| Group | Leader | Mentor | Understudy | Tailender |
| Stds | Lynne | Dave R | Selwyn | Joanne |
| Alternates | Norma | Bruce | Leonie |
Stats: distance 14.5km, ascent 462m, time 4hrs 30mins
School holidays usually mean that the number of trampers will be a bit less than normal but 4 late defections due to Covid reduced the total to a mere 27. President Bev gave a special welcome to one member who had been away for some time for hip maintenance. In a surprisingly bright morning, both groups set off from Halswell Quarry with enthusiasm, helped along by songs from bellbirds, a sunny sky ahead and a lazy southerly behind. A moment of nostalgia for one member, recalling his days as an apprentice servicing a crusher in the now abandoned quarry which was shut in 1990.
At morning tea, we could see a lot of water lying below the hills after recent heavy rain, while further away, fresh snow glistened on the mountains. The initial route was a little south of previous tramps, but the end result was the same. Everyone remarked that there was very little mud on the track, but that would change after lunch. After 2 hours tramping, lunch was at the Sign of the Bellbird.
The plan was to go via Ella’s track to the Sign of the Kiwi. It was out of the wind with great views of the harbour, but it wasn’t long before Leader Lynne decided that the state of the track was more than we wanted to handle. So, the Crater Rim track was the better choice but, being reasonably flat in many parts, it was wetter and muddier than we would have liked.
In due course everyone arrived at the Sign of the Takahe and were treated to a piece of Ali’s excellent cake left over from the birthday lunch held the previous week. Txt by Peter
