The Big - Little bike ride 🚴
We had our club e-bike ride today out the back of Pukengahu & Mangamingi area. 7 hardy souls took to their bikes on a sunny autumn morning & had a great time. Only one obstacle blocked us for a moment at the start of the metal road section when Mr Craig was droving his Hereford cattle along it. After that it was incident free riding back to our starting point. It was only a few hours or so but a lot of fun followed by lunch at the Inflame cafe.

Al, Rae, Wietze, Justine and Jan enjoyed a great day out doing the Waitahinga Trails, inland from Kai Iwi. Leaving Hawera at 8.45 we were at Quarry car park by 10.10, beginning our walk along Okehu Ridge. We agreed early on the walk some of us didn’t have enough in the tank to go to the Dam, and Croppers clearing would be the destination for all but Al, who shot on ahead. The rest of us got to Croppers in just over an hour. Rae and Justine walked a short way along Tom’s Ridge but didn’t fancy an uphill return. We set off back on the Rimu walk, meeting Al on his return journey who agreed the return journey was a grind. We took the Pines track back to the car park, a loop journey of 3 hours. It felt like a “real” tramp, no structures, natural tracks, sometimes gnarly and all the time having to keep a watch for markers. And a great walk for a sunny summer day, under bush cover most of the walk.

16 club members enjoyed a great week at Bushlands Camp, Tangarakau. 11 in motor homes and 5 in cosy little cabins. We set out in the rain but the weather brightened up the nearer we got and we arrived in sunshine. Friday night happy hour was on the cookhouse deck, entertained by a visiting 96 year old man who had been born in Tangarakau, population 1200 at that time, now 22. The Tangarakau area has a fascinating history, which is shared by a number of Heritage information boards and an interesting museum display at the camp.
Saturday morning was showery on and off but we headed off on the Canyon walk, a 40 minute stroll along the Tangarakau River to a spectacular cliff amphitheater. It echoed, we made Wietze demonstrate that. We were also treated to the sight of a herd of wild horses who ventured closer to check us out. After lunch 4 climbed Pouatu peak to a trig, and 5 walked the railway track to the first tunnel, then watched the Rail carts come in for their afternoon tea stop. The rain had cleared by 11 and it was warm and sunny for the rest of the day, some of us were unprepared and a bit pink. Most of us made use of the pizza oven for dinner and sat around the fire pit until 10 pm, a very pleasant evening.
Sunday morning dawned drizzly but improved. Those who didn’t do the railway walk set off on that and walked through the tunnel to the next tunnel. After a cuppa most of us packed up and headed to the Whangamomona Hotel for lunch, leaving Finers and Guts contemplating staying another night, Jim and Werner planning on another walk up to a dam site. A great weekend was had by all, great company and great Camp Hosts. Those who came were Mcnairs, Finers, Flemings, Linns, Barklas, Michelle Meyer, Alan Rogers, Wietze Hoogeveen and Rae Hannah, Werner Gut and Yolanda Muehlemann.

Jan Fleming

Setting off midmorning Sunday for lunch at Pukekos Nest, Whanganui it was decided to then take the more scenic route via Fields Track, which heads a little inland off SH4 south of the Rauwaka Falls and hits SH49 just east of Ohakune. Great views and a bit of stock dodging on the way.

The prediction was for rain by lunch time on Monday and so an early start saw seven riders off to do the Rangataua loop. Most of us on e-bikes with Dave and Alistair B on unassisted mountain bikes, chapeau to you two! The loop consisted of Shannon St to Ruapehu Rd, Dreadnought Rd, Mangateitei Rd to SH4, then onto Ratamairie Rd turning towards the cemetery and then into what was most likely a paper road on farmland to Lakes Rd and the Ruapehu-Ohakune road back to Ozzies (just in case someone asks).

