6 of us set off for this 7 km walk on an overcast and slightly cool day through Maidstone Park to climb the hill behind. There are 3 tracks to choose from and we took the middle one. This is a lovely well marked track with a 2 sets of steps and ascends pretty quickly. Once at the top, we stopped to say hello to the very hopeful goats which raced up to the fence. No treats were given but we did say hello before turning left and making our way along the ridgeline to the viewpoint. We had a quick snack before retracing our steps back to the goats and then walking directly ahead, went down the track leading to the Southern exit but also to the steps down to Wallaceville Road. We took the steps and started the walk around to the top of Wallaceville Hill Road. While walking, Ruth spotted an empty beer can on the road. She stopped and picked it up. We all turned into tidy Kiwis as we started seeing cans and bottles everywhere. I have never seen so much rubbish, obviously hurled out of passing cars. There was also lots of McDonald’s litter amongst other stuff, but we concentrated on picking up bottles and cans only. We ended up filling 3 bags, including an empty Gin bottle! These were dispatched into the recycling bins back at Maidstone Park. Because of these activities, the walk took half an hour longer than it should, so we were all ready to sterilize our hands and enjoy a cuppa at Mitre 10 afterwards.

Judith O’Leary