Members of a Mid Canterbury women’s walking group experience some of the most stunning scenery in the country when they venture out each Wednesday.
Mayfield Ladies Walking Group organises hikes along the tops of hills and across valleys in the Canterbury high country and foothills.
This week they celebrated the group’s 10th anniversary with a different kind of walk, one in the Ashburton township.
Longtime member Alison Hydes of Methven said belonging to the group had enabled her to go to places she otherwise would never get to see.
Before joining shortly after the group was founded, she would often go for walks in beech forest at nearby Awa Awa Rata Reserve on her own. She then heard about the walking group.
The first walk she did with fellow members was on Mid Canterbury’s Inverary Station.
‘‘I thought this is so cool, we are going to places I thought I would never go to,’’ Hydes said.
‘‘Just being able to explore the foothills, and just meeting new people, there’s a lot of chatting and talking that goes on.’’
The group did not have an official membership structure, as there was no joining fee. Participating in walks was free. People just needed to message via the group’s Facebook page if they were interested in coming along on one or more of its walks, then they would go on an email list.
About 60 women currently ‘‘belonged’’ to the group, mostly aged in their 60s and 70s, with a few in their 50s.
The group originated in Mayfield, established by Liz MacAlister, Cushla Murdoch and Kath Schikker.
Today members were from throughout Mid Canterbury, and some from Timaru.
Hydes said while members had ascended many a peak, walking tracks to the top of Mt Alford, Peak Hill, Little Mt Peel and Mt Fyfe among others, they were not ‘‘gung-ho’’.
Many of the weekly walks had two options, an easier and longer version.
‘‘If it’s too icy or to much snow, we won’t do it either,’’ Hydes said.
Generally up to 15 will do a walk each time, but sometimes it could be more than 25.
‘‘We have new people coming all the time, some of them have seen the group on Facebook, and others it’s just word of mouth.’’
Hydes said members yesterday celebrated the 10th anniversary with a special walk.
They met at the Ashburton Domain at 9.30am, walked to Allenton to have morning tea at Argyle Park, then back to the domain for a picnic lunch.
