Mt Malita. Organiser: Trish Bennett
The day dawned with high cloud, no rain, no wind, which was an ideal day for a hill climb. 27 of us met at the Badminton Hall in Richmond, then proceeded in pooled cars up the Aniseed Valley to Roding Reserve, at the very end of the road. Here we commenced the ascent of Malita. Long 4WD tracks wound their way round the foothills then we began to climb steeper. Two groups were formed, David Blunt led a slightly faster group while Trish led a slower group. During the course of the climb, some people merged into the slower lot, and vice versa. As the track became steeper some people started falling a bit behind, but Grahame and Jim kept an eye on the slow ones. Gretchen and Kathy reached the top first, with David's main group arriving shortly after, in under two hours, while the rest eventually scrambled to the top and lunch a bit later on.
Wonderful views from the top, out to Tasman Bay, and Farewell Spit could be seen in the far distance. The top of Dun Mountain was very clear, though Fishtail was enveloped in cloud. The sun came out for a little while and we had some warm spells there, as we ate our lunch. The small hut was visited while we were there.
Descending later was a lot easier though Sharon twisted her ankle coming down the grassy mountain slope, so took the return trip quite slowly. However we all arrived safely at the carpark. While sorting out the money the sandflies were having a field day on our bare skin, but it was a wonderful day and Trish did a sterling job leading a very large group of members.
On the trip were: Gretchen Williams, Alison & David Nicoll, Anita Robertson with friend Cathy Harrison, Beverley Muirhead, David Blunt, Grahame Harris, Jim Maxwell, Mary Honey, Shirley Gabrielson, Uta Purcell, John Olykan, Ross Price, Rosemary Weir, Arthur Jonas, Yvonne Kyle, John Lammin, Sharan Foga, Hec & Gillian Arbuthnott, Brenda Sinclair, Trish Bennett, Chris Rabey (scribe), and visitors Ana Christian, Kathy Worthy, and John.