Trip report for the Herbert Forest Working Bee 20 September 2026

There were 10 members for this working bee which has come at the end of nearly 6 months of closure of the Swallows and Podocarp tracks.
Port Blakely had sent a crew in to deal with the slash on the Swallows the previous Friday and they were assisted by Neville Corry on that day. I was very impressed with their effort because the previous day it had been impossible to walk even 20 meters on the track without being overwhelmed by the amount of slash in there. Well done those guys that was a big ask to get it done by this weekend and it got there.
So members initially walked and cleared and track marked the Swallows where needed and it was all done by 10.30. On to the Hoods and it was surprising how good it was. About 3/4 of this track was snipped and cleared . Last week I had surveyed the Podocarp which was also in good order, so I have removed all the closed signage and we can now use all the tracks again.
We had our lunch at various spots on the Hoods and did some earthworks in a couple of spots on the way back out and were calling it job done by about 2pm.
Thanks to Chris, Karyl, Bess, Mike, Jenny, John, Julian, Tizzie and Brent (a potential new club member )
E mihi ana ki a koutou, Robbie