Tramped up to Ongaruanuku, the Auckland University Tramping Club Hut in the Waitakere Ranges. I’d forgotten socks for my boots, I just wore them anyway. We followed the Waitakere Tramline through the tunnel and up to the Waitakere Dam. There’s some construction going on there which means we couldn’t walk along the dam, but the track around the base is no hassle. Then up the Fence Line Track to the Hut. (The Fence Line Track is part of the Montana Heritage Trail which has had a lot of work done on it, all very well maintained and gravelled with not a bit of mud to stick to your boots.)

One of the best times we had as children was staying at the AUTC Hut as a family. I must have been about 10? It was a great adventure. Cooking on the open fire. Trying to trap the rat. The hut is still pretty much as I remember. Still decorated with stolen road signs. Still occupied by a fat rat. There is a cistern in the long drop toilet. This was a joke with the water soaking anyone too green to realize you don’t flush a long drop. It looked like the plumbing had rotted away long ago, but I didn’t try it!

Return was via Robinson Ridge and Cascade Tracks. It is quite a climb to get back over to the Auckland City Walk valley. Plenty of mud on these tracks. Was a long day, but a good tramp. No blisters even without socks.