Woodills Track - Currys Reserve - Purple Peak Track

Sunday 25 July 2021

Our five walked from the Akaroa Recreation Ground car park to the north end of Rue Lavaud and up Woodills Rd to get onto Woodills Track, stopping to pick up damp walnuts from the many trees along the way. We admired the profusion of healthy young kawakawas and noted that the ageing macrocarpas are being culled. At Heritage Park we stopped in a useful shelter, out of the brisk NE wind for a cuppa. This park is a real treasure and is accessible from Long Bay Road.

Skirting an air-strip we stopped to observe a macrocarpa milling operation before heading into the excellent Curry Reserve. The reserve has some choice podocarps and informative labels. A 2-minute side trip took us to the house site where Frank Worsley’s family lived. We found a sheltered spot for lunch on Browntop Saddle then walked to Brocherie Flat on the Otanerito Bay side of Purple Peak. At the windy saddle below the clouded-in Stony Bay Peak we chose to head down the Purple Peak Track to Akaroa, away from the buffeting wind. After a café stop on Rue Lavaud, Kyung Sang drove us back to the city. This is an excellent circuit, suggested and reconnoitred by Sue Piercey. Sue was set to lead us but acquired a cold, so handed the task to Diane. Many thanks Sue and Di.

We were: Diane Mellish, Kyung Sang Lee, Joanna Frampton, John Robinson and Kerry Moore. (KM)