Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Photo Location competition - Part 6

Willie's photo

Calendar Nov-Dec 2012

25 Nov - Bike loop from Okato, 1-2 hours with late lunch at Lahar cafe. 10am start from roundabout. Contact Sharon.

2 Dec - Orienteering in the CBD, see www.orienteeringtaranaki.org.nz

9 Dec - Kahui hut and the Pa site (if the weather is kind). 10am at road end. Contact Sharon

16 Dec - North Egmont, Maketawa, Razorback loop. 10am start at Nth Egmont. Contact Hilary

Xmas trips to suit yourselves, ho ho ho.

14 Jan - Committee meeting at Adamsons

27 Jan - Club night. Late afternoon at Lake Mangamahoe, walk, bike paddle(?), BYO tea

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Calendar - Sept to Nov 2012

16 Sept - Snow day, 11am at Plateau. Contact Sharon 7638365
23 Sept - Lunch at the lodge. A quick tidy up of the building and grounds.
Tues 25 Sept - Club night. Photo comp results at Frewin's house 180A Omata Rd, 7.30pm
30 Sept - Tramp to Kaiauai Shelter. Leaving from the rock car park at 11am. Contact Len 7638365
Thurs 4 Oct - Slink run, thanks Newton and Neil
7 Oct - Waitara Heritage Trail Bike Ride - including Bertrand Rd bridge if the wind is kind on the day. 11am start at the railhead. Contact Sharon 7638365
14 Oct - Orienteering at TOPEC, see www.orienteeringtaranaki.org.nz
21 Oct - Labour weekend - family time
28 Oct - Nth Egmont/Maketawa/Razorback loop. Starting at Nth Egmont carpark, 10am. Contact Hilary 7510716
3/4 Nov - SAREX or orienteering at Audrey Gale reserve or Big Bang Adventure race near Levin
10/11 Nov - Overnighter at the Lodge, including Guy Fawkes celebration
12 Nov - Committee meeting at Cliff's
18 Nov - Kapunui Lodge tramp. 10am at Dawson Falls

Photo Competition categories for 2013

1. Club Events
2. Humour
3. People
4. Open
5. Blue
6. Spider Webs
7. Domestic Animals
8. Lines
9. Rain

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Photo Location Competition Part 4

 Sharon has provided these lovely shots for you to locate.

Monday, August 6, 2012

Photo Competition reminder

It's time to hand in your photos for judging, and to make it easier KOPAC is meeting for a meal at Joe's Garage (the old Breakers) on Tues 28th at 6.30pm. Bring your photos there or post them to 180a Omata Rd (to arrive before 28th).
Let Hilary know if interested in the meal so she can book a suitably sized table. 06 7510716

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Programme - July to September 2012


15 July - Orienteering at Ratapihipihi. Contact Jacqui 7510676
16 July (Monday) - Slink pickup by Adamsons
22 July - Waitara Heritage Trail bike ride, including  Bertrand Road bridge if the wind is kind on the day. 11am start, contact Sharon 06 763 8365
29 July - Wilkies pools boardwalk and the Power Station pipeline. 11am start at Dawson Falls car park.  Contact Neil 7510676
5 Aug (Sunday) - Slink pickup  volunteers needed
8/9 Aug - SAR helo training 
12 Aug - Orienteering. Noon start, contact Jacqui 7510676
19 Aug - North Egmont area, exploration of the tracks. 11 am start, contact Sharon 06 763 8365
25 Aug (Saturday)- Slink pickup  volunteers needed
26 Aug - Tramp to Kaiauai  shelter, leaving from the Kaiaua rock carpark 11am, contact Len A 06 763 8365
2 Sept - Orienteering. Noon start, contact Jacqui 7510676
9 Sept - Lunch at the Lodge, with a quick tidy up of the building and grounds.
10 Sept - committee meeting at Willies
14 Sept (Friday) - Slink pickup  volunteers needed
4 Oct ( Thursday) - Slink pickup  volunteers needed
3/4 Nov - Sarex

Please ring Sharon asap with your offers of help for the Slink runs ( 2 teams per run required).

