Fringed Hill. Organiser: Carl Horn

The trampers: Carl Horn, John Lammin, John Olykan, and visitor Val Latimer.

The tramp: The day dawned cloudy, but some clear sky in the distance promised a good day, so by 9:45am the four of us were at the bottom of the hill in the Brook Valley. We climbed the steep access road to the Dun Mountain Walkway and then on to Third House where we had a bit of a rest and some refreshment. It was a pleasant day, sunny and warm, with pleasant company, made all the more pleasant by being able to walk alongside each other and have some interesting chats. After Third House we found ourselves climbing single file uphill towards Fringed Hill through close bush on a track apparently not as well traveled. As we climbed, we began to feel the dampness in the air, and the occasional spot of rain. Eventually we came out into the open at the top of Fringed Hill by the radio masts, only to see that we were in the clouds with visibility measured in a few hundreds of feet, enough to see each other and the open space at the top but not much else. Nevertheless we stopped and had lunch. The return trip was almost straight down the hill on a four-wheeler access track. As we broke through the cloud ceiling, we found ourselves coming out under clear blue sky with a good view of Nelson and the Bay.

Down to the car and back home we went, arriving in the middle of the afternoon. Not what any tramper would call a challenging effort, nor did it provide any great excitement, nor any spectacular views, but it was a pleasant day and the four of us did enjoy our outing together. I for one haven't yet seen the view from Fringed Hill, so it's still on my list to do again, but on a fully sunny day next time.