Auckland Baptist Tramping Club MATAMATA  MEANDERS Matamata      5-7 Feb This trip was planned to tie in with the Parachute Festival at Totara Springs, and the five people who went enjoyed not only a selection of half-day tramps but also a feast of live Christian music. Friday We left The Bracken soon after 6pm for a non-stop run to Matamata and the Opal Hot Springs. We pitched our tent in the camping ground at the springs. Saturday Our morning walk was the Wairere Falls in the Kaimai Ranges. This is the waterfall that can be seen from SH27, the most commonly used road to get to Rotorua, Taupo and beyond from Auckland, just before reaching Matamata. We left about 9am and drove to the end of Goodwins Road. The track up to the falls climbed gradually through bush, crossing the Wairere Stream twice. Then the first grunt - a climb up a 30-metre wooden staircase. A side track brought us to a lookout from where we had a view of the falls. We then carried on, climbing till we eventually reached the Wairere Stream above the falls. There were some delightful picnic spots where the track reached the stream. A short walk brought us to a viewing platform at the top of the waterfall - we were rewarded with a view looking out across the lower Hauraki Plains to the hills beyond. We returned to Matamata  for lunch before returning to the Kaimais for the Rapurapu Kauri Grove, a three-hour return tramp from the Matamata-Tauranga highway. The track started across farmland before entering the bush near a small pond. We then crossed a low saddle before dropping into the Rapurapu steam gully. We criss-crossed the stream repeatedly as we made our way down to the kauri grove. The largest tree in the stand measured almost 1.8m across and 14m up to the first branch. We returned to Matamata for dinner, then all decided to go to the Parachute Festival at the nearby Totara springs. We had a wonderful time listening to various top-class artists at this Christian answer to Sweetwaters or Woodstock. Sunday We were to have done two walks, but because we were up late the night before making the most of our Parachute passes we slept in a little. It was 10am by the time we packed up and broke camp and drove to the prominent Te Tapui hills west of Matamata. A climb of  about one-and-a-half hours brought us to the top of Maungakawa, 495m asl. We had our lunch enjoying the extensive views north over the Hauraki Plains. It was 4:20pm by the time we left Matamata for the drive home, arriving back at The Bracken about 7pm. COST:  $50 (travel, food, accommodation); $14-90 evening pass Parachute Festival.