The Pre-Breakfast Redwoods Ramble

Hi Everyone! It’s Lee here. I just wanted to let you know that I popped over to Rotorua in the weekend to check out a potential route for our pre-breakfast Redwoods Ramble which will be the first event of the first full day of the convention. If you’re new to Rotorua and have never visited the Redwoods, please consider joining me on this early-morning moderate one-hour walk from the Holiday Inn to Whakarewarewa Forest. The 5600 hectares of forest parkland, colloquially named ‘the Redwoods’, includes bike trails, walking tracks, lakes and panoramic look-outs, as well as providing an important cultural history hub. There is also an awesome Redwoods Treewalk, which won’t be open at that hour, but which attendees might like to do one evening. In short, the Whakarewarewa Redwood Forest is an essential part of the Rotorua experience.

Depending on the weather and the numbers attending, we’ll be completing the Redwoods Memorial Grove Track, where we will be among the first visitors of the day to stroll beneath the stunning Californian Redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens). Planted in 1901, and later dedicated to New Zealand Forest Service workers who died in the two World Wars, these majestic trees measure approximately 67 metres and provide a stunning canopy for a number of native and exotic plant species. The walk includes a board walk across a thermal pond. If time permits, we might extend our walk to include the Waitawa Track, which is slightly steeper and meanders through native bush. Hopefully, it will be light enough to read the labels on the plants!

We’ll head back to the hotel as the sun comes up, walking past the thermal river at the edge of the Whakarewarewa Geothermal Valley, where I took this photograph. We should arrive back with plenty of time for breakfast before conference sessions begin.Remember, GeyserCon will be held over the first weekend in June, which makes it early winter in New Zealand. This means it will be cold and dark when we set out, so warm gear and sturdy footwear are essential. I’ll be bringing a headlamp and torches, but if you’d like to bring a torch to help us see where we are going on the dimly-lit trails, that would be helpful. I don’t want to be carrying anyone back to the hotel with a twisted ankle!

For the runners, Lewis and Darcy are offering a similar experience but at a slightly faster pace. Again, headlamps are advisable.

We look forward to starting the full day of the conference with a good dose of Redwood oxygen. We hope you’ll consider joining us.

Redwoods Ramble

SATURDAY 1 JUNE, OFFSITE. MEET 6:25AM SHARP IN THE HOTEL LOBBY

Weather permitting, Lee Murray hosts a pre-breakfast walk through the Redwoods. Four kilometre walk approximately. Moderate fitness required. Please meet in the lobby ahead of time as we will be leaving at 6.30am sharp. Sensible shoes, warm gear, and a torch recommended. Our sincere apologies, but this off-site excursion is not accessible for wheelchairs. Runners ‒ your running guides are Lewis Morgan and Darcy Perry.