Summertime Daywalks

In the brief fortnight of summer this year the family group went out for a couple of day walks to explore the rather foreign concept of warm sunshine.

Hemi Matenga Reserve Sunday 26th February 2017

The Hemi Matenga reserve in Waikanae on was first up, and up it was, a good 400m climb between carpark and lookout. Romana Jennings led a keen group of 4-9 year olds (and parents) up the Parata track for a picnic overlooking Kapiti Island.

Miss 4 decided that it was a great practice for a future overnight tramping trip. About 4 hours round trip including lunch and lolly stops.

Here the kids are demonstrating the importance of having good grippy tread on your shoes for those steep and slippery downhills. You’ll note the various techniques for coping with less than optimal traction – the sideways shuffle at the top, the self arrest with a supplejack vine, and the let’s-just-sit-down-and-call-it-a-slide heading straight for the bottom.

In the family group we like to teach the kids tramping skills for life. Here you can see two recent graduates demonstrating their skills in off-track navigation. Most parents realise the difficulty in keeping their children on the straight and narrow path, so if the kids do decide to wander and explore their boundaries, they do at least have a chance to find their way home again, usually to raid the fridge and ask for a cash handout.

Korokoro Dam – Belmont Regional Park Sat 4 March 2017

Second daywalk, second sunny weekend – causation or correlation? I’ll don’t know but it was good to be back out in the sun again. Rob Comesky took a group of 15 up the Korokoro stream to the dam and return. Normally a very easy 2-3 hours return from the Cornish St carpark for those with shorter legs. In our case on the way back, the water was tempting for one swimmer and empty lunchboxes were returned home stuffed full of blackberries.