Sign of the Bellbird - Gibraltar Rock

Sunday 17 Sept 2023

The Mt Alford trip was cancelled due to a forecast for rain and high winds, so we settled for a local trip. The two who arrived on time at PMH nearly called off the trip but a last-minute phone call from Kerry announcing he was on the Orbiter and one minute away, saved the trip.

We parked at the Sign of the Bellbird and started into Orongamai Reserve, in the lee of Orongamai/Cass Peak. When we emerged from the bush the wind was pretty wild. We followed the Crater Rim walkway up and down through flax and bracken for about an hour and a half before coming to the end of the track where we crossed the Summit Road to visit 502m Gibraltar Rock. Back in Omahu Bush we made a brief visit to 573m Coopers Knob, then headed back on the Crater Rim Track. Our lunch spot gave us a windless view of the farmland around Living Springs. The nor-wester seemed to buffet us even more than for the morning—not a trip for light-weights. We were: Dan Pryce Kerry Moore and Graeme Nicholas (leader)    [GN]