Hey guys,

this weekend's club trip is the Gourmet tramp to the Kawekas - although Hawke's Bay may seem a long way to go, the combination of hot pools (at both ends of the track), an easy 2-3 hour walk in beside the river and the aforesaid river to tube down the next day make this very worthwhile!

Gourmet is all about throwing out your usual tramping stodge and getting lots of nice food and booze! Because it is quite a drive, we'll aim to leave Friday night and camp along the way 2-3 hours up the road - then we can go shopping in Napier Saturday morning, drive up to the road end and walk in with plenty of time to enjoy the evening. If the weather is nice we'll camp right at the hot pools, otherwise there's a big hut about 40 minutes from them.

The trip cost will be $40.

For those keen on tubing back out the next day, you'll need a wetsuit, helmet, tube and probably some river experience (rafting, tubing, kayaking...) - we have a few tubes in the gear shed still, but you can usually pick em up from Beaurepairs Kaiwharawhara (for free).

Otherwise you can stagger back out along the track again :) Or possibly go on an extended weekend tramp (since its uni holidays afterwards), Jess mentioned she might be keen for this...

Main thing is to sign up at the meeting tomorrow or let me know ASAP by email (patonomatic@gmail.com) otherwise, as we have to sort out transport. We may end up leaving a bit later on Friday night, so some of us can attend Mr Ryburn's farewell drinks... and if theres anyone who really can't make it Friday night, we can have a group going up on Saturday (you just might have to sort out your shopping beforehand).

Cheers!