PETER DUNCAN, Richmond Men’s Probus Club vice president and trip organiser
A convoy of four-wheel drives and keen companionship came together as members of the Richmond Men’s Probus Club crossed the historic Maungatapu Track on a fine autumn weekday.
Probus Clubs aim to provide opportunities for companionship, physical activity and learning for actively-retired people. Following a recent four-wheel-drive trip through Rainbow and Molesworth Stations, five vehicles carrying 20 members set out on another bucket-list journey.
After a brief stop to take in the views at the Maitai Dam, the group began the climb to the Maungatapu Saddle. The Maitai side of the track would have tested standard road vehicles, but was managed comfortably by the club’s four-wheel drives. Steep grades, hard rock surfaces scattered with loose stones, and drainage humps made the ascent engaging, while native bush enclosed much of the climb.
With the trip taking place midweek, only two others were encountered on the track, a hunter with dogs on the back of his ute and a possum trapper. The lead vehicle stopped to talk with the trapper, who later caught up with the group at a flat clearing not far from the saddle during a refreshment break. The exchange proved mutually helpful, with the trapper taking a group photo and members providing a pump to inflate a flat tyre on his quadbike trailer.
From the saddle, the group detoured to the broadcast microwave station on the nearby ridge. Its features and operation were explained by a member who had previously worked as a broadcast technician. The convoy then continued to the site of the notorious Maungatapu Murders, where in 1866 five men and a horse were killed by a criminal gang. Another member outlined the history of the event and the people involved.
The journey concluded with a descent through open hill country into the Pelorus Valley. Members split between the Pelorus Bridge coffee cart and the Rai Valley Brick Oven café for lunch before returning home to Richmond.
More information about the Richmond Men’s Probus Club is available here.
Community Corner is a new fortnightly space for you to submit your own article. Simply write what’s on your mind and send to kate@topsouthmedia.co.nz
