Club Night September 2013
As usual a good number attended our monthly meeting. Proposed changes to the constitution were read for an Extraordinary AGM on Oct 14th.
Trips reports were given: Big Ben –where the weather proved to be most unfavourable; Station Peak- on the calmest of days; and Trotters Gorge-a good family outing with splendid views.
The Wed Walker had 3 trips: Trig L via Trotters Gorge; Ben Lomond from the Otekaieke side with various options; and Herbert Forest trip when the weather didn’t favour other options. For the first time in 25years we cancelled a walk to support Barbara Simpson at Lindsay’s funeral.
Proposed trips are: 15th Sept a bike ride in Herbert Forest; 21-22nd trip up the Huxley to Paradise; Oct 6th –working bee in Herbert Forest.
Bronwyn McCone produced an excellent slide show and talk on her trip to NW China with 27other NZers to see the rhododendron sites often in National Parks and Nature Reserves. Travelling this area in 2 vehicles provided an experience in itself, from excellent motorways with frequent tunnels, toll gates, to the rough and then impossible. High bridges including the highest in the world , frequently crossed the valleys. Some signs proved amusing e.g. ‘don’t drive tiredly’. Bronwyn made the most of the allocated times to roam and explore the hillsides for various lengths of time each day, capturing the rhodo’s growing in the wild naturally, although giving the appearance of being nicely landscaped.
A number of aspects disturbed her from major terracing increasingly being pushed up the mountainsides for added production whilst being covered in miles of plastic, to the knowledge that a large proportion of what was being grown was tobacco in copious amounts. to seeing cannabis growing freely. But joy was gained from finding gems of plants as well as rhodo’s, to paddy fields being planted out.
She found that the state of the rivers was not good. Children swam amongst the pollution and rubbish, while others would completely disappear being piped up hills for irrigation reappearing again later. Toileting was perhaps the worst aspect of the trip.
Nights were filled with delicious foods with up to 11 courses, watching the women dancing, and lots of walking as one felt safe. A great experience all up as this massive country mixes the increasing ‘modern’ with the ‘old and traditional’. Thanks Bronwyn.
Jane Green