Monday, July 9, 2012

Frewins Folly - an update from Africa

The flight over was uneventful although we did have a bit of trouble with Joberg customs when arriving in Sth Africa but that’s another story.
We spent our first night at the Peermont Metcourt hotel - right across from the Emperors Palace Casino where we had a small meal & looked around the casino - very lavish - saw a banquet hall 1½ times the size of TSB stadium. Picked up rental car next morning & off out of Joberg to a large town called Polakwane where we purchased an African sim card and other provisions for the farm house stay at Kurisa 
Moya nature lodge which was self catering. We had a late lunch & set off to our accommodation - what a trip - we really were in the real Africa looking at how people lived. It was a great sunset & a full moon rose to greet us, spectacular - but now it was time to enlist Newton and the GPS as we bumped along a gravel road & finally found a sign to our accommodation which turned right up a hill & what we thought was rough before it turned into a real experience which would have been ok in a big 4x4 but we were in a Toyota 1.5 Avanza it’s only saving grace was the ground clearance we had. This track was 3.2km long with little signs that appeared out of the darkness like "keep going" and "your almost there" reminded me of the Taupo cycle ride. Newton gave a commentary on how the GPS was going and finally we came to a sign saying "stop & unload here".  As we climbed out Paul our host was there on the steps to greet us with torch in hand to show us where to go and help us with our bags. The farm house was amazing with big candle chandeliers and some solar lighting in hall, pantry & bedrooms - gas to cook on & keep fridge cold & torches supplied by our beds. No cell phone charging here. Paul showed us around then left. We sat down & opened a lovely red wine & laughed about the day. So much for going to a restaurant for tea tonight - no way are we going anywhere on that track!! We had enough nibbles, cheese and crackers so we would not starve!!
Next morning dawned clear & crisp & while having breakfast on the balcony we were joined by some monkeys getting theirs in a nearby tree. Next it was off for a bush walk but the birds where staying in the tops of the trees where they had the sun to warm them, it was good to see African bush but it was very dry under foot. After an interesting shower we headed along our bumpy road back to Polakwane for lunch and a Bird & Snake Reserve - what amazing snakes.  Next we found a normal shopping complex where we decided to buy food for an antipasto platter for tea and head back to our lodgings where we lit the fire in the lounge and a couple of games of euchre where played.
In the morning we headed for our overnight stop at Punda Maria in Kruiger National Park. At park gates you have to be signed in (not like Egmont)  and off we travelled 50km per hour - this is the park speed limit, keeping a lookout for any wildlife we headed to the booking office at Punda Maria. We paid our fees and were issued with our hut keys, unpacked then decided to get back in car and go on a 25km loop looking for animals. Well 25kms took 2½hours, we just had so much to stop & look at. We arrived back at the camp gates at 5.25 - 5mins to spare - they close the compound gates at 5.30 and do not open them if you are late - next morning they open at 6.30am so it would be a cold night in your car if late. We had a meal in the local camp restaurant then off to bed for an early start.  7.30 on the road and it took us 5 hours to do 71km to next camp - there was just soooo much to see animals & birds. Lunch was had at the next camp Shingwedzi under a large outdoor Rondarva where we watched squirrels and glossy starlings. After lunch we still had 137 km to go to get out of park so had to stop the intensive sightseeing and focus on getting to our nights accommodation. Once again the track to our accommodation was interesting. 12km this time and equally as rough - I made the comment that even on a mountain bike it would be B!!  rough.
We arrived to lovely accommodation and a nice meal had outside with the owners and 2 other guests.
Morning once again was crisp and I just had to get out early 6.00am and explore. The sunrise and river view was magnificent.
We have spent a very lazy day looking at monitor lizards, warthog families who come right up to you & monkeys who stole bread out of our room &cheese off the breakfast table.
Till next time, Hilary & Newton

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Photo Location Comp Part3

Photos from Hilary
Sorry about the rotation, perhaps it's because she's on the other side of the world at the moment!

