This was a tramp over another new section of the Te Araroa Trail they would eventually extend from Cape
Reinga to Bluff. Eighteen people walked the 9.5km of trail beginning off Woodcocks Rd southwest of Warkworth
and climbing over Moirs Hill to drop down into the Puhoi valley.
We left The Bracken at 8am and
met up with more people at the Puhoi turnoff on SH1 north of Waiwera. Two cars were left at the end of
Remiger Rd to ferry drivers back to the start after the tramp. We then carried on to Warkworth and to
the start point at the end of Matthew Rd off Woodcocks Rd.
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It was 10am as we set off on our walk, climbing up a gravel road through recently cleared pine forest.
After about an hour we had a break at the top of the main grunt where we had views towards Kaipara Harbour
to the west and Moirs Hill ahead..
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The road was more undulating as we continued towards Moirs Hill. A little later we passed through
more mature pine forest.
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We arrived at Moirs Hill summit at about 11:30am. The trig could be seen behind the transmitter station,
but the ground around it was much overgrown. We could look back towards the Kaipara Harbour, and ahead
to the east coast with Whangaparaoa Peninsula and Tiritiri Matangi Island with Moehau in the distance.
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It was just two weeks before Easter, so Barbara chose Easter as the theme for our devotions. She
began with reading a poem Who was this man Jesus before commenting that the message of Easter is often
secular, marked by the giving of Easter eggs. To see a young chick hatch out of a seemingly lifeless
egg is a marvel, but when this compared to the Cross of Jesus it is far more powerful. A born-again Christian
person experiences a satisfying earthly life followed by eternity with God. Jesus spent much of His time
on earth in the outdoors.
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Just past the summit the track left the road descending southward as a clay track through bush and
scrub with views to the east coast in places.
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It was 12:30pm when we came out on Ahuroa Rd.
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We roadbashed Tolhopf Rd to the end and onto the farm property before climbing up across the paddocks
to a summit. There were views once more to the Kaipara Harbour as well as towards the east.
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A patch of shade on a vehicle track in the bush made a welcome lunch stop out of the fierce
hot sun. One budding violinist had a little practice.
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Afterwards we carried on along the vehicle track through bush to come out at the Sugar Loaf. We once
more had views out to the east coast. The children had a go at climbing the rocky outcrop.
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The track dropped away from the Sugar Loaf, and we carried on an undulating course before the
final descent to Remiger Rd where the two cars were waiting. We were out at 2:30pm.
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While the drivers were taken back to retrieve their cars, the rest of us walked on another 1.5km
(20 minutes) along the road to the Art Of Cheese Cafe for a welcome icecream or coffee. The ducks and
sparrows were not at all happy about a sign asking people not to feed them. The drivers arrived about
3:45pm, and soon afterwards we went off home having enjoyed a lovely day with bright sunshine instead
of the liquid sunshine at Tairua last weekend.
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