Two trip snips for this popular walk!

The Falls Road golf course still glistened with frost as 35 WOPpers arrived at the car park. The day began in sombre mood as two walkers told us all of their recent cancer diagnoses, both unsuspected and discovered through routine screening. These brave women, Div and Anne-Maria, stayed in our thoughts.

Linda with the help of other leaders – Sylvia, Pam, Div and Jenny – managed the large number of walkers very ably by keeping the pace slow and steady, so we could really appreciate the huge old kauri and rimu all around us.

We did an anti-clockwise loop along Upper Kauri Track to the ridge line where we found ourselves in a kauri canopy, then turned left onto Long Road Track and the Fenceline Track to the reservoir. We must have been a little tired, as we skipped the dam and went straight back along Lower Te Piringa Track with the Waitākere River on our right. The walk was meditative and beautiful.

April G.

Tuesday's LEGS walk was very popular with 35 of us led by the wonderful Linda. Coffee afterwards provided many versions of just how far we walked, but we settled on between 11 and 13 km. It was a good leg stretch!

The walk has been recently opened after six years and it was a real treat to be amongst those magnificent old kauri and the beautiful Waitākere bush.

The now gravel tracks are well compacted over plastic gobi blocks, slightly tough on the feet, but much more accessible for all ages and weather conditions. The new boardwalks and bridges are easier to walk on, painted with a special grip and mould inhibitor. Well-spaced steps are easier for normal people rather than giants or Hobbits.

Fresh air and a pleasant cloud cover complemented a delightful walk and I'm sure we'll all sleep well tonight!

Heather T.
Click here to see photos by Linda, Heather, April, Kathy and Anna.