Walk the talk in French!
NEXT WALK: Sunday 21st July
Tantragee Loop Lead: Paul McGuiness The next walk will take place at 13:00 Sunday 21 July from the Prince Albert Hotel in Nile St, possibly the following Sunday 28th if we have to postpone it for bad weather. We'll do our mid-winter classic, the circuit up along the Brook, over Tantragee Saddle, and back down the Matai. It takes about 3 hours but is not overly difficult. You're encouraged to speak French, but you're very welcome whatever your level ! Please RSVP until the day before, giving your mobile number in case of late postponement. Rendez-vous : 1pm Prince Albert Duration: approx. 2hrs. The Brook Waimārama Sanctuary Rendez-vous : 1pm at the Brook Waimarama Visitor Centre Walk Leader: Ros Gibson, with Chris Frentz. Duration: approx. 2hrs. Entry Fee: $11 for Nelson residents Transport: car share, or catch the number 4 bus. Departs 12.45 from the Nelson Interchange, arriving Brook motorcamp at 12.58pm. Departs 3.10pm from Brook motorcamp, arrives Nelson Interchange at 3.20pm. 8 minute walk from the bus stop to the Sanctuary Visitor Centre. Info: check out the website brooksanctuary.org.nz. 9th June - Sunday 26th May - Nelson Lakes - Lake Rotoiti Meet at the Nelson Lakes Visitor Centre by 10 am *** the forecast announces showers and a chilly breeze in the morning - We'll decide tomorrow if we go ahead as the the tracks maybe become muddy. Lake Rotoiti, previously also known as Lake Arthur, is a lake in the Tasman Region of New Zealand. It is a substantial mountain lake within the borders of Nelson Lakes National Park. The lake is fed by the Travers River, water from the lake flows into the Buller River. Loop Track (1 hr 30 min) Beginning in the eastern corner of Kerr Bay, the Loop Track takes you well into the Rotoiti Nature Recovery Project area. Start the track by taking the Bellbird Walk and Honeydew Walk before turning left to follow the St Arnaud Range/Loop Track. From here, the track climbs a series of terraces to a junction at a creek and then loops back and down until you re-emerge at the lakeshore and join the Lakehead Track, which returns to the car park. The track is likely to be a bit muddy after rain. For more info: contact [email protected] Last walk was: The next walk will be along the Link Pathway between Havelock and Belvue Bay, starting at 10:30am Sunday 24 March. It's an out-and-back walk of 14km return, but for those preferring just a 7km walk we can organise car placements in Belvue Bay beforehand. The walk takes around 1hr:45min in each direction. The track is well-formed and gently graded, with beautiful views of Pelorus Sound en route. On a fine day there's a good mixture of sun and shade. To find the start, just drive about 500m out of Havelock towards Picton along Queen Charlotte Drive and there's a carpark on the left. Using Google Maps, it's over the Kaituna river and just past the transfer station. Bring a picnic to have at Belvue Bay, although there's unfortunately no toilets there. Allow at least an hour to drive from central Nelson to Havelock. We'll try to use carpooling as much as possible. Last walk was: Sunday 25 February - 13h30 Closer to home, an 8 km loop starting and finishing at the Prince Albert on Nile St. on 25th February with a 13:30 start, taking around 2 hours. We'll walk along the Matai River track as far as the bridge near Black Hole, cross over to Branford Park and climb up to the Centre Of NZ the back way, before heading along the hillside track to drop down to Founders and then head back through Neale Park and the Botanical Gardens. It's a nice set of local tracks and we encourage members to join us for a pleasant afternoon of French conversation, both during and after the walk ! If you feel a bit deterred by the distance or the climb, there's some useful shortcuts. Please RSVP to this email with numbers and mobile number in case of weather issues. Previous walk was: Canaan Downs - Sunday 25 February 2024 10am This is an interesting area accessed by 10km of unsealed road from the top of Takaka Hill. The walk will start from the carpark for Harwood’s Hole but we’ll go in the opposite direction to Wainui Hut, an out and back trip of around 2 hours each way. There is a gentle climb in each direction and native beech forest for about half the walk. It is a well-defined track but good walking shoes or boots are essential given tree roots underfoot. There are two streams to cross near Wainui Hut which are not wide but are possibly deep enough to justify a barefoot crossing. The hut itself dates back to the 1930’s but has been nicely renovated by DOC, in a beautiful but relatively unknown spot at an altitude of around 700m. Nelson to Harwoods Hole car park takes around 1hr 30m, please allow enough time. We’ll stop for refreshments somewhere in Motueka on the way home. In case of bad weather, we'll try again the following Sunday 28th January. The annual music festival up at Canaan doesn't start until Thu 1st Feb. No confirmation is sent - just email again if you need to cancel) Past walks: Canaans downs; The Grampians; Elayne's bay; Brooke Sanctuary, Holyoake Clearing in Abel Tasman National Park; Rush Pool; Motueka Coastline; Pepin Island Glenduan loop to Cable Bay; Airport Permeter Walk; Monaco Meander and Airport amble; Whispering Falls Abel Taman; Grampians; Brook Sanctuary; The Brook and the Maitai; Centre of NZ Walk...and much more...come along!! |
« Marchons! Marchons! » - French walking group
The French walking group is as much a social outing that includes French talks, walking and proper hikes... You can book from the new membership site. Just log in and click the appropriate event or in the calendar. To go and login click the button below
Please feel free to suggest a walk or area we should discover.
Probable future walks: - Abel Tasman (medium/difficult) - Mt Arthur Hut (easy/medium)" |
Postal Address: PO Box 690 | Nelson
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