This article was first published in the Tararua Tramper Volume 94, no 2, March 2022
Sinclair Head, Bike and Hike M
Wednesday 9 February 2022
This trip involved 14 members on a combination bike and hike over the south coast hills from Brooklyn to Sinclair Point and return. The trip commenced with a bicycle ride from the Brooklyn Wind Turbine to Hawkins Hill and the start of Radome Track. The ride provided views of a fog-covered Wellington harbour and city and of mist rolling into the south coast. After leaving our bicycles at the start of the track, the group walked down Radome Track. This part of the walk was memorable for the beauty of the hills enhanced by the mist that filled the lower valleys on both sides of the track. Morning tea on the Radome Track provided further opportunities to view this spectacular scene and the south coast toward the east.
At the bottom of the Radome Track, and after some debate as to whether it was negotiable, we followed the track on the side of the beautiful gully that links to Waipapa Stream to the start of the track that leads up to the saddle behind Sinclair Head. The climb up to this saddle proved to be rather steeper than the trip leader's description of the walk had suggested, and the group members relished the opportunity to remind him of this fact at stops during the climb. But what is a TTC hike without a few surprising challenges?
The group enjoyed a well-deserved lunch break on reaching the high point overlooking Sinclair Head. The effort was rewarded with spectacular views of the south coast and the Cook Strait, with an eerie mist wafting across the coast and sitting over Cook Strait. Frequent fog horns from ships in the Cook Strait provided additional entertainment. After lunch the group tackled the steep climb to the peak of Te Kopahou. By this time the heat and humidity had increased markedly, adding a further challenge to the hike. After reaching the peak, a light north-westerly breeze provided much appreciated relief. After taking in the wonderful views of the south coast toward Cape Terawhiti, the group followed the four-wheel drive track back to the start of Radome Track and the bicycles. The trip concluded with a spectacular bicycle ride back to the Wind Turbine where our cars were parked.
Striking features of the day were views of the early morning fog over the city and the valleys between the hills of the south coast, views of the south coast and Cook Strait shrouded in mist, and the good nature with which the group tackled some steep slopes as the temperatures and humidity rose during the day.
- Party members
- Peter Barber, Paul Bruce, Bob Buckle (leader and scribe), Sylvia Dixon, Rachel Fry, Mary Kane, Sue Mahon, Geoff Marshall, Jane-Pyar Mautner, Cheryl McDonald, Peter Morten, Dave Reynolds, Marilyn Richards, Christine Whiteford.