Club Night – 11 /03/13
31 people attended.
A policy for non-members coming on trips which had been passed in Committee was put to the membership and endorsed. The policy will go on the web site shortly. There was also a reminder about the code of conduct for tramping particularly concerning gates and respect for landowners’ property as well as general safety. The President reminded members of the need to support the Herbert Forest Guided walks day in April as well as the working Bee on Sunday 21st April There were a number of notices from FMC and a reminder about the AGM. A discussion about the current membership followed and the need to encourage more involvement and active support with suggestions from members present. It was agreed with a show of hands that there would be no club night in December.
Recent trips included a weekend tramp to Mt St Bathans staying overnight at Boundary Creek hut. After exploring some local tracks on the Saturday there was an early start for the 6 members the following day. After nearly 5 hours of climbing with improving weather, the group were rewarded with amazing panoramic views at the summit. There was also a working Bee on the tracks in Herbert Forest but with only 5 members , the job list was only one third completed leaving many more essential tasks for the next scheduled day on 21st April. 8 people went on the walk from Camp Iona through to the Herbert forest tracks. A new programme is now posted on the website and available in hard copy. Wednesday walker trips included the stoneyards off Balmoral road, Gentle Annie hut where 2 juvenile falcons were spotted, Otekaieke hill and Mt Meyer. On average 20 to 25 people were on each walk. Wednesday walkers would also do some maintenance work on the Herbert Forest tracks.
The guest speaker was Ann Leidecker who described her trip to Zambia last year building houses with Habitat for Humanity. The group of 16 volunteers from different parts of New Zealand worked in a village in the copper belt. They constructed 2 houses using sun dried clay bricks and the photographs showed the construction in progress as well as the basic nature of life in the village which has no electricity or running water. Ann talked about visits to the local school and orphanage and the devastating impact that HIV Aids has had on the country. After the building project there was a visit to the Victoria Falls and one of the national parks.