Mount Alexander

Sunday, 15 March 2020

In mid-March, New Zealand only had a hand-full of Covid 19 cases so four of us braved the close proximity ride to Foxdown between Waikari and Scargill. A cool breeze blew as we headed up a vehicle track intending to do an anti-clockwise circuit. Halfway up 748m Mt Alexander we were seeing to our right, very dry, rolling farmland and a prominent limestone scarp. Mt Alexander was in the cloud and we almost walked past the communication complex. While we had lunch, the cloud ceiling rose to unveil the all-round panorama. Heading west we used the road to get on to a spur leading to a good farm track that headed back to the car. We passed through an area of matagouri playing host to lots of mistletoe and further down over a field of well-grazed, bone-dry, chicory. A gate got us into a deer paddock but getting out wasn’t as easy. In future we’d go high to bypass the deer. Back at the car we donated a few dollars to Foxdown’s chosen charity – the local church restoration fund. For variety we drove back via Scargill and Greta Valley.

A nice day out enjoyed by Dorota Giejsztowt, Joy Schroeder, Shiping Wang and Kerry Moore (KM)