Day Trips (Sunday Tramps)

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SUNDAY TRAMPS Karin Boswell - When I began the easy-to-medium Sunday tramps 5 years ago, it was on the basis of only one per month - led by me or anyone else I could 'con' into the job - leaving time between for postponement to a following Sunday if the weather was foul, and give my trusty exploratory team of four, time to "suss" out new areas for scheduling later. This has worked well, and very few trips have had to be cancelled completely. Our sights have been set further afield into areas that used to be for weekenders only. One of the most outstanding was the Putangirua Pinnacles and the Blue Creek glow-worm caves trip. The long drive to the Putangirua Reserve in Palliser Bay was well rewarded by the incredible natural formations we all marveled at. Our numbers fluctuate in winter from 14 to 20, and in summer, spring and autumn, climb from approximately 22 to our highest of 47 in January this year (to Neil Green's palatial hut in the Orongorongos). In these past two years to the time of writing, out of 22 trips we have had children along on 19 of them. They bounce along the tracks exhorting Mum and Dad to greater efforts to keep up with them. The weather has been its usual unpredictable self. Many days we have been caught out with wet conditions, but nobody ever minds - it just adds to the challenge! An interesting number of "extra" trips have popped up, sometimes as a result of a scheduled trip. For instance, when we did the Baring Head Belmont Regional Park Karin Boswell circuit in April 1987, the shipwreck of the Paiaka was in the news. We could not spot it on that tramp, so two weeks later eighteen of the Baring Side trips have been run for special occasions Head trampers returned to Fitzroy Bay and found such as a "Welcome home to Peggy" (from a the wreck. holiday in Europe) with a walk along the Eastbourne coast. Another time one of our number managed to get a booking for 8 people only to Somes Island when it Far from interest waning in these Sunday jaunts, was open to the public last year. It was such as it grows with increased pressure from the interesting day that we followed it up with a trip participants for more. on a private yacht, limited to 12 only, to Ward Island, and a year later on the same yacht to The schedule now has many other challenging Mokopuna (Leper) Island. day tramps to provide a greater selection for members and intending members to choose from, Another opportunity arose this year to go to Mana satisfying all degrees of fitness, and age groups. Island on a tree-planting expedition. Hopefully early next year we can arrange for a scheduled Anyone with ideas for future trips and an offer to trip to Mana Island, which is a delight to explore. lead one will be welcomed gratefully to the fold!

View over the Olivine Ice Plateau