A cloudless sunny day brought out 22 people to try a new section of the Te Araroa Trail, beginning at
the end of Kimpton Rd in Brookby and coming out at Camp Sladdin in Clevedon. Three cars left The Bracken
at 1:30pm to meet up with the others at Brookby.
We set out at 2:40pm, following a private road
a short distance before crossing a stile into farm land. Then came the toughest part of the whole tramp
- a steep grunt through open pasture. We had to stop for a short rest at a break about two-thirds of
the way up, taking time to enjoy views out to Manukau and Auckland City with the Sky Tower in the distance.
There was another quick stop after the final third, which had pine trees.
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There was a “respite” stretch before another grunt to the Kimpton summit, arriving at 3:30pm. We
were rewarded with panoramic views out to the Hauraki Gulf and its islands including Ponui, Waiheke and,
in the distance Little and Great Barrier Islands.
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John read a poem about Arran, a teenage cerebral palsy sufferer whom he had met on a bus. Arran was
always introducing himself to strangers on buses, and was a real whiz-kid with his knowledge of Auckland’s
streets and places. John concluded the devotions with a passage from 1 Peter about being friends to,
and getting on well with, everyone.
We carried on over the Kimpton summit, dropping down to enter
native bush. This cut track went up and down and came out to the well-formed Clevedon Scenic Reserve
track just before the lookout.
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It was 4:30pm when we arrived at the viewing platform, where once more we enjoyed views looking
out towards Manukau to the west, and to the Hauraki Gulf to the northeast, as well as the Hunua Ranges
and Clevedon to the south - and also looking back to Kimpton summit..
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There seemed to be an endless series of wooden steps as we made our way down to tramp’s end at Camp
Sladdin, the scout camp at the north end of Clevedon township. We came out about 5pm, and the drivers
were taken back to pick up their cars and return to collect the passengers. To celebrate Father’s Day
John gave the three dads on the trip a CD from FamilyLife NZ with tips from Christian fathers on being
a good parent. While the drivers were away he entertained those waiting with a poem he had written about
an episode from the funny radio show Life With Dexter. Ashley, the schoolboy son in the Dutton family
enters an essay competition about The Most Interesting Man - after spending much time and effort thinking
about who to write about, his entry takes the first prize, describing his dad Dexter as being interesting
because of his interest as a father in his children.
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