This article was first published in the Tararua Tramper Volume 92, no 11, December 2020
Tau Tapu Track then through Carrad's Farm to Hidden Valley Track E/M
11 November 2020
Those Wellington-residing trip members were grateful they had left the nasty wet southerly behind to enjoy the fine weather of northern Porirua! The temperature was something of a challenge with exposed areas having cold tail winds and sheltered areas being rather warm.
Starting from Plimmerton Station, we walked around the waterfront to Cluny Road, taking in some of the historic sites. From Cluny Road we took a short track through Reserve Road and the steps to The Track, and saw examples (past their best) of greenhood orchids and onion orchids in bud. We descended Tau Tapu Track to Airlie Road and Coroglen Rise, where we entered Carrad’s Farm. The initial section was rather steep but the terrain was gently undulating when we reached the skyline. Not long after lunch in the sun, we reached our target, the Raroa Reserve. A fairly quick trip through the reserve and the Hidden Valley track brought us to Pukerua Bay Station in time for Winston Peters to shout us a train ride back to Plimmerton/Wellington.
- Party members
- Hadley Bond (leader and scribe), Anne Bond, Lainey Cowan, David Fisher, John Hill, Lois Kluger, Jeanette Martin, Liz Martin, Diane Morgan, Alison and Bill Stephenson, Rosemary Wilson (all club members) and Neon Tang.