| Leader | Mentor | Tail Ender | |
| Standards | Janice | Warren | Lynne R |
| Alternates | Bev | Ali | Sally |
On a fine spring morning with a forecast high of 19 C, driver Alan picked us up from Bishopdale with a larger than usual 50-seater bus and drove us across town to Morgans Valley in Heathcote. With President Graham away, Selwyn welcomed everyone and assured us there was a wonderful day’s walking ahead. Manoeuvering the bus at the drop-off location in narrow Morgans Valley was no easy task but Alan managed it with ease.
34 walkers (21 in the standard group and 13 in the alternative group) headed up the hill towards the John Britten Reserve on the Baa Baa Track. Lush spring grass growth and a lack of walkers made the path a bit indistinct but after a minor detour we reached Kenton Track. There was a cool easterly breeze so we had morning tea in the shelter of some large rocks near the Summit Road.
Then it was on towards Mt Cavendish and the Major Hornbrook Track that runs from Summit Road down to Lyttelton. At the top, we paused briefly to note two climbers practising their sport on a large rock. But wait a minute, why have we stopped? One member has left his walking poles at the morning tea place and has gone back to collect them. He’ll catch up with us later. And as we paused in Somes Road at the bottom of the track, there he was, hot on our heels.
Through the back streets of Lyttelton we went and up onto the Urumau Reserve track. After a stiff climb up the rocky ridge, it was 12.30 and time for lunch in a sunny and sheltered spot with great views of the Port Hills and Lyttelton township and port.
Our leader had us moving again at 1pm and we headed down to Sumner on the Crater Rim Walkway to Evans Pass and then the Captain Thomas Track from Evans Pass to Sumnervale Reserve where Alan was waiting with the bus.
For the standard group, the walk was almost 12 km long and the total elapsed time was close to 5 hours. We climbed two significant hills, each of about 400m. The alternative group finished their walk in Lyttelton and enjoyed lunch at the Timeball Station where they saw the dropping of the ball at 1pm – a signal used in bygone days by sailors to set their clocks. A visit to the pie shop rounded off their Lyttelton visit for some of the group.
It happens that today was a memorable one for forgetting walking poles. Two walkers walked on from a stop without their poles and had to retrace their footsteps while a third walker left her pole on the bus. Senior moments all round.
A historical note. Captain Thomas was the engineer and surveyor who worked for the Canterbury Association and chose the site for the settlement of Christchurch ahead of the arrival of the first four ships from England in 1850.
Text by Warren
