to linger for too long, so we returned across the causeway then continued along the walkway, eventually reaching the end of the path near the Stonefields. The return journey was a little easier as the wind was behind us for much of the way. This is a good 25km ride as it is all off road and with a high tide in your favour, there is very pleasant scenery. Members of the group-: Bruce; Maureen; Denise; Mark; Sue; Brian; Pam; Colin. ``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` Hunua Ranges 18 October Leader: Louis Segedin Our team of five being Jill, Trish, Lynne & John, started walking from the Falls carpark at about the same time when the All Blacks vs France score was We walked a loop from Massey Track, onto Wairau and back down Cossey Gorge Track. Nearly all of these tracks were on loose metal, bypassing the water catchment dam with a notable sign stating Keep Off The Dam Wall. Moderate undulating hill work (meaning up-hill says Jill) getting us back to the carpark in just under 3hrs, meaning we had time to watch the rugby re-play. ``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` Tenting-Kaimai Ranges 24/25 October Leader: Lynne Flood Lynne Flood, John Miller, Trish Hopkins and Dave Spiers ventured into the Kaimais with tents at Labour Weekend. We met the shuttle in Paeroa at 9.30am on Saturday morning at the L&P Cafe on the outskirts of town and after having eaten well, we left the cars at the cafe in Paeroa and Dee of Dee s shuttles took us to Karangahake Village. We started off at about am in misty rain, with a forecast of rain for the day. We had a steady climb from the Ohinemuri River foot bridge, up the Scotsman Track to the Mangakino Pack Track. We ended up on the ridge and I am sure there would have been extensive views of the Hauraki Plains on a good day. However, all we saw was mist. We decided not to go up to Mt Karangahake, since there was no view. We pushed on along the Pack Track for several hours. This is the original track from the Coromandel goldfields to Wairongomai gold fields. The track itself was in good condition but there were dozens and dozens of large trees fallen on the track that made our progress slow and very difficult. We arrived at the Mangakino campsite at about This was a beautiful spot at the river with a sandy beach and would be a fabulous spot in summer. There were no toilets and we buried our waste. We enjoyed dinner and red wine. We set off about 8.30 the next day for the Mangakino Shelter, stopping off for lunch at Daly s Clearing Hut. Trish got a fire going and we relaxed there as the weather brightened. This was a lovely spot but somewhat spoilt by toilet paper and excrement all the way to the toilet. I was quite glad to head bush again. The Pack track was still quite difficult this afternoon and none of the signs could agree on how low it took to get to Mangakino Shelter, times ranging from 2 1/4 hours to 3 1/2. We took 4 1/2 hours and arrived late in the day. Arriving at the campsite was interesting. We left the main track and headed for the campsite, found the toilet and wondered where on earth the camp site was. We had to crawl under yet another huge tree fall, to find the camp site. This was under-whelming but clean and no-one else there. Continued... 6

