Trip Report - Manawatu Gorge Track – Sunday 17 November 2024
Participants – Margaret, Josh, Susan & Rita
A perfect weather day for tramping – no rain, only a slight breeze, blue skies and not too hot. We drove to the Ashhurst end of the track using part of the new road that will eventually replace the Manawatu Gorge Road. At the start of the walk there were good views of the new bridge being built for the new road. It was good to see the progress being made, and a lot of new plantings in the area.
Then off up the old gorge road before starting on the track proper. We headed up the Tawa track and stopped for morning tea at “Tom’s Lookout” with views over Palmerston North and Ashhurst.
Then back on to the main track as we headed towards Woodville. The many nikau palms along the way gave a tropical touch to the walk. We learnt that it takes 40–50 years for nikau palms to begin to form a trunk and we saw quite a range of ages of palms, some of them being very old.
We took in the views from all six of the lookouts along the way, having lunch at a picnic table overlooking the wind turbines.
We turned around after about 7km and headed back the way we came, but along the main track rather than the Tawa track. There were a lot of people out on the track making the most of the good weather.
A very enjoyable trip through lovely bush with quite a bit of birdsong.