It was nice ride through the farm land but raining and colder by then, stories abounded afterwards of snake bites and getting stuck in ruts but all good fun and the larger puddles could be avoided. Researching the correct terminology for hitting the peddles on the sides of deep ruts, which it seems we all did, only found descriptions of clipping your lowers and landing on your face and tires turning into big, bald rotating masses of forest snot – could have been a lot worse people! Our bums stayed firmly on our seats and the wheels kept rolling, so I guess we got lucky.
By the time we completed the 20km loop the remainder of the team were walking to town for coffees but the riders decided it was time to head back to Ozzies where Marilyn measured out the warming medicinal port at 11am!

The rest of the trip was spent relaxing over convivial chatter, tall stories (some true, most debatable!), great camaraderie and a delicious pot luck dinner. Snow in the village didn’t eventuate overnight but at least the ski field got a bit of a covering at last.

The intrepid travelers were; Alistair Barkla, Jan Fleming, Dorothy and Alistair Linn, Pat and Dave McNair, Marilyn and Jim Finer, Rae Hannah and Wietze Hoogeveen. Many thanks to Marilyn for organizing.

Eight keen people all met at Hickford Park, Bell Block for a ride along the NP Walkway.
Rain coats on and headed firstly towards Bell Block beach.  Back towards Port encountering a nasty shower just before the Rewa Rewa bridge.  Shelter for a few minutes under cover and then onwards to the port seeing a young seal sheltering from the heavy seas. We cycled down to see the nodding neddie at Ngamotu Beach and back to The Bach for lunch.  Dorothy & Irene joined us. Sun was out.  Back along walkway to the the cars.  Benefits of riding the walkway in unsettled weather, saw hardly anyone but going back once the sun was out, a totally different story.

Alistair B, Alistair L, Suzanne & Jack, Wietze & Rae, Jim & Marilyn. A huge big thanks to Suzanne  for showing us her workshop.

Marilyn Finer

After a spot of car-juggling, nine of us assembled on Stratford Mountain Road in perfect weather. We pushed north on an old hunting track into attractive mossy bush, crossing the odd small creek along the way; giant rimus stood well clear of the lowish canopy. An hour or so in we came upon the mighty Manganui – luckily in low flow. Few made the far bank without incident. After a break on the sunny river flat, we continued with our hunting track – full of character, but generally good walking – and meandered on until striking the upper York railway. Here we struck left, and steamed up the line, lunching above an impressive hand-dug cutting; the labours of which seemed all the worse given the upper quarry was never used. After, we coasted back down the easy gradient, eventually breaking out into the grassy clearing at the top of the York Road loop. A navigable concrete culvert halfway down the right-hand loop track provided some extra entertainment. Cars placed at the road end allowed us to complete an interesting circuit, all without the forecast showers.

Walkers were: Jim and Keith, Bruce and Liam, Kathryn, Alan, Sharyn, Lisa, and David.

Bruce Finer

8 keen walkers enjoyed a Waitara History walk today, led by Jan, with Lois and Sharryn pointing out features and telling stories about Waitara in the 1950s and it's more recent history and features.

The walk took us from the Town Bridge, along the river to the mouth talking about Waitaras early history as Taranaki's port, its special significance as the centre of the Taranaki Land Wars over the disputed Peka Peka block, and the changing face of the freezing works. We then walked through tracks along the coastal sand dunes, to find a track on the Southern edge of the town, past the old Subaru factory.

Then Sharryn led us to the highlight of the day, the Community orchard, probably around 2 acres of council land planted out with a great variety of fruit trees.  The citrus trees were laden with fruit, so one or two of us will be making marmalade tonight.

We then followed the railway line back towards town, and cut across to the stop banks on the SH3 side of town to be amazed at the amount of fill brought in to protect the town from devastating floods.  We finished the day with an enjoyable lunch at Tawa Glen.

Jan Flemming

Bruce, Sheryl, Al and David made the climb to Syme Hut on a glorious autumn day and encountered several groups descending after staying a night in either Kapuni Lodge or Syme Hut. We also caught up with a Cambodian gentleman from Hamilton who David delighted by taking numerous artistic photographs of him on his camera. Ice was clearly visible around the South entrance to the crater which had made a group of climbers abandon their summit attempt the previous day.

Al Barkla