Warblings Out West Warbles from the Editor. West Auckland District I look forward to receiving notifications or Tramping Club reports from trip leaders, photographers and anyone who has taken part in the activities of the Club. Cut-off date the 10th of the month please. Newsletter no. 413 October 2014 Contents Club calendar President’s report Trip reports What’s coming up? Letters to the editor Committee New Members The intrepid paddlers at the Waikato River – Brian, Sue, Denis, Louis, Peter and Mike. Report to follow 1 Reminder of pot luck dinner Saturday,18th October 6.30 pm Bring a plate and join in the fun. Theme “Young at heart” - dig out an old school tie or grandma’s hat and bag to get in the mood. Venue: Waitakere Gardens 15 Sel Peacock Drive Henderson – parking inside the gate. There will be games, prizes and a chance to boogie. This is also a great way to catch up with fellow trampers if you don’t get out often. Please let Wendy know by Wednesday 15th to assist with planning, phone 832 2869 or 021 156 0140. Mataia 19 October Glen Eden Post Office @ 8:30 am Lynne Flood 8175178 Chances are you have seen the distinctive “M” roofed homestead on the Kaipara Coast Highway. Check out Mataia Walks for inspiration to join a day on the farm. We have visited this property once before and know the owners are well organised with maps and a pre-walk talk about the property. The Mataia 1 day circular walk is approximately 12km in length – around 4 to 5 hours with breaks. Based on the surrounding 1400ha Mataia Farm, the Mataia Walks offer a rare experience of a working farm run in conjunction with a privately-owned intensive conservation project. Traverse rolling farmland, explore coastal forests and saltmarsh wetlands, and enjoy stunning views of the Kaipara Harbour from cliff-top walkways. Please advise leader if you are intending to go directly to Mataia. Costs: $10 to restoration project + $10 to your driver or $15 if non member. 2791 Kaipara Coast Highway, Glorit, RD4, Warkworth. Tuesday, 21 October -Club Night 7.30pm Come along and bee informed by Carol Downer, past President of Auckland Beekeeping Club about these amazing creatures that are so important for our food chain. Their product will bee on sale. Carol Downer, a reputable speaker and Past President of Auckland Beekeepers. We should all be aware that honeybees worldwide are having really serious health problems which greatly reduce colony numbers and have the potential to seriously disrupt the world’s food supply. These problems are symptoms of much larger problems of health in world ecosystems and our society. Can we do anything about it? Carol may have the answers. 2 22 October Wednesday Night Walk - Henderson 6.45pm Henderson Creek Walkway with Steve Newson. Meet in the Falls car park to do a loop down the walkway to the motorway and back up the other side of the river Labour Weekend away in the Waikato Oct 24 to Monday 27 Oct Contact Peter Tuohy for late bookings 828-3274 or 027-438-9944 Based at the Kea Motel in Pataruru we will use this base for day walks. Do as much or as little as you want. 26 October Home Tramp - Cascades Area Waitakere Ranges 9.30am Cascades Starting on the Auckland City Walk then the Upper Kauri track followed by a couple of other little tracks. We’ll then make our way along the Fenceline to the dam for lunch. We will have great views, toilets, no rain (!) and good company. After lunch we will make our way down the Cascades track and back along Auckland City Track with a nice hill to finish on back to the cars. Refreshments at the Swanson Railway Café on the way home. Approx 4 hour – slow pace. Please advise leader if intending to go straight to Cascades. Wendy Bassett 832 2869 021 156 0140 $7 members, $12 non members 29 October Wednesday Night Walk - Tamaki Drive Area 6.45pm Meet by the big fountain in Mission Bay for a stroll around the area as I don’t walk too fast paced these days! My usual one for those who have been before. Drinks in a local café afterwards for those who would like to. Wendy Bassett 832-2869 / 021 156 0140 2 November Goldie Bush Scenic Reserve 8.30am Come and enjoy this beautiful bush walkway. We will travel down Goldie Bush Walkway and return via the Makora Stream and Falls Tracks. This tramp is about four hours. Please note there has been a rock fall at Makora Falls and we will be staying well clear of the area below the falls. Pam Goldie 838 5186 $5 members, $10 non members 5 November