2025-06-25 < Weekly activities > 2025-07-09
Activity summary: Wednesday 2025 July 02 to Tuesday 2025 July 08
Crofton Downs/Waddington Winder, Te Whiti Riser/Five Ways on Johnston Hill/Brooklyn – Sinclair Head – Red Rocks/Kaitoke Waterworks – Kiwi Ranch Road/Te Whakatūrākau , Untracked Ridge, East Holdsworth
Wednesday
Lunch ‘Crofton Downs Cafe’ led by Jenny Lewis, Wed 02/07 11M
Jenny’s lunch was at the Chillax Cafe, Crofton Downs. It was a cheerful gathering of oldies ageing not very willingly. That was three more people than the Easy group, which confirms the hard fact of our ageing
E Trip ‘Waddington Winder, Te Whiti Riser’ led by Hadley Bond, Wed 02/7 8M
We hiked up the Waddington Winder, had a leisurely lunch at the summit and then descended the Te Whiti Riser where a car shuttle was used to get people back to their desired departure points. The weather as perfect with a little breeze at the summit but otherwise sheltered. Those attending were: David Campbell, Jean Morgan, Carolyn Jenkins, Julia Fraser, Michele Dickson. Diana Barnes, and Anne & Hadley Bond.
EM Trip ‘Five Ways on Johnston Hill with remarkably little overlap!’ led by Joan Basher, Wed 02/7 22M
The trip announcement read: Five ways on our humble little Johnston Hill? Really? Yep, there are, truly. And this week’s EM trip celebrates them all. 22 people boldly signed up for the challenge. Covering more than 13 kilometres in a great big figure of eight, we enjoyed the many ups and downs, twists and turns of the local tops and the lovely Wilton Bush. People peeled off at various points, as anticipated, with the final six of us getting back to our cars after 6h 45m of tramping. Our triumph was going over the Johnston Hill summit three times in one day!
M Trip ‘Brooklyn - Sinclair Head - Red Rocks’ led by Paul Bruce, Wed 02/7 9M
Nine people meet outside the Salty Pidgen café on a perfect winter day for a walk up past the Brooklyn war memorial then along the Karori Sanctuary perimeter fence to Car Parts and Barking Emu tracks. We chose the Red Rocks track, before turning westwards and down to cross the Waipapa Stream and back up to the ridge that leads to the historic gun battery at Sinclair Head. We picked a sheltered spot for lunch with a view over the gun battery and the south coast, before heading down the steep gully track and exiting past the Red Rocks to Owhiro Bay and a bus ride back to Brooklyn shops. Time of travel 6 and a half hours.
WCC had done a remarkable job in clearing the gorse from the track down to the gun battery. The bit descending into Waipapa Stream remains overgrown, but the Council says it is on the to-do list for August.
MF Trip ‘Kaitoke Waterworks – Kiwi Ranch Road’ led by Karen Baker, Wed 02/7 12M
12 of us left a frosty Kiwi Ranch car park at 8.30 and headed up the Dobson track to just past point 539. From there a short bush bash brought us out on to a marked route down into Farm Creek for a frosty morning tea outside the scout hut. We decided upon the spur out of the valley that lead more or less straight up to point 630, a route marked by painted red dots on the trees. From there it was west along the ridge towards the high point of the 4wd road to Hutt Forks. Just before the road at point 590 we dropped down an unmarked spur to an old abandoned hut. From there it was a short distance out to the 4wd road and two hours back to either Norbert’s Creek car park or the main campground. Just under 8 hrs and 13kms and 1000m of climbing.
Weekend:
MF Trip ‘Te Whakatūrākau, Untracked ridge, East Holdsworth’ led by Marie Henderson, Sat 5/07 5M
Trip went up the well tempered spur just N of East Holdsworth track. We appeared from the bush a bit damp and mucky but happily at about the same time as the sunshine cleared the clag from the tops and the SW dropped out.
We made the most of the conditions and carried on over Holdsworth, to Powell Hut (kind people had a fire on for us) and out via gentle Annie.
Total 67 members and 0 non members