26 November 2012
It’s hard to sit at an office desk in Wellington and receive regular email reminders of Wedneday night workparties at Project Rameka. Very hard. All the images of sun and long grass and the purr of knobbly tyres down a dusty track come flooding in and can leave you hankering to get down there and join the fun. The last week of November; things were a little quieter in the city, and the lure proved too hard to resist.
This trip followed a familiar and enjoyable format:
Spring is an important time for plant growth – and that includes the weeds. The first two days on the Project saw all hands on deck releasing the natives from long grass, biddy-bid and other choking weeds.
Just to remind us all how important releasing is, and how much the trees can achieve when they have the space to grow, Jonathan took the following photo of Bronnie heading past some wineberry and lemonwood that were planted by Corrina and Patrick Ward in 2009. Three years old, and these natives have really added to the experience of riding Great Expectations. No wonder Bronnie is smiling!
And because Great Expectations is riding so nicely, it seemed appropriate to add in a bit of spring cleaning maintenance work to the track. Bronnie swept loose rock away from the switchbacks, while Ricky and Frank built up the edges into a fine rock wall.
Tim Galloway joined in, helping tidy the short Kaikomako Walk near the hut, named for the kaikomako (Pennantia corymbosa) trees that abound in the area.
This time, we also treated ourselves to an outing, joining in the celebrations for opening the initial stage of the Takaka Walking and Cycling Track along the Takaka River edge from Paines Ford. And an elegant piece of track it surely is! Hats off to all involved in designing and constructing such a fine trail.
