For something a little different, the Club has decided to have a weekend trip in the Waitakere Ranges, normally a venue for day tramps being only half an hour from Auckland. Up until the 1950s-1960s it was common for groups to stay overnight in the Waitakere Ranges when there were not so many cars and most people used buses, trams and trains to get around. Our base for the weekend was the new Alpine Sports Club hut off the Anawhata road. A total of 28 people came along, including four day visitors and a large number of children. Saturday We met at The Bracken at 8:15am and drove out to Anawhata Road and the hut car park at the start of Cutty Grass Track. The hut itself was a ten minute climb along a bush track, and contained two dorms plus a kitchen and common room area.

Ten of us (nine adults and Matthew, the oldest of the children) opted to do a loop tramp that took in the Waitakere Dam. We set out along Cutty Grass Track, a wide track that was very muddy in places, which followed the broad ridge between the Waitakere and Nihotupu water catchments. This track came out onto Scenic Drive, and we followed that for a short distance northwards to the access road to Waitakere Dam. The Waitakere Dam road, a private road open to tramping access, was a sealed road that dropped quite quickly to the Waitakere Dam. This was our lunch spot; behind the dam was the Waitakere Reservoir just about completely full with water that would be treated and used as part of Auckland’s water supply. Below the dam we could look down into the Waitakere valley towards the green of the Cascades golf course, and see the Waitakere Tramline to our right along the side of the valley. We could also see the top of the cliff where a commercial operator runs abseiling trips.

As we were having our lunch, rain came on more steadily, although it was a drizzly rain rather than a downpour. We then carried on up to the Waitakere Fenceline Track, passing a little earth side dam that had been built to allow the reservoir to have its present capacity. The Fenceline Track eventually came out to Ridge Road Track, an old and very muddy vehicle track that brought us back to the hut. The others, mainly families with children, went to the McElwain lookout close to the hut for a view down towards Piha, and four then went down Ridge Road Track to have a look at the University Tramping Club Hut, which was showing its age and still bedecked with road signs that were scrounged back in the 1960s. The evening was spent just relaxing in the hut, reading books and playing games such as rummikub and triominos, a triangular version of dominoes, as the rain pattered more heavily on the roof.

Sunday After breakfast we went down to Piha for a short time on the beach, where the kids paddled in the surf, before driving to the end of Glen Esk Road to walk to the Kitekite Falls. It was an easy and lovely walk alongside the Kitekite Stream, and later climbing up a little before dropping down to the base of the tall three-tiered Kitekite Falls. The children had fun throwing stones into the pool at the bottom of the falls, then we returned to the cars along another track that followed the other bank of the stream and eventually crossed it to rejoin the main track a short distance from the car park. It was about 12:30pm when we came out. We returned to the hut for lunch, then out came the brooms, rubbish bags and hoover to get the hut spick and span for the next users. Shortly after 2pm we were heading home to Auckland, having enjoyed a relaxing weekend of Christian fellowship in the bush just half an hour in the car from home. COST: $26 (travel $6; food $10; accommodation $10)