Twenty one hardy mountaineers set off at 9.00am to tackle the summits of Mt Eden, Mt St John and Mt Hobson . These three summits are part of Auckland’s volcanic field. We left our base at 10 Bracken Avenue and trekked to our first mountain, Maungawhau which means 'mountain of the whau tree', it was one of the largest and most elaborate Maori pa (fortified settlement) in the region. This mountain is 196000mm above sea level and we all made it to the top without crampons or ice axe. We identified the Whau trees on the eastern side .Even Nelson made it to the top with his new stainless steel knees. Well done Nelson. It was a bit windy up top but great views of the city below. After a bit of a snack and a walk around the crater rim observing some of the pre European pa sites we descended a steep section to the base of the mountain and headed off to our next mountain, Te Kopuke / Titikopuke  Mt St.John This is a lesser-known maunga (mountain) and is one of Auckland's oldest volcanoes. This mountain is 125900mm. We climbed a steep section on the northern side to the top. Quite a few archaeological sites of early Maori occupation. Kumara pits, terracing and defence scarps. Bit of a cold wind coming in from the south west so we all hunkered down in a large kumara pit to have a snack and a chat. 7 Laurie talked about life in the pa, gardens, food storage, kumara pits and defence structures. He then shared a short devotions from Psalm 121, a favourite of his and called it the tramper’s psalm. Who better to look too when things go wrong and we need help. yes, the Lord, maker of heaven and earth. He protects us from elements that can harm us. He doesn’t go to sleep but always watches over us. Even when we finish our hike He promises to keep us in His care forever. Tramping around the crater rim we observed a number of archaeological sites. On our way down we passed a possum that had been caught in a bright yellow timms trap. The final mountain to climb was Mt. Hobson. Ohinerau / Mount Hobson (also known as Ohinerangi and Remu\era) is a 143000mm high 2\X4volcani7m,39621,.b`6 vc cone in the Auckland volcanic field. Before climbing this mountain we played a game in the carpark: Walk the rope with reversed binoculars, quite hard to do. A few people tried but fell off the rope. Ian Marshall and Marj Owens were the winners and received a prize. We leisurely walked to the summit for a look around and again observed the pa site and the large city reservoir on the western side.  Lunch stop was on a sheltered terrace facing east and out of the wind with great views of the city and the islands of Motuihe and Waiheke beyond. We all returned safely to our base at 10 Bracken Avenue where we gathered to give thanks to the Lord for a great day. Note: Mountain heights are given in millimetres because it sounds higher and gives us mountaineers greater satisfaction. We hiked about 11km and returned from our hike about 2:30pm.