It's been a long
time since the Chief Guide ordered 2 vans for a weekend trip, and
so it was refreshing to have 18 people on this trip. Perhaps it was
the location, company, or the yummy prizes for the quiz? Whatever.
We left the clubrooms just after 6 pm. Dinner was at Gore, where we
parted from the other van, who were driving through to The Divide
and walking up to Howden Hut. As it turned out, they had a midnight
moonlight romp on snowy Key Summit. The rest of us stayed in Te Anau.
It was a really
early start (8 am!!!) on Saturday morning, and we were off through
pockets of fog and ice. On the way a hawk was having possum for breakie,
but so as not to send him to "Bird of Prey Heaven" we took evasive
action. As it cleared we took some photo opportunities, and in no
time were at The Divide, ready to hit the track in perfect conditions.
The recent heavy snow in the area made the walk even better. Seven
of us made it up the zigzag above the partly frozen Lake Mackenzie,
and were rewarded with some magnificent views of the surrounding mountains.
Lake McKerrow (on the Hollyford Track) and the Tasman Sea could also
been seen. Then it was back down and dinner was lovingly prepared.
The quiz night
went really well, with the only controversy being what the letters
"S.T.D." stood for in relation to the phone book. Team 2 (Dinah C
and Jeff B) ended up narrow winners from second-equal Team 1 (Bridgit
D and Enc B) and Team 3 Laurel D and Geoff B). Team 7 (Chris W and
Chris B), the all-male team, came third, while Team 5 (Anne B and
Peter S) finished strongly to end up last All in all it was a fun
night.
Next morning we
awoke to see the lake had frozen over and walked out to The Divide
in good time. We decided to pop up to the Homer Tunnel as some of
the party had not been up to the top part of the road to Milford in
winter before. So off home we went, and it was noted that everyone
had had a good time and achieved what they wanted. It was the first
OTMC tramp for 5 people, and we trust they enjoyed it as much as we
enjoyed their company. Apart from a car that overtook us on a blind
corner, a lonely snowman in the middle of the road, and the "L'Affaire
de Gore", it was an uneventful trip back to base.
I would like to
thank Geoff Brookes, Chris Wells, Anne Burton and Jenny Lowe for helping
me by being party leaders. And finally just a wee reminder to make
the Treasurer's job that much easier by paying for your trip before
we leave. Cheers.
Wolfgang Gerber
for Bridgit Doig, Dinah Cameron, Laurel Dunn, Geoff Brookes, Vivienne
Brenssell, Peter Sanderson, Brenda McAlpine (quiz assistant), Chris
Wells, Paul van Kampen, Brad Wilson, Jeff Brown, Anne and Chris Burton,
Karen Paterson, Tony Dick, Jenny Lowe and Eric Bradfield.
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