This text was read by OCR from a scanned newsletter and has not been proofread yet, so expect odd characters and mistakes.
elen led a group of nine non-members up to the Mitre Flats Hut — eight women and a ole male who coped very well under the circumstances. Despite the forecast it rained all Friday night, with poor Helen’s sleeping bag getting soaked through. The walk in on Saturday was pretty leisurely, but with few stops because of the frequent drizzle, which lasted on and off the entire weekend. It was a pleasant tramp all the same — no wind and nice views over the river and down the valley. Although there has been a poison drop in the area, there is still not a lot of bird life — apart from numerous fantails. One big advantage of the rain — no sandflies. The Mitre Flats Hut is luxury grade — including three gas bumers equipped with grills (excellent for heating pita bread). Once a couple of rugged fishermen had left we had the place to ourselves, so there was heaps of space, given that the hut sleeps over 20 people.
Paul Christoffel
Saturday night’s dinner was awesome — beef stroganoff and vegetables with plain and chocolate cheesecake for dessert. As the fire had been going since 2pm, everyone got warm and sleepy — especially as it was pitch dark by 7pm. By 8.30pm everyone was in bed — although everyone still managed to lie in ‘til 7-ish the next morning. On Sunday Helen coaxed the group into doing a river crossing and bushbash, to avoid a long uphill slog. This turned out to be the highlight of the trip for the group, who were of varied age (from 18 to 45) and mixed experience, but who all managed it no problems. The walk out was pretty cruisey, and there was even time for a quick swim in the river for the two hardiest water-lovers before we met up with the bus.
Participants: Snaiet, Fiona, Fiona, Heidi, Marina, Vanessa, Jane, Paul, Sharon, and Helen.
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