It was a perfect day for walking, overcast and too hot when we all gathered at Kiwi Crescent in Tawa. The walk uphill is through mainly pine trees following the Te Ngahere-O-Tawa track. It climbs gradually and we all managed a nice pace. About halfway up, you get views across Tawa. We had a drink and photo stop here, before climbing to the top. At the top we joined onto the Spicer Forest Reserve Road and followed this down to Ohariu Road. We turned right as my map had told me to but were a little confused as we were turning up a private driveway. Luckily there was sign for the Te Araroa Walkway, so I knew we were on the correct track. A few metres further and we were in familiar territory with the Llama farm right ahead. We stopped for a quick snack and another photo, before heading into Spicer Forest which is a mixture of native bush and pine trees. While following the creek along, we found a spot where some logging had happened and there were stumps for all to perch on. We decided to make this an early lunch stop. Then it was following the track back up the hill to the top and returning via the track we had climbed earlier. Most of us went for a coffee at Outlet City.

Trip Leader – Judith O’Leary

Walkers – Gordon, Sheila, Helen, Mark, Miriama, Lorraine, Anne-Mette, and Jan G and Jan M who were both in NZ from the UK visiting family.