Wednesday Night Walk - Oakley Creek Walk 7.00pm Meet outside Peter’s house - 1/23B Cradock Street, Avondale at 7pm. Peter will take you up Oakley Creek (without a paddle), around Unitec and back home for a bit of supper. Peter Tuohy 828-3274 / 027-438-9944 9 November Peripatus Revisited 8.30am Due to popular demand (don't know why, I obviously let you take it far too easy last time). Meet at Glen Eden 8.30am, drive to the end of Christian Road, up East Tunnel track, loop Anderson and Fenceline, along Waitakere Tramline and Peripatus. A good tramp with heaps of variety. Trish Hopkins 835-4405 $5 members, $10 non members 12 November Wednesday Night Walk - Titirangi 7.00pm Meet in the Titirangi Library car park for a walk around the area, ending up with a coffee option. Val Ellis 817-6813 3 16 November Parau and Huia Walk 8.30am A lovely 4 to 5 hour walk in the bush to Huia. Just a hill or two and maybe some mud. As the Farley track is closed we will car pool to Huia and then start the walk from the Panto track 200 m east of the Cornwallis Road turnoff. Walk up to the Parau track which will take us back to Huia. Astrid Crouth 817 5552 $5 members, $10 non-members 18 November Club night A representative from ECO Matters who will talk about the Twin Streams Project in the Oratia Henderson area 23 November Hakarimata Walkway ` 8.30am First we travel to Taupiri Mountain and climb through the bush to the summit. Great views which include the Wind Farm near Raglan. Back down another track. This takes about an hour. These tracks are away from the sacred burial grounds. Aficionados of ramshackle, corrugated iron farmyards filled with happy animals will love the one we see here from a distance. I certainly do. There is also a lovely green wharenui. Then 15 minutes drive to the Kauri Loop Track on the other side of the river. Clean boots for this please. The track takes two hours or so and includes two lookouts over the Waikato and many, many, many steps. Caution! Do not read the sign at the start telling you how many steps there are. It's actually quite an easy walk, popular with the Waikato locals. Bags of gravel may be waiting to be carried. Then to the cafe at Mercer and home. John Miller 622 0436 $20 members, $25 non members 28 November Social event Another great night is planned at the Titirangi RSA. “The Las Vegas night” is in town with some legendary performers. Austin Powers, Neil Diamond, Elvis Presley, Tuxedo Boys & Tracey Brown. These nights are awesome and always loved by all that attend - ONLY $15 for Titirangi RSA Members & $20 for Non-Members. Wendy has secured 12 tickets on a 1st come first served basis. Preshow dinner is planned for those who want it. Wendy Bassett ph 8322869 (before 8.30pm please) 4 President’s Report October 2014 Hello Members Don’t you just love daylight saving with these longer evenings. We have small groups enjoying our Wednesday night walks (I haven’t got there yet!). Many thanks to Steve Newson and Ralph Lyon who offered us the use of their screens for Club nights. Possibly thanks to an appeal from Christine to the Council we now have one provided. Christine has kindly donated a couple of books to the Club. “Up Front Out There Westies,” by Bob Harvey is an entertaining profile on 60 Westies from all walks of life, including recently deceased Ewen Gilmour. This book, the “Waitakere” book and “Mountains Of The South” can be borrowed by members . Just write your name and the date in the notebook in the box on club nights. Trish has done a marvellous job re-typing our current Club Rules. With constant photocopying they had become very tatty and hard to read. A copy will be sent to members shortly. In future when the Rules are updated this will enable everyone to follow anticipated changes before approval is sought. Hope to catch up with some of you at the Pot Luck Dinner. Jill E Trip Reports White’s Beach 14th September . Pam Goldie The day dawned and the rain poured. Only four intrepid trampers braved the elements. And guess what? The wind still blew but then the weather cleared and the sun came out. There is nothing like a wild, windy west coast day to invigorate and rejuvenate the body. We negotiated our way out to White’s Beach and Anawhata while the wind whipped up the waves to a frenzy. We enjoyed our lunch break looking out over the fierce sea. When we returned to Piha beach we watched a little girl playing with the foam which looked like snow all over the beach.