Tongue and Meats Up North

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TONGUE AND MEATS UP NORTH Neil and Glynis Woodrow Who are we? We are a group of WT&MC ex-pats living in Auckland, plus a few friends, friends of friends, and even an Aucklander Jacqui. What do we do? Tramping activity is mainly day tramps which we aim to run about every third Sunday. In addition we have done a few longer trips to places like Coromandel, Ruapehu and the Copeland Pass. We also have an active social scene, with summer barbecues, dinners out, Wine and Food Festivals, shows and even a team in the Round the Bays Fun Run. How do we manage to tramp without real mountains? Good question. Knew you'd ask that one. True, we miss the open tops and river flats of the Tararuas, and the opportunity to get into the snow like you can from Wellington. While Auckland doesn't offer much scope for serious The Pinnacles, Kauaeranga Valley, The Woodrows tramping, it has a tremendous range of Coromandel Peninsula easy to medium day trips, from bush to beaches and volcanoes. Most trips are three to six hours at an easy pace, and sO cater for the family groups. With ages from six months to 50- Probably the most unique place is Rangitoto, with its something, we are a mixed bunch. young flora trying to establish a foothold in the lava. It is very hot in summer and there are no streams at all on the The largest and most well-tracked area is the Waitakeres, island. The view is great, but it tends to be a little too which is a bush covered ancient volcanic plateau that runs popular on nice days. from about 400 metres down to the western coast. It is heavily dissected with streams and has many spectacular Distractions and diversions involve stopping to collect waterfalls. The flora is quite different to the Tararua and barbecue shellfish on the Gulf beaches, swims at hot beech, kamahi and podocarp forest, with many kauri, pools at Miranda, Parakai, and Waiwera, Devonshire teas even a few larger ones left by the loggers, toatoa, towhai, at one of the many convenient places, and now that the puriri, nikau and several broadleaf species, like karo and vineyards are opening .on Sundays?? puka. Trips sometimes include wandering along the ironsands of the rugged West Coast beaches like Piha, The Tongue and Meat members include Kelly and Judy Muriwai and Karekare. Yip, Bryan and Diane Aitken, Norm and Jacqui Whiteside, Neil and Glynis Woodrow. I am told that There are several pockets of bush around the Hauraki Richard Fergusson has been on a trip that we didn't get Gulf, both north and south of the city, which offer a to. There are also Murray and Joy Hall who are exvariety of bush, beach and clifftop walking. The beaches members and Sue Webb who is a friend of the club. are white sand, with mudstone cliffs, rockpools to explore and muddy mangrove swamps to plod through. Now that we have accepted tramping Auckland style, we can enjoy the fresh air, exercise and have lots of laughs The Hunuas to the south are largely locked up in Water along the way. Reserve with few access points and being less rugged than the Waitakeres, tend to have been more heavily Why not join us if you venture north of the Bombays this felled, though we have managed a few good trips there summer. also.