See what you all missed. This was an afternoon of professional entertainment and all for $10. The chance to see this sort of entertainment comes rarely to Mangawhai. Through it all everyone walked the delightful estuary cliff and beach walk from the boat ramp and back. We thank Gloria Callinan, Yvonne Horsfall and Ann Marshall for putting the final event together.
676 people registered for all the walks so the same number as last year. There was a difference in the number of walks people did over the two days. Not as many people walked both days but large numbers chose Saturday and perhaps Thursday or Friday rather than Sunday. This means the numbers on some of the Sunday walks were down while the Thursday and Friday walks were up.
We give a big thank you to all those who filled in the evaluation forms on the day. Filling them out is vital for the progress and development of the Walking Weekend. Unfortunately not everyone responded to this call so the record is incomplete. Always there is always something to learn even if some of the comments are rather personal and cannot be implemented. All participants have to remember we are dealing with groups not individual needs.
With so many walks on the programme it is impossible to comment on all in any detail. People responded exceedingly well to the Kindergarten Walk so we are pleased the cheque to them was $1185. Another winner was Senior Net who offered to make lunches. These earned them $807.50 less their expenses. At $8.50 they must have been priced right. Well done to both groups.
Over the past year there has been concern that the guides were becoming older so with this in mind we suddenly had a host of new younger people offering to take walks. This is very exciting and augers well for the future. One of these is Chris Wild who took people to her favourite place in the world. Over the summer Chris spent time at Te Arai beach keeping it safe for the dotterels and explaining to people the need for care of the beach. Her Natural Treasures walk proved highly popular as she took the group along the Te Arai stream then eventually up to the new ARC headland park. Do you know it is all wired up for power so would make a great camp ground? Ann Parnell’s Lookout to Lookout walk took people along part of the new track being formed by the Summer Wine chaps. It was a bit of a challenge for some but Ann has taken this walk for years and with her leadership experience she soon had them all happy to be with her. While Ann was at the Heads Marion Pilmer devised an excellent trail at the southern end round Moir Point. Called Coastal Estuary Surprise she led people to parts of Mangawhai never seen before.
John Phillis with Nancy and Willie Bowmar and Susie Renall on her first time, took the demanding Missing Link Walk. This will become our classic walk but will not be available to the public until Mangawhai has its own access to the Brynderwyns from the south side. (The track makers are working towards this but it may take some time) These experienced guides move through the group at different times giving encouragement. Consequently everyone feels they have achieved beyond themselves. For many they did just that because as usual there were those who had not prepared adequately for this longer tramp.
Max Kidd, who, on his first outing with us, began as number 3 on the guide list, ended up in charge of Cattlemount. He did a grand job finding his way and coping with everyone on the bus. Fortunately Bryce Cullen was on hand to give the fascinating story of the kauri dams and the water catchment that makes Cattlemount one of the important hills on the Brynderwyns. He also led the way. Well done Max. |