This article was first published in the Tararua Tramper Volume 95, no 7, August 2023
Oakleigh St - Korokoro Stream - Belmont Trig E
12 July 2023
Eight club members met at a very windy Oakleigh St car park where we were surprised to find a Forest and Bird group meeting at the same time! We headed down the northern loop track towards Korokoro Dam and branched onto the Stratton St track, which descends to the Korokoro Stream and then climbs up many old steps. Mostly it's a pretty good tramping track, slippery only in a couple of places. Quite different from the normal groomed, wide tracks which are the regular route down to the dam. We found a spot for morning tea en route.
Eventually we emerged above the upper Korokoro Stream onto the wide gravel road that goes from the valley to Belmont Trig. We had just met Alison, who had started earlier on a get-fit tramp and had planned to join us. She had already been to the trig but after a group kōrero decided to join six of us and do it again! Two felt they would have had enough with the return trip so headed back to the cars.
We were soon approaching the trig and found a wonderful sunny sheltered spot for lunch. We knew it would be very windy at Belmont Trig and it was. We stopped for a photo but soon headed down and retraced our route. We were back at the cars by 3 p.m. We were all delighted with the extent of our trip, a little further than planned but very rewarding because of the different route we had taken and the achievement of reaching the trig.
- Party members
- Julia Fraser (leader and scribe), Diana Barnes, Anne Bond, David Campbell, Michele Dickson, Lois Kluger, Peter Nixon, Anna Shum-Pearce, Alison Stephenson.