Okuti Valley – Hilltop – Montgomery Park Reserve

24 November 2024

Glenda and Merv were at Princess Margaret at 8am anticipating a good turn out on a nice morning but only  Joy and Kathryn arrived. While waiting, John Lubber, a PTC member from way back, biked past and stopped  for a chat. So just the four of us set off to Little River, up Okuti Valley Rd, then Reserve Rd to the car-park for  the track up through the bush. 

Walking at 9.05am, we were at the stile on the saddle by 11am, crossed SH75 at Hilltop by 11.30am and  walked along Summit Rd to the reserve and the track up to the big, impressive totara. Another ten minutes or  so further took us to the open grassy lookout spot with a view south-east to Onawe Peninsula in the upper  harbour—a nice lunch spot. Retracing our steps, any easterly had dropped as a nor-wester took over and was  very warm by the time we were descending the valley. Even at this time of year there was a boggy basin to do  an awkward sidle above on the way down. We were at the car by 3pm and off to the Little River Cafe for  coffee and cake, after a nice day out.

We were: Kathryn Marshall, Glenda & Merv Meredith, Joy Schroeder.  MM.