Too much trick ‘n treating for Lee (more like food poisoning but can report she is on the mend) so Jill became the leader for the slog up the recently reopened Karamatura Loop, Karamatura and Mt Donald McLean tracks. A small group of 9 set off in perfect conditions to tackle the 1500 plus steps. 

We opted to do the Karamatura Loop Track first as we knew on our homeward journey, we would not want to make any detours. This upgraded Loop Track took us very close to some magnificent kauri, rimu and kowhai. We made a short detour to the falls where children were preparing to take a dip. 

Just after the falls we began the long haul up the steepest section of the trip up the many many newly formed steps. Thanks to the eagle eyes of Elaine and Amy we distracted ourselves by checking out the many native orchids along the side of the track. After a brief stop at the Karamatura Forks we headed out to Mt Donald McLean, our lunch stop. The views were far and wide. 

The homeward journey required us to focus on the many steps with the end result all 9 sets of knees survived the journey. Was pleasing to see so many family groups using the tracks on such a lovely day. 

Jill

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