Auckland Baptist Tramping Club 2003

As for last year, our end-of-year tramp and BBQ was in the Karekare area of the Waitakere Ranges and the Walker Beach Mansion afterwards. The leaders were unaware that, until one of the members told them during the tramp, that they had planned an exact repeat of last year’s trip in addition to a short loop walk at the Karekare Falls. 15 people showed up for the tramp, and that was boosted to about twice that much at the BBQ We left The Bracken just after 8am and met up with most of the others at Karekare carpark at 9am. In real club Westie tradition, the gas burner was sitting on the back of Laurie’s truck brewing up a cuppa to welcome us. As we set out, Laurie pointed out a cave in the hillside above the Karekare carpark which was used by the Maoris in pre-European times. A short walk brought us to the Karekare Falls, a magnificent waterfall cascading over a high bluff. Beyond the falls the track climbed up through bush to cross Company Stream beyond the top of the waterfall. We came on to the La Trobe Track and dropped down to Karekare, taking a shortcut that proved to be very steep in places. Our elevenses was back at the carpark. It was about 10:30 when we set out on the main part of the tramp, a  re-run of last year’s end-of-year tramp, starting with the Pohutukawa Glade at the south end of Karekare. The Zion Hill Track was a steady climb through bush and open scrub with views looking back to Karekare and down the coast towards Whatipu. Zion Ridge Track was more undulating, and in bush all the way. Towards the end we came to a clearing with views of the farmed area of the Karekare valley. A steady downhill along Odlins Timber Track brought us to our lunch spot at Odlins Campsite 1 beside the Pararaha Stream. Laurie told us about the Lone Kauri, a solitary kauri tree on the side of the Lone Kauri Rd in the early days. Over the years the prominent landmark aged, withering away on the side facing the road, and in the 1930s it was decided to fell the tree completely. The intention was to let the tree fall onto the road to allow it to be taken away easily, but instead the tree fell the other way, making for a very difficult job manhandling the tree up to the road. We carried on along Odlins Timber Track, stopping for a break at Odlins Campsite 2 beside the Cowan Stream. A grunt brought us to Orange Peel Corner, whose name we honoured in a special way.

We remembered our BBQ hosts as we walked the Walker Ridge Track, an undulating bush track with plenty of mud and occasional views towards the coast.

The group had split up into two, a slower group led by Geoff, and Phillip and Laurie in charge of the faster group. The leaders of the two groups kept in contact with a pair of pocket-size radios the Club had borrowed. The faster group left the Muir Track junction after a rest when the slower group arrived.

Muir Track was a steady descent to the Pararaha Valley. About halfway down, we crossed a rocky outcrop and had a view down into the valley.

We passed the Les Ward Shelter and went on out to the large dune of iron sand at the entrance of the Pararaha. From the top of the dune we had excellent views back into the valley, and northwards up the coast. On the way up the coast to Karekare we went through a tunnel that was built for a railway that once brought kauri logs from Piha and Karekare down to Whatipu to be shipped up the Manukau Harbour to Auckland. The faster group came out at Karekare carpark about 6pm; over an hour later the slower group emerged. We all felt weary after a long day’s tramping, and were ready to relax at the Walker Beach Mansion and address our appetites with a lovely end-of-year BBQ. Quite a number of people who had other things on during the day came out for the evening. Two people who were at the BBQ had just married, and we made a special cake for them A couple of people had a go trying to balance on the sacred Log of Wood, a piece of firewood in the cross-section shape of a ruince that had been used in a trampers-hut competition on Ruapehu at Labour weekend 2002, and had been brought home by one of the members of that group. COST: carpoooling $6; BBQ was pot-luck .