11/09/2024. McNally Walkway. Grade 3. Trampers. Leaders: Graeme Souter & Theresa White.
A lovely morning greeted us at the car park where 20 keen trampers departed for Milton and the McNally (yes, its McNally not McNally’s as I was advised) Walkway.
An extra tramper was found loitering on the side of the road in Waihola and one more was waiting for us upon our arrival at the car park on Cemetery Road at the start of the Walkway.
It was therefore 22 eager trampers that headed over the paddocks, that were a bit wetter than when we completed our recce a couple of weeks ago. Lambs were plentiful but despite some concerns were no threat to the intrepid bunch of trampers moving through their paddocks and no causalities were reported.
A leisurely smoko stop after about 15 minutes at our usual spot was taken and then it was onwards and upwards to the summit of the track. Taking a deviation from the track itself, which incidentally despite tackling this walk numerous times our leader has never actually done – maybe next time, we were rewarded with a great view of the Tokomairaro River quietly meandering its way along the valley below.
We soon arrived at Bush Gully Road where its a steady climb through paddocks and tree plantings to the hay barn and out of a cool breeze that had sprung up for an early lunch stop.
The obligatory group photo was a must at the summit (thank you John) 318 metres above Milton township and then it was down through the long grass and more tree plantings, sometimes following the track and other times not. With all the tree plantings now present on this track we can’t help but wonder just how long it will be before forestry workings prevent any future walks through this area. Who knows?
Once through the long grass and after negotiating some large fallen trees we had one last steady grunt up to the track junction it was then a leisurely stroll back down a farm road, across the paddocks and back to the cars at Cemetery Road.
The trip according to my TopoNZ data was a little under 8 kms, not a particularly taxing trek but a most enjoyable one with great company and lots of laughs. A big thanks to Theresa for managing the tail end charlie duties and to the owners of the farm (the Fegans) for allowing us to proceed over their property during the lambing season.
End of match function was held at the Black Swan in Waihola where we indulged in our coffees, cold drinks and awesome slices (they were big, just as they should be).
Graeme
Link to background information and earlier tramps and hikes in the same area.