| Leader | Mentor | Tail Ender | |
| Standards | Richard | Selwyn | Lynn B |
| Alternates | Ali | Bev | Margaret |
Distance 14km, elevation gain 552m, 3hr, 30min/4hr 10min
This morning 32 people came on the trip. Our bus driver was Frank. We drove to Mt Herbert to tramp, after a toilet stop at Purau Bay. The Standards group went ahead and the Alternates followed on. We all had morning tea and then we tramped for five hours. We walked back to the bus at Diamond Harbour then left at 3.00 and didn’t get back to Bishopdale until 5.30pm. It was a long day.
On the way to Gebbies Pass we rounded a corner and startled a kahu (hawk) at roadside – we tensed for the expected thump on the bus, but it was a near miss as it flashed past the windscreen! Above Purau, the 16 Standards set off at a good pace uphill following our leader Richard. Below Monument we paused, and there was some speculation on how many rocks might come down in another earthquake! A large pole with brushes stood near the track as we approached the summit, “That’s a big boot cleaner, I thought”, before a couple of steers turned up to scratch themselves. No trees for them. A nice clear day for lunch at the top of Mt Herbert, which meant we enjoyed great views of Lyttelton Harbour, Port Hills, Pegasus Bay and Lake Ellesmere.
Shirley, marketing flyer in hand, approached another tramper who had joined us for lunch. As a Diamond Harbour local, unlikely to be a club prospect, but getting the word out!
Then the long downhill to Diamond Harbour. In the bush near the bottom, a couple of piwakawaka joined us, one settling briefly on my walking pole! Then onto the village where we enjoyed ice creams in the sun, and the sight and rumble of three Ferraris as they left.
Text by Lesley and Graham
