Campbell organised perfect weather and a neat couple of trips for the day. Up the Vinings track to the Mangatangi trig – the perfect place for lunch. Then on to Mangatangi dam area through lovely bush, Helen pointed out that this was a place where kauri and beech grew together – as they did, magnificently.
Our longer group got out reasonably early so we carried on to the dam, and, as last time, were intrigued by the signs which caused some mirth and even funnier speculation. “KEEP OFF DAM FACE” We kept a keen lookout for further signs like, “KEEP OFF THE DAM GATE” or even “KEEP OFF THE DAM DAM” – but didn’t find any! We did however find a cottage with interesting interpretive material, all about the building of the dam which also is apparently stocked with fish. The cottage has a lovely sunny balcony to sit on – albeit briefly before we headed back down to the gate where Campbell picked us up.
Thanks, Campbell for organising a great day out.