Virginia Peak

Sunday 7 April 2024

Seven of us motored to Waikari, then Hawarden and on to Virginia Road. Cars were parked 300m along Mt Virginia’s farm road, and we headed up a spur, making a bee-line for the peak. Total sunshine and the steepness had us stripping off layers of clothing. Virginia Peak is a rocky tor, requiring a scramble to get to the 986m top. Ian and Eileen found a way off the north side to connect to the east-west ridge. Kathryn and Kerry went down the way they’d gone up, then chose a sidle on the shady south side of the peak. Kevin and Heather sidled on the better, north side. Our group then headed west along the ridge. The feature on the map called The Monument didn’t look very impressive from a distance, so we didn’t bother investigating and chose to descend a convenient spur to Mt Whitnow Station. Crossing Waitohi River at low-flow kept our socks dry. A chorus of barking sheep dogs greeted us as we walked past the farm buildings but no humans showed. A short road walk got us back to the Mt Virginia gate, then to the cars.

This was a nice circuit in dry, barren farmland in the company of Dan Pryce, Eileen Mackie, Ian Beale, Kevin & Heather Hughes, Kathryn Marshall and Kerry Moore.   [KM]