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Photo Location Comp part 2

From Neil for 5 points

From Jacqui for 12 points




Programme May-June 2012

27 May – MTB at Lake Mangamahoe. Another go at test driving the terrific new tracks out the back. 10am start at the MTB car park. Contact Jacqui 06 7510 676

30 May – LandSAR AGM at Mobilize, 26 Manadon St, Spotswood, behind the new Countdown, 7pm

2-4 June – Queens Birthday weekend. Last chance to do family stuff before winter.

3 June – or you could join the Naki Run Amuck for 5 or 10km run in mud, beach, boulders, bush, paddocks, river, obstacles. Starting at Urenui Beach Motorcamp.

10 June – Wilkies pools boardwalk and the Power Station pipeline.10am start at Dawson Falls car park.  Contact Sharon 06 763 8365

17 June – Ohawe Beach to Waihi Beach . Another Sharon special where she battles the tide timetable and we (might) get wet feet!! Although I just checked the chart and low tide is at 2.18pm so we should be right. 11am start at end of Ohawe Beach Rd. Contact Sharon 06 763 8365

24 June – Mangorei exploring, Photographers Knob, the Hump. 10am start, contact Sharon 06 763 8365

1 July – Mt Damper Falls is a short walk so plan on trying a Mtn bike rides as well, for transport details ring Sharon 06 763 8365, plan on leaving New Plymouth at around 9.30am.

8 July – Waitara Heritage Trail bike ride, including  Bertrand Road bridge if the wind is kind on the day. 10am start, contact Sharon 06 763 8365

9 July – Monday, Committee meeting at Sinclairs

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

DOC Winter Update

Click on update to view it at readable size!

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Kiri Day Explore 29th April

Well it was Sunday again so what are you going to do ; tramp of course.
We started on the Kiri Track with a bypass of the 3 dot track to proceed to the one dot track just below the man on the tree. We followed this to the smilie face and encountered the Plymouth track not far passed here. We then followed the orange triangles to the 3 dot track. Decided not to follow this (geographically embarrassed) but followed the blue and orange tape circuit back to the Kiri, we descended to the 3 dot track which Len followed, to be picked up by Sharon at the end of the Plymouth Track. If this sounds confusing imagine how we felt, talk about going in circles.
Good Fun, thanks to all those that have previously marked our way!!!
Sharon

Mangorei Track 22nd April

Len and I headed off from the end of the Mangorei Rd after a quick talk to our nephew who was gathering fire wood; we thought it was much better to go for a walk than pick up a chainsaw.
The track in the first instance had a lot of 4 wheeled motorbike tyre marks on it and we thought what vandals making so much mess of the newly laid plastic honey combed matt as this has been lifted in places. But we had to revise our opinion when it became clear that the DOC workers had used this method of transport to get the workers on the job as quickly as they could. The wooden rafts now extend all the way to the Pouakai Hut with the only exception of 100 meters around the Plymouth track junction.
What a good day exploring the area. We have found a camp site around Graylings Clearing and plenty of Dacylantus, however the rock we were originally looking for still alludes us.
We started the track up to Photographic Peak but with the cloudy weather decided to go to the Hut for lunch and come back another day when the sky was clear. Next trip to be scheduled.
Home in plenty of time for a cuppa and cookie!
Sharon

Friday, April 13, 2012

Congratulations Thomas Higgins

on being named best Taranaki Farm Manager. And good luck for the NZ Farm Manager of the year title in Auckland in May.

Fire Lighting March/April 2012


Some of the bits of tinder we gathered and tools for test lighting

Ricky making sparks

The way Bear does it

Plan B - the way a builder does it

Smoke at last.....

