Saturday 12 November 2022

Leader: Tony Quayle (organiser - with Roger and Kylie Gilbert leading the walk)

Parawai numbers were lower than usual for this year’s Pukeokahu trip, due to many regulars heading south for the Alps to Ocean bike trip. Nonetheless, 7 of us made the pilgrimage, joining some 60 others from around the North Island.

With Pukeokahu residents and Parawai members Kylie and Roger Gilbert as chief organisers and guides, the event was superbly run.

Passing showers failed to dampen our spirits during the Friday night BBQ, but rain pummelling the woolshed roof overnight did worry us a little. Fortunately though, the showers cleared very soon after we started walking and, apart from a few spots accompanied by distant thunder during our lunch stop, it was a lovely warm day.

A fleet of 4WDs and the River Valley bus ferried us a few kilometres into Otupae Station to the start of our walk - initially through farmland, then typical central North Island high country tussock. Views of the northern Ruahine Range were stunning, with plenty of time for identifying ridges and valleys we’d walked on previous trips. It would’ve been nice to linger on top of the range, but there was still a long way to go - down the western slopes, through scrub and patches of beech and finally onto a forestry track that took us back to the farmland where our 4WD transport back to the homestead was waiting.

As always, we are grateful to the Pukeokahu community for organising these walks on unique privately-owned high country that few get to visit.

Those on the trip were:

Elisabeth Hynes, Julie James, Kylie Gilbert, Mark Robertson, Neville Grubner, Patrick Liss, Robyn Wilson, Roger Gilbert, Tony Quayle