This text was read by OCR from a scanned newsletter and has not been proofread yet, so expect odd characters and mistakes.
As usual with WT&MC trips, and especially day trips, we had representatives of several other countries (in this case the UK, France and Japan) and several government departments. We met at the unreasonably early hour, of half past seven and drove in stately procession to the Catchment area to be welcomed by three rangers. . During the course of the next nine and a half hours, we were guided along a mixture of four-wheel drive tracks, astonishingly steep, tree-grabbing forest descents, narrow-gauge railways and superbly graded zig-zag mule tracks to penetrate deep into this ancient and beautiful bush country. The views ranged from Lake Wairarapa in the east to Wellington harbour in the west. The rangers’ knowledge of the botany, the history of the area and the mechanics of water collection added much to our enjoyment. Interestingly, the Greater Wellington Regional Council, which has responsibility for the undertaking, is part of the way to building an animal-proof fence all the way round this large area. On completion, they will remove all deer, pigs and goats, contro! possums and rats and introduce kiwis just like the Karori Sanctuary. A novel feature of this trip was the cups of tea provided by our guides at midday and after the tramp as we watched a video describing the collection, purification and distribution processes. An enjoyable, informative, energetic and sociable day.
Paul and Cath Exley