| Leader | Mentor | Understudy | Tail-ender | |
| Standards | Dave R | Chris | Bev | Jen |
| Alternates | Ali | Liz S | Joanne | Min |
Distance 14.6km; elevation gain 600m; time 3hr 45min
Having volunteered to be diary writer this week and with the change of tramp, I’m semi repeating the same role as a year ago, albeit that ending was Bowenvale. It was tempting to simply provide reference to the 2022 effort. However a different combination of people and stories plus avoiding temptation has necessitated a rehash (and some different history). The earlier report contains information about the Cashmere Caverns.
“The Port Hills of Christchurch” (Gordon Ogilvie, 1978) has an outstanding record of this area and is available at the Christchurch Library. http://www.mapspast.org.nz/ is another source of maps from the 1870s which shows the urbanization of the Port Hills over the decades.
43 hardy trampers (visitors Frank, Jonathan, Lynn and Stuart) set out into the cold, windy SW morning. It was a very good call by the weather team as the writer’s night had been spent checking for a cancellation email. The early characters of Christchurch climbed along a Māori trail to the saddle known as Pukeatua. The trail then cut downwards to Governor’s Bay through the property of local farmer John Dyer, who assisted with feeding the surveyors and engineers, and giving advice to the Provincial Government. Mr Dyer was rewarded by having the route named after him. Today after Viktor deposited us at Princess Margaret Hospital 24 Standards set off like a pack of unleashed greyhounds, while 19 Alternates followed the Trip Notes at a slower pace, up, down and along a series of streets and tracks.
Hats, gloves and parkas were shuffled about through the day to cater for the exposed areas. Fortunately as the clouds, kilometres and time passed, it became almost pleasant in the sunshine, especially when out of the wind. Alternates stopped for morning tea at Cracroft Lookout with views to the distant snow covered Southern Alps. Unfortunately Norma’s merino beanie was whisked away by the wind, into the treetops below the lookout. Norma continued stoically on, eschewing all offers of alternate headwear. Standards continued a bit higher for their first break.
An executive decision was made by Alternates’ Leader and Mentor to avoid a potentially muddy area of Harry Ell Track by walking a section of the road to Latters Spur. This deviation saw many of us for the first time, briefly passing the Memorial to the 19th Infantry Battalion and Armoured Regiment (1939-45), honouring the memory of those who died. Among other places the 19th served in Greece, Crete, North Africa and Italy.
Later as the Alternates sat lunching, nestled in the lee of the hill, the Standards were spotted descending the tussocks on a knobby hill below Sugarloaf. By this time almost everybody was a bit mud splattered – boots, legs or overtrousers.
There were also a couple of attempts to sabotage the tramp. The Standards told of being led onto a boggy trail which in turn became a muddy, steep track. This saw several people including Jaki and Janne coming to grief, slip sliding away, with a later disclosure of muddy bottoms and how long it took for undergarments to dry out. The Alternates’ Leaders were challenged by Ray who was pretty sure that the Huntsbury Track went down a more distant ridge below Mt Vernon. Fortunately Ray conceded that his recall of the route related to a different tramp.
The final push down Huntsbury Avenue to the waiting bus saw the Alternates arrive about 1330 hrs, closely followed by the Standards. A quick change to clean footwear, with most walkers opting for the short downhill walk to the Brickworks Tavern for refreshments ended this unexpectedly enjoyable winter outing on the Port Hills.
Text by Marie-Therese