7 We set up camp, used the shelter to cook in and collapsed into bed. We left by 7.30 am the next morning, conscious of the need to be at Wairongomai by About 1/2 hour from the campsite, Dave left us and went down to Te Aroha to meet us at the hot pools. We continued on to Wairongomai Saddle and then down the Wairongomai Valley. This took about 4.5 hours and we arrived at the carpark by about We called the shuttle to pick us up early. We particularly enjoyed the wilderness aspect of this tramp, with rugged tracks and no-one else around. We felt a long way from civilisation and yet we were only two hours away from home. ``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` Cascades 1 November Leader: Pam Goldie We assembled at the Cascades and started off up the hill. The weather was really nice and the park looked amazing with all the fauna and trees. One special part of the trip was when we all sat down for lunch among the Kauri trees. We all looked really settled and happy while we sat underneath the Kauri tree. We continued our walk and then a few of us went to look at the Cascade water fall. Peter T mentioned that in all his years of tramping he couldn t remember visiting the waterfall before. It is a bit of a scramble to get there but well worth the visit. On the way home we stopped for coffee at the Swanson Railway station. A really pleasant day thank you everyone. `````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` South Head 8 November Leader: Peter Tuohy After organising cars & drivers from Glen Eden our party of 12 were off & heading to South Head. South Head is quite a distance, but a pleasant drive never the less with views of the Kaipara Harbour. Our first stop was Lake Ototoa, where we walked along a rough track beside the lake edge for about 20 mins to the end of the track. There is no track around the lake. Most people had never been to the picturesque spot. Brian and Sue were eyeing up the lake for a future kayaking destination. We had morning tea at the lake edge, a very peaceful & relaxing spot. Back to the cars we drove a short distance to Te Rau Puriri Regional Park. This is one of Auckland s newer parks and probably the least visited due to the distance from Auckland. We walked along the high perimeter fence. Not too sure if it is to keep us in or others out!!! We popped out to an open paddock & made our way to the top of the rise & across the road to the main entrance of the park were we had a slightly early lunch sitting on the stock yards overlooking the Kaipara Harbour & soaking up the sun. The weather was perfect, the grass lush and even the sheep looked really clean. We then headed through the park, passing a nursery of calves, dodging the cow pats, some were not so lucky as they certainly put their foot in it!!! Down at the shore the tide was going out, but that did not stop Colin & Dave from heading out for a paddle while others snoozed on the sand bank. It would be good to explore this coastline as a little to the north is reported to be the best beach of the Kaipara Harbour, Omokoiti Bay perhaps? This Regional Park has recently been expanded with the purchase of a neighbouring farm. It is good to see our rates been put good use! We retraced our steps to the road before heading back to Auckland with a welcome break at the Macadamia nut farm for refreshments. Joining me on the day were Colin, Lynne, John, Dave, Pam, Louis, Brian, Sue, Jill & newbies William & Denuta 7

8 Items of Interest Hi and thanks for your interest in caring for kauri, I m writing to let you know to please pencil in your diaries, on Tuesday 24 November at Arataki Visitor Centre theatre (downstairs) for our first Kauri Advocates Network workshop. I m hoping you ll be available to catch up on key kauri issues and messages, the latest science, meet others working against kauri dieback disease in the Waitakeres and to discuss future opportunities for kauri dieback volunteers over summer. We need your help more than ever as research shows the public are not using the trigene spray stations to scrub then spray their shoes as is required. I hope you re able to come along to this informal workshop to meet like-minded others. Supper will be provided. I look forward to catching up soon, All the best Christine Christine Rose Kauri Dieback Community Co-ordinator Ph Extn (46) 8042 DDI Mobile Auckland Council, Level 2 Bledisloe House, 24 Wellesley Street, Private Bag 92300, Auckland 1142 Visit our website: For information on kauri dieback visit please 'like' our facebook page `````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` A couple of years ago I wrote an article about the exponential growth of trail running in this country and the ageism in tramping clubs. On a recent Saturday morning we planned to walk from the Karangahake Gorge,up the Waitawheta Gorge to Dickey s Flat. On arrival there we found a trail running event taking place which started at Dickie s Flat and offered a number of options for the day from a short return trip to a longer trip over Karangahake mountain and others up to 90km along the Kaimais. After looking at the situation we decided to abandon our plans for the day and take to the cycle trail instead. The interesting aspect was that there were 900 people doing it and we wondered what they actually saw as they simply appeared to be focused on their run and passing anybody who was slower than them on this very narrow and spectacular track. We thought it told us heaps about the world we now live in. We did the trip next day and saw very few people. Bruce Fletcher `````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` Now that summer is on its way, please remember to take a good sunblock, hat & sunnies on your tramps & walks. 8

9 The Committee including non- committee Assistants (last three). Jill Engle President Wendy Bassett Secretary Trish Hopkins Treasurer FMC mag distributor Louis Allerby Louis Segedin Peter Tuohy Vice President Editor Trip Coordinators Colin Spencer Marketing and New Members Shirley Bulog Club night speakers Malcolm Robinson Wednesday walks Membership Database Chris Green Newsletter printing Joy Prebble Shirley Bulog Social Convenors Joy Prebble Supper Host Peter Tuohy Webmaster Tom Wood Locator Beacon holder Mark Vazey Gear Steward Miriam Harwood Overdue parties