Walks

Saturday, 4 April 2020

Grade 4-5

Nearest Town: Katikati

Registration Region: Katikati

Duration: 4 hours ( 10 am start at Te Aroha)

Start Time: 9:00 am - End of End of Hot Springs Road (arrive 8.30am-8.50am) ready for bus to leave at 9.00am

Cost: $30 per person

Park your car at the end of Hot Springs Road (suggest car pooling as there is parking for around 10 cars) and hop on our bus, with all your gear. We will provide you with numbers to make recognising you easier for Checkpoint Charlie. The bus will take you to the beginning of the track on the Te Aroha side of the Kaimais where we will set off onto Wairakau Road. We will run up the Waihou Valley Pine Forest where the views over the Waikato become more and more breathtaking as we continue to rise around the steep western escarpment. At the North South Track at the summit, there will be a checkpoint Charlie (Annabel) where your name will be ticked off. We then head downhill sidling in and out of gullies and down and through the Te Reratukahia Stream along the Tuahu track before coming out at the Hot Springs Road carpark. As well as stunning views of the Waikato and Bay of Plenty we will encounter stunning bush, kauri and other native trees as well as birdlife including Piwakawaka (fantail), (Toutouwai) North Island Robin, Kereru (native pigeon), Tauhou (wax-eye or silver-eye), Tui and Miromiro (tomtit).

Good fitness required, the track is mostly formed with steep, rough sections. Good strong running shoes recommended.

Please note: We need a minimum of 22 people to register and there is a maximum of 30 people.