Members enjoy hearing about epic tramping trek

• Author: Christine Fitz Patrick, Durham WI
• Published date: 03 November 2021
• Publication title: Stratford Press

Instead of dining out this year, we brought along an array of delicious finger foods to share.

Guest speaker Margaret Leake gave up her usual Saturday tramping to relate a wonderful 18-day trek she and four companions completed in February last year, just before New Zealand’s first lockdown.

This fascinating excursion covered some 350km of Taranaki backcountry and included walking through 10 traffic tunnels, 10 stock tunnels and a railway tunnel.

A small support crew assisted by transporting food, gear and tired walkers to a variety of accommodations. A local hall, shearers’ quarters, farm-stay cottages and a tent provided havens to rest at the end of some intensive days.

A jet boat ride up Lake Rotorangi was a welcome novelty. Part of the meticulous preparation and planning involved Margaret and Kathleen spending many hours on reconnaissance trips marking difficult sections...