Yup, that's where the heat is

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Lions Ride - Mountain to Sea


Congratulations Nicholas H on your 3rd placing, and to the other KOPACers who had a great ride























Monday, April 2, 2012

Fire lighting at the Lodge, 31 March - 1 April 2012

Neil & Jacqui, along with Hilary and Ricky and the loaded trailer, made an early start for a busy weekend at the Lodge, but Sharon was even earlier. She’d been reading a survival book kindly supplied by her mother a few years earlier and, oh, there were so many ideas to try out.


Adamson’s had wrestled a couple of rabbits from Mindy so, first things first, Sharon dug a hole, made a fire and buried our dinner. She then went searching for supplejack to make an eel trap. The frame construction was pretty straight forward, but canes that were flexible enough to weave round them were not. As the trap took shape Hilary assisted by splitting the supplejack to make it more flexible. It turned into quite a large structure, in fact a bit too big for the nearby stream, so we ended up with an interesting sculpture on the lawn for the weekend. Just as well we only had two days, that book is a great source of ideas and information.
Neil and Ricky spent the afternoon constructing and installing a replacement staircase for the first bank after the bridge, with help from Jacqui dredging the river rocks and gravel. Hilary replaced the netting on the bridge.


Len turned up just as dinner was dug up, (how does he get the timing right so often?) and with the addition of the usual sumptuous extras an excellent feast was consumed, with plenty left over for tomorrow.


Late in the evening we went fishing to prove that there are eels in the stream, but the juicy piece of steak didn’t entice any. So, no eels, no need for a trap really! Apparently the sculpture will adorn the Adamson garden for a while instead.


We didn’t bother to stay up to welcome in the end of daylight savings, nor did we do the usual April Fools tricks on Sunday morning. So at a very civilised hour we started on the leftovers and spent time discussing the fire lighting plan.


Neil stayed behind to install an extra bench beside the gas cooker and the rest took a wander through the bush looking for all different types of tinder which we took back and systematically tried to set alight. It’s interesting to see what burns, but even more amazing to find out the ones that wouldn’t. Phase 2 was to use a ‘never fail’ flint but it was extremely difficult to get the spark to light the tinder.


How come Bear always finds the right sort of dry combustible tinder? Ah, I know, we didn’t have the benefit of program editing.


As a final hurrah, we boiled water in a plastic bottle over a fire – it worked really well, but no-one wanted to drink the water (probably full of chemicals leached from the plastic, but in an emergency it would be great).


It just goes to show, what works on telly, doesn’t necessarily work in the native bush of New Zealand. Anyway, there are now 5 of us that know which tinder to look for, but that’s our secret. It’s a pity you weren’t there……..

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Banff Mountain Film Festival 4 May



Calendar April-May 2012

8 April – Easter, family time


15 April – Lake Mangamahoe bike exploration. Ride the trails before they are removed to make way for the new cemetery. And visit the new trail building efforts. Contact Jacqui 06 7510676 10am start, Plantation Rd top carpark (nearest Egmont Village)


22 April – Mangorei Mystery Trip, looking for historic stuff. Starting at 10am, top of Mangorei Rd, contact Sharon 06 7638365


29 April – Explore Kiri Track, contact Sharon for start location 06 7638365


4 May – Friday night club night. Banff Mountain Film Festival. Tickets $25 from Kiwi Outdoors


5 May – Orienteering from Te Rewa Rewa Bridge. Contact Jacqui 06 7510676


13 May – Wilkies Pools boardwalk and beyond, contact Sharon 067638365


14 May – Monday, committee meeting at Hilarys


20 May – Lake Dive from Dawson Falls, lower track – the hunters have cut the track so it should be a pleasant walk. 10am at Dawson Falls Visitors Centre. Contact Sharon 06 7638365

AGM Presidents Report 27 March 2012

Welcome everyone to another AGM.


