4 October.
John drove five of us out to Waipatiki, we observed the still decimated Tangoio valley on the way. We parked at the first car park at the bottom of the hill to walk through the beautiful Waipatiki Scenic Reserve. There seemed to be a lot of nikau branches on the ground, but apart from that there was very little evidence of the cyclone as we made our way up the reserve, taking the upper loop. We walked out to Aropoanui Road and had a bite to eat there before returning back via the lower loop. There was one significant tree fall on this route.
We had lunch on the beach before entering the Waipatiki Domain and climbing up to the lookout. The lookout is about 120 metres above sea level and gives good views down to the settlement and out to Napier. After descending from the look out we continued along the domain track to its western exit to Waipatiki Road. There are some massive trees in this reserve. We finished our walk by walking back down the road to the van. Steve then drove us all back home.
All agreed it was a great day out and thanks to John and Steve for safely driving us there and back,
Party: John S, Steve B, Susan L, Christine L and Glenda H