I got up extra early to gauge the weather.  It was extremely frosty and cold minus- 1 degree in Upper Hutt.  However, by 8.30 am the fog had lifted and it proved to be a very cool, clear, and sunny morning.  We met extra early at 8.50 am at Harcourt Park as the weather said it would rain in the afternoon.  The Harcourt Bridge was a little icy to walk over, so we tread very carefully and were glad that punters were wearing good boots and layers of clothing.

By the time we reached Birchville Dam the temperature had risen to 2 degrees.  It’s a good workout climbing up to the summit, and I had to haggle a few tailenders to keep walking as I did not want them to get too cold.  We had drinks break when we reached the top.

From there on we walked on the roading track to Cannon point.  The smell the pine trees were omitting was gorgeous.

We reached Cannon Point around 11.00 am and had a Snack and coffee break.  With the sun blazing we could see right down to Wellington, and we even spotted snow on the Kaikouras.

We then walked down the zigzag track and looped back through Totara Park suburbs to Harcourt Bridge.  Some of us ventured to Mitre 10 which would normally be an afternoon coffee; however, we arrived at lunch time and took advantage of the lunch time menu!

It was nice to relax in the afternoon sun; however, it still proved to be a very cold day reaching just 11 degrees Celsius!

Trip Leader – Annmarie Wood

Walkers - Andrea, Delphine, Paul, Tricia, Linda, Lynn, Gordon, Helen, Mark & Nichole