The committee have diligently organised and schedule many activities throughout the year some being – Lake Rotokare Fenceline , Kahui Hut, Dover/ Pouakai/ Kiri tracks, orienteering, Kaitake’s Goat rock, Stent road beach walk, Mangorei Track, Traders and Whalers plus exploring places looking for historic memorabilia (carved rocks to the less educated) and we even had a snow day with family and friends.


The photo competition have once again produced good quality photos, congratulations Newton.


The Mystery photo competition was quite controversial last year and I hope this year is no different, I am sure everyone enjoys the challenge. Good luck for this year.


The Magazine has gone digital and we can now access the pages via the web, and committee meetings every two months has now been adopted. The committee we have had to get more organised with the programming, however after a few teething problems all is running smoothly.


Thank you Jacqui. The Shakespeare Award has seemed to have had its day unfortunately, there are not many stories this year, when we get more than 10 articles in the newsletter it may come out of the cupboard again however this year as last we will carry it forward.


Thank you to all who helped with the slink calf run it was certainly worth it this year with a cheque banked for $750, this will be in next year’s annuals as it arrived a little later than expected.


The Lodge has been well used through the year, and it is a place to go for peace and quiet. There are more bookings I believe in progress and thank you Higgi for taking the bookings.


The past year has been rather quiet, and it has been hard for me personally to be motivated to complete a lot of activities, however I was pleasantly surprised at the last event, “The Opunake Mountain to Sea mountain bike ride, (0rganised by the Opunake Lions Club)This was an awesome event with both young and old turning out to complete the day. It is certainly on my “to do’’ list next year, well worth the effort.


Thank you to the committee for organising events and activities, we missed out on a few that will be rescheduled due the last couple of storms e.g. Carrington Ridge summit climb, but these will get done at a later date.


Get your ideas together for the coming year – at the general meeting following this we need to get the programme together and figure out where the club is going from here.


Cheers, Sharon Adamson
President

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Final Photo Challenge (part 5)


From Neil for 5 points


From Willie - 10 points


From Jacqui - 10 points

Programme Feb - April 2012

29 Jan - Start the New Year with a BYO BBQ dinner at Corbett Park, Oakura. 6pm start. Bring your Christmas toys to stun and amaze us.

5 Feb (Waitangi weekend) - Mangorei track - look for the dated rock and other interesting locations near Graylings clearing. 10 am start at Mangorei road end. Contact Sharon 06 763 8365

12 Feb - Orienteering at Huatoki Domain. Starting from the wooden one way bridge, noon. Contact Jacqui 06 751 0676

19 Feb - Kahui track and beyond. 10 am start at road end. Contact Sharon 06 763 8365

24 Feb - Club night. Bicycle movie at the Arthouse Cinema - how bikes improve the lives of people all over the world, 8.30pm $10 by bike (show helmet), $15 if not. Maybe dinner first???

26 Feb - Enchanted loop, starting at the Mountain House 10am. Contact Sharon 06 763 8365

4 Mar - Summit climb via Carrington Ridge. Could stay over on Sat night at Holly Hut for a fresh (early?) start in the morning. Contact Sharon 06 763 8365

12 Mar (Taranaki Anniversary Day) - Kaponga Lions bike ride, Dawson Falls gates to Kaponga $10

18 Mar - Mountain to Sea bike ride, 09:30 at Arawhata Rd, ride to Opunake Beach, 40km, $15

25 Mar - White Cliffs walkway - Waipingao Stream, Pukearuhe, 10am start. Contact Sharon for tide times and start location (take togs!! previous tide predictions have been suspect)

27 Mar - AGM 7.30pm, Tuesday night at Sharons, Harvey Road. Supper by Len. Bring all your photo challenge pics (with you in the photo) and be prepared to debate the merits of the points awarded. Prizes galore.

31 Mar/1 Apr - Overnighter at the Lodge, including a McGiver vs Bear Gryllis challenge testing out all their unusual firelighting styles and skills.