Mt Bradley

We were busting to get out somewhere but there wasn't time for anywhere further than Banks Peninsula. Dayle agreed to come along too. We drove over the Port Hills to Orton Bradley Park.

The goal was Mt Bradley so we just took the direct route up via the Tablelands track and continued up the fenceline to the Eye of the Needle. We had lunch on the summit, sheltering from the cool breeze  in the lee of a gorse bush. A circuit around to the Packhorse hut made sense so we dropped down to the track on the Kaituna valley side.

There's a magnificent stand of regenerating lancewoods on that side.

At Packhorse we bumped into Dave Garlick, whom we'd met last November in Dunns Creek. Dave was at the Packhorse with his two daughters. Also a large party from the Over 40s TC passed through.

We returned to Orton Bradley via the front track and followed the red pole route down into the valley.

Others were walking out the valley track at the same time as us. That was a novel experience as we're always the last ones out of the hills. And it's usually dark when we're coming out of Orton Bradley.